Long before Ron Capps became a Funny Car world champion, he was another Southern California kid pressed against a chain-link fence watching legendary promoter Bill Doner transform drag races into can’t-miss events.
Doner didn’t simply sell tickets. He knew how to build anticipation, command a crowd and leave fans talking about what they had witnessed long after the engines fell silent.
Nearly five decades later, Capps believes that same instinct still exists.
He sees it every summer at Summit Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio, where Bill Bader Jr. has elevated the Cornwell Tools Night Under Fire from a successful exhibition into one of drag racing’s signature events.
“I was lucky to grow up with certain races that have a name anymore, without mentioning anything else about it,” Capps said. “The March Meet is obviously one that I grew up going to. Night Under Fire is something I read about, but being a kid in California, I never… Even when I became a crew guy and close to driving, I’d only read about it.”
By the time Capps became a professional driver, Doner had already stepped away from promoting. He never raced one of Doner’s productions, but after years of competing at Night Under Fire, he recognizes the same qualities that separated Doner from everyone else.
“And of course, Bill’s [Bill Sr.] dad, I never got to go that track,” Capps said. “But you look at the names, certain races are given that kind of status. And so, I’ve been lucky enough to be able to attend two of the greatest ones, with the March Meet and that Night Under Fire.”
Those memories shaped more than his appreciation for drag racing. They taught him why some promoters became legends while others just organized races.
Capps received another education years later from John Force.
Force’s ability to connect with fans made him one of drag racing’s greatest ambassadors, but Capps quickly realized the showmanship disappeared once the body dropped.
“It’s not hard for me,” Capps said when asked about balancing his roles as racer and entertainer. “I learned the first time I showed up there, and I learned from my buddy, Force.”
“I watched what he did with that crowd,” Capps said. “But I also knew that we both hated losing, and while he was obviously great at what he did, being a showman and all that, when we dropped a body, it was like, at the top end of the track, it was all about who won.”
Force also impressed upon him that fans deserved every effort a driver could give, even if victory was no longer possible.
“You got to get this thing to the other end, you got to put a show on,” Capps recalled Force telling him. “If it doesn’t make it, that’s where the importance is for somebody to be able to pedal it, get it down there, and realize you still have to put on a show, even though you may not be out in front of the other car.”
That mindset fits perfectly with Night Under Fire.
Drivers race for a substantial purse, but they also understand they’re part of an event designed to reward every fan who bought a ticket.
The commitment became even more evident when Bader called Capps during the PRI Trade Show with an idea unlike anything drag racing had attempted.
Instead of just inviting eight nitro stars to race for prize money, Bader envisioned four Top Fuel dragsters and four Funny Cars battling within their classes before the two champions faced one another in a winner-take-all final to crown the inaugural King of Nitro.
Capps didn’t need much convincing.
“He threw the idea of the Night Under Fire King of Nitro idea,” Capps said. “Then he had the idea of dragster versus Funny Car. So we talked for a while, and I said, ‘I’m all in, it sounds awesome.'”
The details were still being developed, but Capps understood Bader wasn’t changing the racing as much as he was creating another conversation piece fans would remember.
That conversation later turned toward another driver.
After Maddi Gordon earned her Top Fuel license, Bader called Capps to ask whether the young driver would be ready for one of the sport’s biggest stages.
“He called me and said, ‘Do you think she’s going to be ready? Or could she be ready if we committed to her being one of the four dragsters? Do you think she’ll be experienced enough and ready to do the Night Under Fire and do what you have to do there?'” Capps recalled.
Capps never hesitated.
“And I said, ‘Yep.'”
After Gordon impressed in her professional debut at Gainesville, Bader followed up with another phone call.
“We’d already had that talk,” Capps said. “He just reiterated like, ‘Man, I’m glad I made that…’ He says, ‘It’s going to be great.'”
She believes the event occupies a unique place in the sport.
“In my opinion, Bill Bader is one of, if not the best promoters and he knows how to put on a show,” Gordon said. “So I feel very excited that he wants to include myself and Ron Capps in this once a year race.”
“Our entire team has not stopped talking about Night Under Fire since we left Norwalk a couple weeks ago,” Gordon added. “So this is going to be a great race. I am looking forward to being a performer in this event.”
The inaugural King of Nitro field reflects Bader’s vision.
Funny Car world champion Ron Capps joins Jordan Vandergriff, Spencer Hyde and Cruz Pedregon, while the Top Fuel side features reigning world champion Doug Kalitta, four-time champion Antron Brown, Gordon and veteran Clay Millican. Friday qualifying determines the pairings before Saturday’s eliminations crown class champions, who will then meet head-to-head for the King of Nitro title.
“The Funny Car line-up is a Who’s Who of tough drivers,” Hyde said. “You have two world champions and the newest Funny Car driver from John Force Racing. Anyone one of us could win this deal.”
Brown welcomes a format unlike anything on the NHRA schedule.
“I’m excited to be part of the Night Under Fire,” Brown said. “I can’t wait to be part of this new format of racing and have the chance to line up against a Funny Car. It’s going to be a lot of fun for the fans, and we’re looking forward to putting on a great show.”
Kalitta, fresh off sweeping the NHRA Western Swing, knows exactly why the event stands apart.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve been there,” Kalitta said. “You hear about it every year, and to be part of it this year, I’m pretty excited. It’ll be fun; it’s been going on for almost 50 years, and Bill Bader (Jr.) does a hell of a job.”
Jordan Vandergriff, like Gordon, will experience Night Under Fire for the first time, but its reputation reached him long before the invitation.
“I have never attended the Cornwell Tools Night Under Fire but, from everything I’ve heard, it’s quite the spectacle,” Vandergriff said. “It’s the show that everybody wants to see. The Bader family packs the house, has an unbelievable fireworks show, and does a fantastic job with everything else.”
Nearly 50 years after Bill Doner taught the sport that promotion could be as memorable as competition, Ron Capps believes Bill Bader Jr. is carrying that tradition forward.
“I’ve been lucky enough to be able to attend two of the greatest ones,” Capps said. “With the March Meet and that Night Under Fire.”
