Carlyle Tools, the private label hand tool brand of longtime Ron Capps Motorsports (RCM) partner NAPA Auto Parts, will back NHRA drag racer Maddi Gordon as she embarks on her rookie season competing in the sport’s Professional Top Fuel ranks, it was announced at the Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) Show in Las Vegas.
In April, fourth-year NHRA team owner/driver Ron Capps confirmed that he would expand his single-car operation into a two-car team in 2026 and had selected Gordon as the driver of his organization’s first Top Fuel entry. Capps, a three-time Funny Car world champion and 31-year veteran of the sport, has enjoyed a nearly 19-year partnership with NAPA Auto Parts. On Tuesday, Nov. 4 at the SEMA Show, Gordon revealed the black-and-venom-green Carlyle Tools Top Fuel dragster that she will pilot at all 20 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series events in 2026, starting with the series’ season opener in March.
“This is definitely a pinch-me moment,” said Gordon, a third-generation drag racer who grew up traveling the NHRA tour with her family’s Top Alcohol Funny Car operation and became the 100th woman in NHRA history to win a national event when she scored her first victory aboard the family entry. “I’m still wrapping my head around the fact that I get to drive a dragster for Ron next year, and to do that with such an innovative and dynamic brand like Carlyle Tools is a dream. My family and I started working with Carlyle earlier this season on our Alcohol car when Ron helped to set us up with a product agreement. It was so cool to be able to represent them on a smaller scale this year, but the fact that it has evolved beyond that, and I’ll get to be ‘the Carlyle driver’ competing in NHRA’s Pro ranks, is not something I could have ever imagined.”
Gordon Partnership
The partnership with Gordon reflects the recent Carlyle Tools brand transformation, which is geared toward reaching students and young technicians. At just 21 years old, Gordon is adept at both driving and wrenching on her family’s race car, perfectly embodying the demographic Carlyle Tools is hoping to attract.
“Maddi doesn’t just talk the talk, she walks the walk,” said Capps. “When we announced that Maddi would be joining RCM earlier this season, I had said that we were going about this a bit backward, because normally you start out by securing funding and then you add the driver, but for me it was important to pay it forward and give an up-and-comer like Maddi, who both drives and works as a crewmember, ‘the shot’ that Snake [Don Prudhomme, Capps’ former team owner] gave me. Maddi does the clutch; she can pull a cylinder head, she’s not afraid to get her hands dirty; she does it all. NAPA and Carlyle recognized those qualities in her, and I think the fans will too. She is the ultimate spokesperson for Carlyle Tools and will be an awesome ambassador for the brand.”
Katherine Wooten, NAPA director of partnerships strategy and activation, shares Capps’ sentiment, also emphasizing Carlyle’s push to bring young men and women into the auto care space.
“Maddi represents everything we’re working toward with the Carlyle Tools transformation – she’s young, she’s incredibly talented, and she knows her way around an auto shop,” Wooten said. “When we reimagined the Carlyle brand, we had the next generation in mind, and we were looking for someone who could authentically connect with young technicians. Maddi doesn’t just drive the car, she understands the tools and knows what it takes to build something from the ground up. That’s exactly who we want to represent Carlyle. We’re thrilled to welcome Maddi to the NAPA family and can’t wait to watch her legacy unfold.”
After closing out the remainder of the 2025 season with her family, Gordon, who earned her Top Alcohol Funny Car license in 2023, will begin the licensing process to compete in NHRA’s premier class. She has three national event wins and currently sits third in the points standings. Gordon will kick off her NHRA Rookie of the Year campaign aboard the Ron Capps Motorsports Carlyle Tools Top Fuel dragster when the 2026 season gets underway with the NHRA Gatornationals in Gainesville, Fla., March 6-8.
