Doug Kalitta and the Mac Tools Top Fuel dragster team were racing for their fourth national event win at one of the most historic and picturesque NHRA tracks on the tour. Through two days of qualifying at Bristol Dragway Kalitta was able to make the 16-car field but uncharacteristically the perennial championship contender was starting his race day from the bottom half of the field as the No. 12 qualifier. His quickest run of qualifying was a 3.877 second pass at 321.12 mph.
The veteran driver faced a tough first round opponent in points leader Brittany Force, the No. 5 qualifier. Kalitta took a huge starting line advantage with a solid .057 second reaction time and was pulling away when his Goodyear slicks lost traction as he passed half-track. The veteran driver attempted to regain his momentum, but Force was on a smooth pass in the right lane and advanced to the quarterfinals.
“This Mac Tools Toyota team is battling out here every weekend,” said Kalitta. “We are getting some good data and we are making good runs. This was a tricky track and we will take the positives from this weekend and head to Norwalk in a couple days. It was cool to race on Father’s Day again here in Bristol.”
In just five days the Mac Tools team will unload in Norwalk, Ohio and begin to chase their second Top Fuel win at the racetrack located just outside of Cleveland.
Statistics:
Qualified: No. 12 (3.877 sec., 321.12 mph)
Bonus points: 0
Race Details:
First Round
Qual Driver RT ET MPH
12 Doug Kalitta .057 4.065 282.60
5 Brittany Force .094 3.844 312.42 (W)
Kalitta Motorsports PR
