Fast-talking, faster-driving Maddi Gordon is a potential force for drag racing

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) — It’s an hour after Maddi Gordon lost in the semifinals of the NHRA season opener, and fans are packed five or six deep at her hauler. They’re holding T-shirts, promotional cards and scraps of paper. They have cellphones at the ready and don’t seem to care that dark clouds are rolling in.

Rain and lightning are on the way. So is Maddi Gordon, and she’s even more electric and seemingly worth the risk.

The 21-year-old Top Fuel rookie delighted crowds and dazzled colleagues at the Gatornationals, becoming a fan favorite after just a few passes in the Florida sun. Her passion and excitement shined in the garage, in the cockpit and in interviews. And it was more than youthful exuberance.

It felt like hope.

Gordon could be the jolt the series needs as it tries to replace 16-time Funny Car champion John Force as the face of drag racing. Force formally retired in November, nearly 18 months after sustaining a traumatic brain injury in a terrifying crash in Richmond, Virginia. Force hasn’t raced since, and his youngest daughter also stepped away after last season to start a family.

The opener in Gainesville marked the first NHRA season without a Force on the entry list since 1976 — a nearly 50-year run in which Force, along with his racing daughters, rose to prominence and welcomed the spotlight.

Three-time NASCAR champion Tony Stewart and wife Leah Pruett are racing in the same class as Gordon and provide a season-long storyline. Stewart and Pruett are arguably the most popular drivers in the garage, but they also are seasoned vets focused on their own family and other ventures.

Gordon, meanwhile, is a third generation drag racer who has spent the better part of her life working on dragsters and trying to find ways to go faster.

And she seems poised to take center stage.

“It really is the opportunity of a lifetime,” Gordon told The Associated Press. “I say it changed my life, but it really, really did. Everything in my life is different — except for where I live and my family — and I’m just enjoying the heck out of it.”

Gordon’s high-octane, postrace interviews turned heads during qualifying. But what she did in eliminations really grabbed everyone’s attention.

She upset second-seeded and 2013 Top Fuel champion Shawn Langdon in the opening round and then stunned eight-time champ Tony Schumacher, the No. 7 seed, in the next.

Suddenly, the No. 15 qualifier was in the semifinals — and just about everyone was rooting for her. Pruett gave her a shoutout on TV, and Stewart and others stopped by her dragster for words of encouragement.

Gordon responded to all the adulation by taking a victory lap of sorts when she rode a golf cart past the grandstands after the first victory.

“I have never, ever, ever seen a crowd like that,” she said. “They were standing up, clapping, cheering, and I was just so amazed. It was more than I could ever have imagined. We were really, really happy with the results.”

She has a chance for an encore at the Arizona Nationals beginning Friday. No one would be surprised to see the Californian accomplish more.

Gordon won seven division championships driving a junior dragster. She earned her Top Alcohol Funny Car license at age 19 and spent the last two years driving her family’s entry in a Top Alcohol Funny Car.

Her father, Doug, is a three-time champion in the division. Her grandfather, Mike, raced for seven years. And her sister, Macie, competes in Super Comp and Top Dragster.

Car owner Ron Capps has known the Gordon family for decades but seeing the sisters doing most of the pit-crew work on Doug’s dragster in 2020 caught his eye.

“Doug went out and won the whole race, and these two girls were working on the car,” Capps recalled. “One on the engine, the other on the clutch. That was just so cool to watch. So I’ve kept my eye on Maddi ever since.”

And when Capps started making plans to add a second car at Ron Capps Motorsports, Maddi Gordon was the first — and only — choice. He asked Doug’s permission, and Maddi got the news while riding motorcycles with her family.

“You guys told me this while I’m riding a motorcycle?” she quipped. “I’m going to wreck this thing before I get to live this experience.”

Capps, a three-time champion in the Funny Car class, used his longstanding ties with Napa to land Carlyle Tools as Gordon’s primary sponsor. Monster Energy has since jumped aboard, believing Gordon might be the next big thing in motorsports.

“I told everybody who would listen: ‘You’re going to find out what I already know pretty soon,’” Capps said. “She’s done everything right. I haven't had to say anything more than once as far as advice in the car. And she went out and was perfect.”

Not quite. Gordon lost to defending Top Fuel champion Doug Kalitta in the semifinals. She handled the loss gracefully — another display of her plus personality that drew comparisons to Force’s magnetism.

She eventually emerged from a lengthy debrief with her team to find dozens of fans waiting for her in the rain. Capps even brought over some of his diecast cars for Gordon to sign for the throng. Much like she did on the track, she didn’t disappoint.

From there, she went back to the starting line to watch the finals — where she expects to be soon.

“That’s my favorite place on Earth,” she said. “I just love the racetrack. I love working on cars. I love being around cars. I love being a fan. I just love the racetrack. I would seriously have to try to not be enthusiastic at the track.

“I watch people do interviews after they get out of the car, and they’re all chill and calm, and I’m like, 'Man, I don’t know how they do that.' I could never.”

AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing

NHRA driver Maddi Gordon waits in her dragster as her team gets her Top Fuel entry ready for before an elimination run at the Gatornationals, at Gainesville Raceway in Gainesville, Fla., Sunday, March 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Mark Long)

NHRA driver Maddi Gordon waits in her dragster before an elimination run at the Gatornationals, at Gainesville Raceway in Gainesville, Fla., Sunday, March 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Mark Long)

NHRA driver Maddi Gordon waits in the staging lanes before an elimination run at the Gatornationals, at Gainesville Raceway in Gainesville, Fla., Sunday, March 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Mark Long)

NHRA driver Maddi Gordon jokes with teammates in the staging lanes before an elimination run at the Gatornationals, at Gainesville Raceway in Gainesville, Fla., Sunday, March 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Mark Long)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Comedian Bill Maher was the guest of honor at the Kennedy Center on Sunday night. But President Donald Trump's presence wasn't far away.

Just moments after Maher began to accept the prestigious Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, Matt Friend, a leading impersonator of the president, took to the stage and, in Trump's voice, joked that he would accept the award himself. Trump was the punchline for other comedians and entertainers, including Whitney Cummings, Jay Leno and Woody Harrelson.

The barbs were notable for unfolding in an iconic performing arts venue that has become a metaphor for Trump's second-term effort to remake Washington in his image. But they were also paired with knocks at extremes in both political parties as Maher called out "groupthink.”

“If you hang around long enough and create something important enough, everyone hates you at some point,” Maher said.

Trump didn't attend the ceremony. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick was the most prominent member of the administration in attendance. Other political guests included Paul Dans, who helped shape the Republican Project 2025 agenda. Some Democrats were in attendance, including Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania.

The future of the Kennedy Center hung over the event. Shortly after Trump returned to the White House in January 2025, the Republican president fired much of the center's leadership and installed a board largely composed of allies. It named Trump as chairman and his name was added to the building's iconic facade, prompting a legal battle that became a proxy fight over the extent of the president's power.

Trump later said the Kennedy Center would close in July for a two-year renovation. But U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper upended those plans in May by ruling that Trump's name was illegally added to the building, ordering it removed. The judge also has blocked the closure.

Trump's name has come down from the building, in compliance with the judge's order. But the part of the building once covered with letters spelling the president's name is now shrouded in a tarp. The full closure is on hold. Lawyers for the Kennedy Center have said they are not planning for now to build out programming.

Cooper has asked for an update next month on how long the tarp will remain on the building. For now, the final event scheduled for the Kennedy Center's well-known Concert Hall is “The Freedom Gathering: A Musical Celebration” on July 3.

The legal fight has turned into a saga that at points became fodder for jokes at the Twain gala.

At one point, Harrelson joked “we fixed that" in a nod to the court order calling for Trump's name to be removed from the building.

Ahead of the ceremony, Lutnick said Trump “wants to make this building sensational.”

But others were more skeptical. As he walked the red carpet ahead of the ceremony, Leno said Trump’s moves at the Kennedy Center were both “hilarious” and about “vanity.”

“It's not a war,” he said. “It's not people getting killed. It's not anti Semitism. It's a silly thing covering a name. I mean what's funnier than that? I mean it's just like, you know it's high school with money.”

Friend said he felt there was a “hunger games vibe” as he entered the building.

“It's crazy,” he said of the changes Trump has pushed for.

Given Trump's sway over the Kennedy Center, Maher's selection for the award was notable because the two men have long had a fraught relationship.

Before he entered politics, Trump filed a $5 million lawsuit against Maher in 2013 for breach of contract. Appearing on Leno’s “The Tonight Show,” Maher said he would give $5 million to the charity of Trump’s choice if Trump could prove he was not “the spawn of his mother having sex with an orangutan.”

Trump claimed that when he provided his birth certificate, Maher did not pay up, prompting the lawsuit. Trump ended up dropping it.

The Trump-Maher relationship exploded again earlier this year, when the president claimed on social media that he wasted time sitting down for a meal with the comedian last year.

Maher hosted Vice President JD Vance on his show heading into the weekend. Vance, who is promoting a book, said he watches the show and laughed at Maher's monologue “even though you were making fun of me.” During the interview, Maher pressed Vance on the Iran war, immigration enforcement and election conspiracy theories.

“You guys have two outcomes that an election can be,” Maher told Vance. “Either we win or they cheated. That s—- has to stop.”

The Twain prize ceremony will air on Netflix on July 21.

Associated Press videojournalist John Carucci contributed to this report.

People walk near the tarp covered front entrance of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts before the start of the 27th Annual Mark Twain Prize for American Humor Celebrating Bill Maher, Sunday, June 29, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Kevin Wolf)

From left, Michael Kives, Comedian and political satirist Bill Maher, and Ted Sarandos pose on the red carpet for the 27th Annual Mark Twain Prize for American Humor Celebrating Bill Maher, Sunday, June 29, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Kevin Wolf)

Comedian Jay Leno, right, and Comedian and political satirist Bill Maher pose on the red carpet for the 27th Annual Mark Twain Prize for American Humor Celebrating Bill Maher, Sunday, June 29, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Kevin Wolf)

From left, Louis C.K., Jay Leno, Arianna Huffington, and Stephen A. Smith, wait for the start of the 27th Annual Mark Twain Prize for American Humor Celebrating Bill Maher, Sunday, June 29, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Kevin Wolf)

Comedian and political satirist Bill Maher motions to the audience at the start of the 27th Annual Mark Twain Prize for American Humor Celebrating Bill Maher, Sunday, June 29, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Kevin Wolf)

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts is seen, as its sign remains covered by a tarp, Friday, June 19, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)