MADDI GORDON, BRITTANY FORCE Lead NHRA’s Inclusive Racing Culture

September 6, 2026

• MADDI GORDON, 22, won her first Top Fuel national event in just her 10th start after team owner Ron Capps offered her the ride based on years watching her wrench and compete through junior ranks.
• BRITTANY FORCE holds the all-time quickest Top Fuel run at 3.623 seconds, while women have won 200+ NHRA professional events—Gordon became the 100th woman to win a national event in 2024.
• NHRA’s Junior Drag Racing League lets girls start at five in $5,000 half-scale dragsters, building expertise before million-dollar barriers hit—drastically cheaper than NASCAR’s $3M Truck Series or F1’s $11M pathway.
• SHIRLEY MULDOWNEY broke barriers earning her Top Fuel license in 1973 despite NHRA resistance, then won three world championships—her success convinced team owners women can compete at elite levels.
• LEAH PRUETT helped push through NHRA’s 2024 replacement-driver policy for fertility treatment and pregnancy, then returned to rank third in Top Fuel, showing decades of opportunity reshape sport culture.

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