CAPPS, LANGDON & GLENN ROLL TO WINS AT FMP NHRA ARIZONA NATIONALS
– Capps overcomes huge explosion for FC win
– Langdon gets third straight TF win at FMP
– Glenn gets PS redemption in Phoenix
PHOENIX (March 22, 2026) – Three-time Funny Car world champion Ron Capps recovered from a massive engine explosion in the second round at Firebird Motorsports Park, defeating Spencer Hyde in the final round to earn his 78th career win on Sunday at the 41st annual FMP NHRA Arizona Nationals presented by NGK Spark Plugs.
Shawn Langdon (Top Fuel) and Dallas Glenn (Pro Stock) also won the second of 20 races during the 2026 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season.
In the final round, Capps went 4.124-seconds at 303.24 mph in his 12,000-horsepower NAPA Auto Parts Toyota GR Supra, holding off Hyde to pick up his first victory of the season and fourth overall in Phoenix.
This was an emotional one for the veteran after he suffered a huge engine explosion at the finish line in his second-round win against Daniel Wilkerson. Capps and the team bounced back in impressive fashion to knock off defending event winner Paul Lee with a strong run and advance to the final round.
He left first on Hyde and pulled away at the finish line, picking up one of the more memorable wins in Capps’ stellar career. A year ago, Capps also had a huge explosion and crash in Phoenix, but those two incidents are now a distant memory after Sunday’s incredible finish.
“We knew this was going to be a battle of attrition and dropped cylinders today,” Capps said. “A couple of those runs, there was no way I would imagine that would have got us lane choice, but it did. It was like a bracket car. This win reminded me a lot of first my win in St. Louis [1997] because it was hot and we had 150-degree track temps there and we dropped cylinders all day but still won the race.
“We burned a lot of stuff up. At that time it happened, we weren’t sure the win light was going to be worth it, but it wouldn’t have been worth it had it been a runner up. I have to thank Paul Lee and his team for waiting for us. We went to warm it up [in the pits], and it wouldn’t even fire, so we literally went up there not knowing was going to start. To get that win in the semis and have a blast down the road when it did was pretty cool.”
Hyde, NHRA’s reigning Rookie of the Year and the No. 1 qualifier in Phoenix, reached his third career final round after taking down Blake Alexander, J.R. Todd and Matt Hagan. Gainesville winner Chad Green is the points leader after two races.
Top Fuel’s Shawn Langdon stayed red-hot at Firebird Motorsports Park, winning for the third straight year in Phoenix and knocking off Leah Pruett in the final round with a run of 3.877 at 325.45 in his 12,000-horsepower Kalitta Air dragster. He’s now undefeated in his last 12 rounds at the fan-favorite facility and has found success in a variety of conditions over the years.
On Sunday and all weekend, he did it in extreme heat, as Langdon qualified No. 1 and was remarkably consistent in eliminations, making three runs in the 3.80s. He took down Tony Schumacher and then rookie sensation Maddi Gordon in the semifinals, setting up a marquee matchup with Pruett.
Langdon posted an .079 reaction time and delivered another impressive run, winning for the 23rd time in his career a day after getting his 23rd No. 1 qualifier. It gives the past world champion his first win of the year and plenty of early-season momentum as Langdon looks to stay near or at the top all season long.
“At the beginning of the year, we made some really good runs in testing under some really good conditions. One of the prime focuses for this year on is making good runs when it gets hot out, and being able to have a car that you can gain the small bonus points,” Langdon said. “So that’s been a big focus for the team and Brian [Husen, crew chief], and being able to come out here on some of the hottest conditions that we’ve really ever seen, for him to make the adjustments and the team to make the adjustments, that feels really good.
“That’s the cool thing about being a part of this team: even though you win a race, they’re still looking at the finer details. Brian leads the way and he demands perfection, and the car’s not perfect. We’re going to make it perfect.”
In just her second race since returning to the sport, Pruett reached her 26th career final round with victories against Cam Ferre, Josh Hart and reigning world champion Doug Kalitta, who leaves Phoenix with the points lead.
In Pro Stock, Dallas Glenn more than got redemption for last year’s final round in Phoenix, finishing off a magnificent weekend with a run of 6.627 at 206.39 in his RAD Torque Systems Chevrolet Camaro to hold off Cody Coughlin in the final round. It gives Glenn a clean sweep of the weekend after winning the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge on Saturday and also gives the reigning world champion his first victory of the season.
Last year, Glenn went red in a wild final round against KB Titan Racing teammate Greg Anderson, but there were no issues this time on Sunday. Glenn went .027 on the starting line and led wire-to-wire against Coughlin, collecting his first career win at Firebird Motorsports Park. Glenn, who qualified third, defeated Stephen Bell, Matt Latino and Greg Stanfield to reach the final round.
Glenn, who also took over the points lead, was quickest in each of the final three rounds, rolling to his 22nd career victory and getting his first diamond Wally during NHRA’s 75th anniversary season. He’s already reached 41 final rounds in his young career and even after winning a world title in 2025, Glenn has big plans for this season.
“It feels really good. Last year’s final was very ugly, and it was all caused by a mistake on my part and then a malfunction on Greg’s part. So to come here and do a much better job for the fans feels really great,” Glenn said.
“When we were driving here, I know I definitely screwed up last year and I really want to win Phoenix. I’ve never won here before and I really want to get one of those cool 75th anniversary trophies, so this takes the pressure off for the rest of the season. I definitely feel like I have a lot less pressure on me this year. I feel more relaxed on race day. I’m kind of just going with the flow and definitely not putting as much pressure on myself. I know what I can do, and I just trying to go out there and have fun and click some rounds off.”
