Gordon is a third-generation racer who became the 100th female to win an NHRA national event in 2024.
She was selected by three-time national Funny Car champion Ron Capps to drive for his Top Fuel team.
It’s probably not a coincidence that Maddi Gordon, a 21-year-old rookie driver in the NHRA’s Top Fuel dragster series, doesn’t do anything slow on purpose.
She had to think about it for a moment, but said it’s true.
“It’s actually funny you bring that up,” Gordon, a native of Paso Robles, California, told The Arizona Republic ahead of advancing to the semifinal round before finishing fourth in her Top Fuel debut in the 2026 Gatornationals March 5-8 at Gainesville (Florida) Raceway. “I walk fast. I hate walking slow. When I get behind someone who’s walking slow, I get irritated because I feel like I’m losing time.
“So yeah, I walk fast. I eat really fast. I probably talk fast. It’s so funny. I don’t do anything slow. I definitely don’t do it slow on purpose. Oh, my gosh. I never thought about that before.”
When you’re born into a racing family, the need for speed becomes second nature. That’s what happened with Gordon, who attended her first drag race when she was just eight days old, began racing as an 8-year-old, and in 2024 became the first third-generation Top Alcohol Funny Car driver in NHRA history and the 100th female racer to win an NHRA national event in the organization’s 75-year history.
“It’s just a lifestyle,” said Gordon, who picked up Monster Energy as another top sponsor at the Gatornationals. “I wake up every day, and I think about drag racing. I wake up every day, and I don’t just think about driving, but the mechanics, ‘How can we make the car faster, how can I be a better driver, how can I be better for our sponsors?’
“It’s a lifestyle. As much as I love driving, I love everything about the sport. I love the fans. I love the camaraderie. I love our teammates, I love working on the cars. … There’s just so much to learn, and honestly, I just love learning. It’s a never-ending path of things to learn.”
Maddi Gordon landing at Arizona Nationals
Soon, Gordon will be in the Valley for the NHRA’s Arizona Nationals on March 20-22 at Firebird Motorsports Park in Chandler, where she plans to rocket her 12,000-horsepower, nitromethane-burning Carlyle Tools dragster to a speed of 330 mph in fewer than four seconds.
Firebird is no stranger to Gordon. She raced junior dragsters and other event classes here as a young teenager and won on the Alcohol Funny Car circuit each of the past two years at the Chandler drag strip.
“Firebird’s been really good to me and my family over the years,