In a classic battle between two of the sport’s heavyweights, Doug Kalitta came up .011 of a second short against eight-time world champion Tony Schumacher in the first round of the 33rd Menard’s NHRA Nationals today at Heartland Motorsports Park in Topeka, Kansas.
The result denied the veteran driver of the Mac Tools/Toyota a chance to take a specialty design KalittaAir.com/careers dragster to the winners’ circle in a race in which he had won two times previously and in which cousin Scott won a record six times for Kalitta Motorsports.
“We had a really cool-looking race car this weekend promoting KalittaAir.com/careers,” Kalitta said. “I wish we could have put it in the winners’ circle. The guys gave me a really good car and we made a good run. It just didn’t go our way today.”
The 49-time tour winner enters this week’s Brainerd Nationals at Brainerd, MN, in eighth place in Camping World points with just two events in which to improve his standing and his starting position in the Countdown to the Championship.
Statistics:
Qualified: No. 5 (3.795 sec, 318.69 mph)
Bonus points: 1 for third quickest time in Q2, 3.871 seconds, 315.34 mph.
Race Details:
First Round
Qual Driver RT ET MPH
5 Doug Kalitta .059 3.779 316.23
12 Tony Schumacher .043 3.774 320.81 (W)
Kalitta Motorsports PR
