Doug Kalitta Repping SealMaster this Weekend at Norwalk Nationals

Kalitta Motorsports

Racing the SealMaster Top Fuel dragster with additional support from Applied Innovations, 49-time Top Fuel winner Doug Kalitta will roll into the NHRA Norwalk Nationals with his focus on picking up a second win at the fan-favorite stop. Kalitta has raced to the final round three times in his last nine appearances at the racetrack located an hour outside of Cleveland, Ohio, in Norwalk. This season Kalitta has been working with new crew chiefs Alan Johnson and Brain Husen to establish themselves as championship contenders in a tough class of Top Fuel competitors.

“Having Alan and Brian join the team has been great and we are working together to get our Mac Tools Top Fuel dragster some wins. This weekend we will be running a SealMaster dragster and I am really excited about that. Duke and Rhonda Thorson have been great supporters of Kalitta Motorsports and we definitely want to show off for them this weekend in Norwalk.”

Kalitta’s success at the Norwalk Nationals has not been limited to his final round appearances. For nearly four consecutive years Kalitta grabbed the No. 1 qualifier.  The veteran driver recorded the quickest passes in qualifying in 2013, 2015, 2016 and 2017. In 2015 Kalitta took the win from the No. 1 spot outrunning Tony Schumacher in the final.

“We have been running well at Norwalk for a lot of years,” said Kalitta, who has 51 No. 1 qualifiers in his career. “We grabbed the No. 1 spot in Arizona earlier this season and we have been making quick runs. We are working on turning those good qualifying runs in to win lights. I like our chances this weekend. The track should be really fast.”

Last weekend was a qualifying anomaly for Kalitta when he started the race from the bottom half of the field for the first time in 2022. In his previous eight races his lowest qualifying position was sixth. He has turned his solid qualifying efforts into a semifinal finish and three quarterfinal finishes.

“I feel like we turned a corner a few races ago and Bristol was just a tough track for a lot of the Top Fuel teams,” said Kalitta. “This weekend the conditions should be pretty good and the Baders do a great job prepping their racetrack. The stands will be packed for sure and I am excited to get out there. We will have four qualifying runs so we should get some great data for race day.”

Qualifying will begin on Friday night with two sessions followed by two sessions on Saturday. Kalitta is currently sitting in the Top Ten with aspirations of moving up as the tour heads into summer. Final eliminations will begin at 11 a.m. ET on Sunday.

2021 NHRA Norwalk Nationals Highlights: Qual. No. 11, Lost to Antron Brown

Last Event Recap 2022 Thunder Valley Nationals:  Qual. No. 12, Lost to Brittany Force

Career Stats: 553 events, 546 starts, 728 round wins, 49 wins, 107 finals, 51 No. 1 qualifiers

2022 Results
Winternationals: Qual. 5; Lost to Tony Schumacher
Arizona Nationals: Qual. 1; Lost to Rob Passey
Gatornationals: Qual 5; Beat Alex Laughlin; Lost to Mike Salinas
Las Vegas1: Qual 6; Lost to Leah Pruett and Shawn Langdon
Houston: Qual 3; Lost to Billy Torrence
Charlotte1: Qual 4; Beat Alex Laughlin, Doug Foley; Lost to Mike Salinas, Cameron Ferre
Richmond: Qual 6; Beat Leah Pruett; Lost to Austin Prock
Epping: Qual 4; Beat Cameron Ferre; Lost to Shawn Langdon
Bristol: Qual 12; Lost to Brittany Force

Kalitta Motorsports PR

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