Maddi Gordon’s week at Gainesville Raceway ended with a credential she had never before pursued and a speed she had never before reached. A 3.834-second pass at 318.89 mph secured her Top Fuel license during the Professional Racers Organization preseason test session.
The run marked her first trip into the 300-mph range and completed the required signatures from Ron Capps, Shawn Langdon, Clay Millican and Brittany Force. NHRA requires signatures from licensed drivers as a reference for approval, and Gordon’s list included four past world champions.
By Thursday afternoon, the paperwork matched the performance. The newly licensed driver climbed from her Carlyle Tools dragster with the milestone complete.
“Oh my… I’m just so stoked,” Gordon said. “I had confidence we’d get it done, but it’s just so nice to have it done.”
Her attention, even in celebration, shifted immediately to refinement. The time slip did not distract her from the starting line.
“Now we can go out there and I can try to cut a light because I was not trying to cut lights at all,” she said. “I just wanted to make sure I saw yellow when we got a time slip and we could keep it.”
Before the 3.834-second run and the 318-mph breakthrough, there was a first hit that defined the week. Gordon had never driven a Top Fuel dragster before accepting a full-time job in one.
Monday served as a warm-up, but Tuesday delivered her first full pass under power. The buildup tested her composure before she ever rolled into the water box.
“I am kind of speechless, to be honest,” Gordon said after that initial run. “I think Ron and Rob did such a good job of preparing me and, ‘It’s going to be insane, insane, insane.’ So I felt like I was preparing for insane and it was all that they said it was. Gosh.”
About 45 minutes before that first pass, nerves replaced anticipation. The physical reaction caught her off guard.
“I would say about 45 minutes before we ran, I wasn’t sure if I was going to throw up,” she said. “I didn’t know what the heck was happening. Oh my gosh, I was so nervous.”
Once suited, the focus returned. Procedure replaced emotion.
“But as soon as we started suiting up, I was able to focus,” Gordon said. “And man, I’m just so happy to get a run under my belt.”
That first pass was intentionally conservative. Crew chiefs Rob Flynn and Troy Fasching opted to shut the car off at 330 feet.
“I got a lot to learn and we didn’t even get to the best part,” she said. “Everything’s new on this car, so Rob wanted us to go to 330, shut it off for myself, for the car, everything like that.”
The objective centered on execution rather than elapsed time. Bring the car back clean and follow every step.
“So that passed. That’s all we wanted to do anyways, but I haven’t even gotten to the part where it goes fast,” Gordon said. “So we’ll see how that goes.”
Even in the shortened run, details mattered. Gordon listened closely to the feedback from her crew chiefs.
“Rob and Troy said that I did a great burnout. I backed up great. I was smooth and I shut it off on time,” she said. “That’s an accomplishment in itself.”
Midway through the pass, the car moved left. Gordon feared she had overcorrected.
“I was super, super nervous about overdriving it,” she said. “So I was trying to be super careful and then it pushed me left and I thought I overdrove it, so I was super mad at myself.”
The data showed the engine had dropped a cylinder. The movement was mechanical, not driver-induced.
“But they said it actually put a hole out so it wasn’t my overdriving,” Gordon said. “So I was good.”
Her competitive instinct surfaced immediately. Self-critique remains central to her approach.
“I don’t get mad at anybody but myself if I don’t do good,” she said. “Well, I want to do good. I put my heart and soul into it.”
Another adjustment awaited at the finish line. In an Alcohol car, pushing in the clutch after lifting is second nature.
“You know what I was really nervous about was at the top end, you don’t push the clutch in again,” Gordon said. “When you’re rolling, you don’t touch the clutch.”
The habit required a conscious override. She repeated the reminder as the car slowed.
“In the Alcohol car, that’s super natural,” she said. “As soon as you lift off the finish line, you coast and hit the clutch. So subconsciously I’m like, ‘Don’t do that, don’t do that, don’t do that,’ because it’s so natural.”
She did not make that mistake. The checklist remained clean.
“And I didn’t do that, so that’s good,” Gordon said. “So I’m happy. Very happy. Very happy.”
By the time she made the 3.834-second licensing pass, the progression was clear. The speed climbed to 318.89 mph, the fastest she had ever traveled in competition.
“Go 300 miles an hour, I went faster than I’ve ever gone at the eighth mile,” she said. “It is amazing.”
The four signatures completed the formal requirement. The moment, however, carried personal meaning.
“This is just like a machine, and Rob and Troy were really, really stoked with how I drove and my procedures,” Gordon said. “Just the fact that they’re happy with how I’m driving, that makes my day already.”
Two more days of testing remained before the season-opening national event. The newly licensed driver was already looking ahead.
“I can’t wait for the rest of the day and tomorrow,” Gordon said. “We got two more days of testing before the national. It’s going to be a great year.”
The week began with nerves and a 330-foot shutdown pass. It ended with a 3.834 at 318.89 mph and a Top Fuel license secured by four world champions.
For Gordon, the defining line came after the signatures were in place and the helmet was off.
“Oh my… I’m just so stoked.”
