Doug Kalitta’s day ended early as an air line came loose on the Mac Tools Toyota in the quarterfinals.
Kalitta started and ended qualifying with strong passes. The Mac Tools driver’s best ended up in the final qualifying session as Kalitta hit the 1,000 foot mark in 3.735 seconds, which moved Kalitta inside the top five qualified Top Fuel dragsters. He would start fifth and draw Scott Palmer in the first round.
Fellow Countdown driver Palmer gave Kalitta the early victory by leaving early on the starting line. However, the Mac Tools Toyota was still strong with a 3.755 second pass, which was better than Palmer’s effort.
In the second round, the Mac Tools team came up against Brittany Force. Unfortunately, an air line came loose, so when Kalitta hit the gas pedal, the Mac Tools machine did not move. Brittany Force struggled down the track, but was able to pick up the round win.
Statistics:
Qualified: No. 5 (3.735 sec., 323.19 mph)
E1: Kalitta defeated Palmer – 3.755 sec., 327.03 mph to Foul
E2: Kalitta defeated by Force – 22.684 sec., 56.97 mph to 4.343 sec., 231.83 mph
Quotable: “Disappointing to lose that way with this Mac Tools Toyota team. However, we still have a shot at it going into Pomona. We will get everything ready and run hard at the World Finals.”
Point Standings: Third; leads Antron Brown by 51 point for fourth, trails Brittany Force by points for second.
Kalitta Motorsports PR/Photo Gary Nastase Photography
