Night Under
Night Under
FIRE
ed rookie Jordan Vandergriff, 2025 NHRA Rookie of the Year Spencer Hyde, two-time world champion Cruz Pedregon, and threetime world champion Ron Capps in Funny Car, as well as rookie sensation Maddi Gordon, Norwalk fan favorite Clay Millican, twotime and reigning NHRA world champion Doug Kalitta, and four-time world champion Antron Brown. With a total of $ 430,000 in prize money on the line for the nitro burners, Gordon won in Top Fuel and Capps won in Funny Car, setting up an all-Ron Capps Motorsports final. The veteran Capps earned the King of Nitro Title, defeating Gordon on a holeshot.
For the first time in event history, the Mountain Motor Pro Stock Shootout powered by Ross Environmental put the popular class in front of a huge crowd with a record $ 100,000 total purse up for grabs. More than 20 drivers attempted to qualify for the 16-car field, and by the time eliminations were over, Alan Drinkwater was the last man standing, collecting a $ 50,000 check.
A 16-car qualified field in Top Sportsman drew from the hot bed of fast bracket racers across Ohio and beyond, including Jerry Albert, Glenn Butcher, Dan Ferguson, Tim Molnar, Jeff Melnick, and more. Ohio’ s own Keith Castle defeated last-minute entrant Ronnie Proctor in the final round.
Night Under Fire included tons of other attractions, from gassers and Top Alcohol
Bracket racers who compete in Norwalk’ s strong weekly points program earned the opportunity to race in shootouts at Night Under Fire.
The pageantry of Night Under Fire extends to the starting line staff, who join Bill Bader Jr. in donning full suits for showtime.
In perhaps the most photographed moment of the event, teammates Maddi Gordon and Ron Capps blast off the line in the Top Fuel vs. Funny Car final round to decide the King( or Queen) of Nitro. A staggered tree gave Capps a head start, which was extended by his holeshot advantage.
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