Competition for Rookie of the Year is always fierce — this year’s competitors prove to be no exception.
One of the highlights of every NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season is choosing its Rookie of the Year award. This job is relegated to media members working NHRA competition; we’re given choices and we decide, based on on- and off-track efforts by the candidates. They not only have to race well, each candidate needs to have a little something extra in their tanks that makes them a stand-out option.
There are four 2026 candidates for NHRA’s professional series. In alphabetical order, they are Pro Stock’s Cody Anderson, Top Fuel initiate Maddi Gordon, Pro Stock Motorcycle’s Clayton Howey and Top Fuel racer Will Smith. There could be a fifth candidate, should Funny Car racer Dylan Winefsky compete in his fifth race of the 20-contest season on The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. All candidates must compete in at least five events; Winefsky has attempted to race in four races thus far in the overall campaign and competed in two.
Cody Anderson has been wrenching on the KB Titan Racing team for several years and made the transition to taking the wheel, starting with the season opener, the 57th Amalie Motor Oil Gatornationals in Gainesville, Florida. He earned his first runner-up result at Rockingham Dragway, as well as the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge at The Big Go, the 72nd Cornwell Quality Tools U.S. Nationals (as his father, six-time Pro Stock champ Greg Anderson took that specialty contest’s season-long title at the same race). Entered in NHRA’s vaunted Countdown to the Championship six-race playoffs, Cody Anderson currently owns sixth place in points with three races remaining in the sport’s 75th anniversary season.
Maddi Gordon, too, grew up in the sport with her family’s Top Alcohol Funny Car team. Last year she was announced as teammate to team owner Ron Capps, driving a Top Fuel dragster. At the time, she still didn’t have her dragster license, but earned it quickly and without drama. She debuted at Gainesville and earned back-to-back semifinal results in her first two races, at Gainesville and Phoenix. The manner in which she experienced these highs endeared the driver to fans and competitors alike. Her joy at her accomplishments and ability to swallow the hard times has made her a fan favorite. Gordon won the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals in Norwalk (OH) in late June, beating four-time Top Fuel champ Antron Brown in the process, as Capps earned the Funny Car nod at Norwalk, giing his team their first double-up. Easily eligible for the Countdown to the Championship, she was runner-up to reigning world champ Doug Kalitta at Brainerd and set a career-best speed of 340.65 mph last weekend in St. Louis during the NAPA Auto Parts NHRA Midwest Nationals. She’s currently eighth in points.
Clayton Howey has proved he can ride anything with two wheels. It doesn’t matter if he mounts a Buell or Suzuki in NHRA’s Pro Stock Motorcycle class; Howey can ride. He earned a semifinal result in his first PSM outing in Gainesville and advanced to the semifinals in both Charlotte and Maryland. Howey has competed in eight races this season, including a career-best fifth place result in Maryland. Currently riding with Flyin’ Ryan Racing, on a Buell, Howey is ninth in the points tally with three races remaining.
Will Smith got the nod to be Justin Ashley’s teammate at SCAG Racing this year after a few outings last season and after being a two-time regional event winner in Top Alcohol Dragster. Smith has spent much of this season working towards the front of the pack. Driving the Bluebird Turf dragster, Smith earned his first career runner-up result in St. Louis, moving him – as part of the Countdown playoffs – to fifth in the points standings. Smith has also advanced to the semifinals in Rockingham and earned kudos for his quick draw on the tree, much like his teammate, who’s also known for being a great leaver.
Dylan Winefsky has entered four races during NHRA’s diamond 75th anniversary season and has raced in two of them – qualifying in both Phoenix and at Pomona, two early-season events in this 20-race campaign. The second generation drag racer, who learned early in his father’s altered machine and still drives it competitively, intends to compete in this year’s penultimate race, the MOPAR NHRA Las Vegas Nationals powered by Dodge on Halloween weekend, which will, scarily, qualify the driver for Rookie of the Year eligibility.
Last year, Jim Head Racing’s Canadian standout Spencer Hyde was the choice for 2025 Rookie of the Year following his first season driving for the standout tuner in Funny Car. Other recent winners of this valuable award include racing legend and Top Fuel racer Tony Stewart, Top Fuel’s Justin Ashley, Pro Stock Motorcycle racer Chase Van Sant and two reigning world champions, Dallas Glenn in Pro Stock and Funny Car’s Austin Prock.
NHRA’s Rookie of the Year award looks to more than on-track achievements and enunciates the future of the sport. The voting system for Rookie of the Year embraces the following criteria: number of events competed in, performance on the track and away from the racing scene, participation in NHRA’s variety of promotional activities and each competitor’s relationships with fans, sponsors and media.
The winner will be revealed on Monday, November 16 during NHRA’s annual Awards Ceremony – also known as The Prom – at Pechanga Resort Casino in Temecula, California.
Maddi Gordon has set the sport pointing forward. An absolute adorable young woman, with the charisma to bring any NHRA event to a sellout. I was lucky enough for her to sign a Monster Energy T Shirt in Epping. Now Framed on my wall. Bless You , Ron Capps for bringing such a talent to the NHRA !