Coughlin, who qualified No. 1 in Gainesville, reached his second career final round after defeating Eric Latino, Chris McGaha and Jeg Coughlin Jr.
The NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series returns to action April 9-12 with the Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals at In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip.
***
CHANDLER, Ariz. — Final finish order (1-16) at the FMP NHRA Arizona Nationals presented by NGK Spark Plugs at Firebird Motorsports Park. The race is the second of 20 events in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series.
TOP FUEL:
1. Shawn Langdon; 2. Leah Pruett; 3. Doug Kalitta; 4. Maddi Gordon; 5. Tony Stewart; 6. Billy Torrence; 7. Tony Schumacher; 8. Josh Hart; 9. Will Smith; 10. Shawn Reed; 11. Jaren Mott; 12. Antron Brown; 13. Justin Ashley; 14. Clay Millican; 15. Cameron Ferre.
FUNNY CAR:
1. Ron Capps; 2. Spencer Hyde; 3. Matt Hagan; 4. Paul Lee; 5. Daniel Wilkerson; 6. J.R. Todd; 7. Jordan Vandergriff; 8. Chad Green; 9. Jack Beckman; 10. Cruz Pedregon; 11. Austin Prock; 12. Dave Richards; 13. Blake Alexander; 14. Jason Rupert; 15. Dylan Winefsky; 16. Alexis DeJoria.
PRO STOCK:
1. Dallas Glenn; 2. Cody Coughlin; 3. Greg Stanfield; 4. Jeg Coughlin; 5. Aaron Stanfield; 6. Matt Latino; 7. Chris McGaha; 8. Erica Enders; 9. Greg Anderson; 10. Troy Coughlin Jr.; 11. Deric Kramer; 12. Eric Latino; 13. Matt Hartford; 14. Stephen Bell; 15. Chris Vang; 16. Cody Anderson.
CHANDLER, Ariz. — Sunday’s final results from the FMP NHRA Arizona Nationals presented by NGK Spark Plugs at Firebird Motorsports Park. The race is the second of 20 in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series:
Super Gas — Val Torres Jr., Chevy Camaro, 16.241, 62.66 def. Chris Gabbard, Plymouth Duster, Foul – Red Light.
Top Sportsman — Rob Mendenhall, chevy Camaro, 6.969, 196.73 def. Will Yakimetz, Camaro, 6.864, 172.28.
Top Dragster — Cooper Chun, Dragster, 7.741, 152.21 def. Dylan Hough, Dragster, Foul – Red Light.
Pro Modified — Justin Bond, Chevy Camaro, 5.736, 251.81 def. Steve Jackson, Camaro, Foul – Red Light.
Legacy Nitro Funny Car — Nathan Sitko, Pontiac Firebird, 4.799, 236.71 def. Ryan Horan, Chevy Camaro, Broke.
CHANDLER, Ariz. — Final round-by-round results from the FMP NHRA Arizona Nationals presented by NGK Spark Plugs at Firebird Motorsports Park, the second of 20 events in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series:
TOP FUEL:
ROUND ONE — Tony Stewart, 3.823, 329.99 def. Shawn Reed, 3.932, 316.38; Maddi Gordon, 3.852, 324.98 def. Jaren Mott, 3.962, 281.07; Leah Pruett, 3.827, 327.74 def. Cameron Ferre, 4.670, 178.47; Shawn Langdon, 3.832, 331.04 was unopposed; Doug Kalitta, 3.791, 331.94 def. Will Smith, 3.852, 320.97; Billy Torrence, 3.844, 329.10 def. Antron Brown, 4.109, 250.13; Josh Hart, 4.000, 280.02 def. Justin Ashley, 4.115, 269.03; Tony Schumacher, 4.329, 239.82 def. Clay Millican, 4.595, 170.13;
QUARTERFINALS — C. Coughlin, 6.646, 207.11 def. C. McGaha, 7.779, 143.64; J. Coughlin, 7.962, 183.54 def. Enders, 12.697, 69.50; Glenn, 6.610, 207.59 def. M. Latino, 6.645, 208.39; G. Stanfield, 6.633, 206.54 def. A. Stanfield, 6.642, 207.34;
SEMIFINALS — C. Coughlin, 6.697, 206.10 def. J. Coughlin, 6.728, 206.99; Glenn, 6.646, 205.91 def. G. Stanfield, 6.685, 206.73;
FINAL — Glenn, 6.627, 206.39 def. C. Coughlin, 6.674, 207.30.
CHANDLER, Ariz. — Point standings (top 10) following the FMP NHRA Arizona Nationals presented by NGK Spark Plugs at Firebird Motorsports Park, the second of 20 events in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series –
Top Fuel
1. Doug Kalitta, 176; 2. Josh Hart, 174; 3. Shawn Langdon, 170; 4. Leah Pruett, 158; 5. Maddi Gordon, 152; 6. Tony Stewart, 108; 7. Antron Brown, 107; 8. Tony Schumacher, 101; 9. Billy Torrence, 78; 10. (tie) Justin Ashley, 65 and Shawn Reed, 65.
Funny Car
1. Chad Green, 174; 2. Spencer Hyde, 156; 3. Ron Capps, 151; 4. J.R. Todd, 140; 5. Matt Hagan, 135; 6. Alexis DeJoria, 126; 7. Jordan Vandergriff, 125; 8. Paul Lee, 111; 9. Daniel Wilkerson, 107; 10. Jack Beckman, 64.
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