Doug Kalitta and the Mac Tools Toyota Top Fuel team will be heading to the NHRA Northwest Nationals after a two year hiatus looking to build on their Sonoma Nationals momentum. The perennial championship contender qualified No. 2 and raced to the semifinals at a track he has dominated throughout his career. Kalitta has had good luck at Pacific Raceway racing to four final rounds and picking up a Top Fuel title in 2014. A second win at the track located outside of Seattle, Washington, would take his career total to an impressive 50 Top Fuel titles and solidify his position in the Top Fuel top ten.
“I am looking forward to getting to Seattle,” said Kalitta. “We ran really well in Sonoma and I think we can build on that this weekend. It will be hot, but I know (crew chiefs) Alan (Johnson) and Brian (Husen) will have this Mac Tools dragster tuned up.”
Kalitta and his Mac Tools team made a major overhaul in the off-season bringing on veteran and world champion crew chiefs Johnson and Husen to an already strong team. The new crew chief additions have built up success over the season and as the regular season ends, Countdown success looms in the future. The Mac Tools team has been one of the quickest race cars in qualifying only heading into race day on the outside of the top eight on one occasion. They scored a No. 1 qualifier, the 51st of Kalitta’s storied career, at the Arizona Nationals and they have tallied seven top five starts this season.
“Our Mac Tools Toyota dragster has been great in qualifying throughout the season for sure,” said Kalitta. “We have a great dragster and we just need a couple things to go our way on race day. This team has been busting their butts all season and I know race wins are right around the corner. We haven’t raced at Seattle in a while, so I am excited to get back to that track.”
The last time the NHRA raced at Pacific Raceway was 2019 and Kalitta qualified No.8 before racing to the quarterfinals. This season Kalitta will be looking to race deeper into the race day on Sunday. The veteran driver will be looking to take advantage of his Sonoma National momentum of a semifinal finish to cap off the Western Swing.
Kalitta is sitting in ninth place in the Top Fuel point standings with four races remaining in the regular season. He is just four points out of eight place and three rounds from sixth. A strong weekend in Seattle could easily propel Kalitta into the middle of the top ten with three races remaining and the U.S. Nationals scoring points and a half.
“We are shooting to move up in the points every race for the rest of the season,” said Kalitta. “Once those points reset after Indy you are racing for the championship and anything can happen. This season is a marathon not a sprint and I think this Mac Tools team is hitting its stride at the perfect time.”
Qualifying for the Northwest Nationals will begin Friday with one session followed by two qualifying sessions on Saturday. Final eliminations will begin at 10:30 a.m. PT on Sunday morning.
2019 NHRA Northwest Nationals Highlights: Qual. No. 8, Beat Scott Palmer; Lost to Mike Salinas
Last Event Recap 2022 Sonoma Nationals: Qual. 2; Beat Ron August, Josh Hart; Lost to Mike Salinas
Career Stats: 556 events, 549 starts, 731 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
Norwalk: Qual. No. 6; Beat Antron Brown; Lost to Mike Salinas
Denver: Qual. No. 8; Lost to Josh Hart
Sonoma: Qual. 2; Beat Ron August, Josh Hart; Lost to Mike Salinas
Kalitta Motorsports PR
