YPSILANTI, Mich. (July 16, 2024) – Doug Kalitta and his Mac Tools Toyota team have an impressive streak underway, and they want nothing more than to keep it going. The 2024 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Season resumes July 19-21, 2024 at the NHRA Northwest Nationals in Kent, Wash.
In the last four races, Kalitta has two wins in four final rounds, and on the strength of that recent streak, the reigning Top Fuel champion is back where he was when the 2023 season ended: atop the point standings.
“The guys are all working away – staying with everything that needs to happen to keep what they’re doing going,” Kalitta said. “We did a little testing in the off week so we’re staying active with what we’re doing and trying to stay in the groove with what we need to do.”
One year ago, Kalitta entered this event mired in ninth place in the NHRA Top Fuel point standings. He was enduring a long winless streak and was in search of his 50th-career win – as he had been for multiple seasons. He would get that 50th win in Reading, Pa., last September and go on to win the 2023 NHRA Top Fuel title on the strength of three wins in the six Countdown to the Championship NHRA Playoff races. Fast forward to today, and Kalitta has three wins in six final rounds in the first 10 races of the season.
“It’s definitely a hell of a team effort after everything we’ve gone through to get where we are now,” Kalitta added. “Obviously, our leader, (Crew Chief) Alan Johnson, has been in this position a number of times with different drivers over the years, and it’s cool to see it happen on my car. It’s pretty cool, really, but again, he leads the charge, and all these guys are working on this Mac Tools car making sure it’s put together correctly, consistently; it’s one of those things that takes everybody to make it happen. It’s been fun going rounds and collecting these points trying to get to the end of the regular season. Running really, really well after Indy (U.S. Nationals, final race of the regular season) is definitely our goal to put ourselves in position to have a shot at winning another one of these things. You have to stay in your routine and don’t overthink it. That’s what I’m trying to do.”
New at Pacific Raceways this weekend is a schedule change on Friday to accommodate for the sun shining directly in the drivers’ eyes on the race track that’s oriented east-to-west. Because of the sun, Friday-night qualifying has never been an option at Pacific Raceways, but this year, the track will have a long break between the first and second qualifying sessions. After the first session at 4:15, the schedule takes a nearly five-hour break to allow the sun to set. After a concert, nitro qualifying will resume at 9:15 under the lights.
“It sounds like a really long day because we typically fly in from Detroit that morning, but actually, to be able to run at night at any of these tracks is worth the wait; it’ll be good,” Kalitta said. “They’re doing a heck of a job at that facility. Pacific Raceways is one of the smaller places we go, but with the sweat equity that goes into that place, you can just tell it’s a special place for the people who own it and their fans. They’re definitely working to improve it every year. It’s tough racing towards the sunset so it’s good they’re going to wait it out this year.”
Race Information:
NHRA Northwest Nationals
Pacific Raceways; Kent, Wash.
TV Schedule (All times eastern):
- Qualifying Show 1: 10:30 p.m.-Midnight Friday, July 19 on FS1
- Qualifying Show 2: 1-3 p.m. Sunday, July 21 on FS1
- Finals: 4-7 p.m. Sunday, July 21 on FOX
2023 NHRA Northwest Nationals Recap: Qualified No. 2; lost to defeated Ron Smith, had a second-round bye and defeated Clay Millican before losing to Steve Torrence in the final round.
Doug Kalitta Career Stats: 597 events, 55 wins, 62 runner-up, 789 round wins, 57 No. 1 qualifiers.
2024 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series Results To Date (wins in italics):
Gatornationals: Qualified No. 7; defeated Clay Millican; lost to Steve Torrence.
Pomona: Qualified No. 6; defeated Jasmine Salinas; lost to Billy Torrence.
Phoenix: Qualified No. 3; defeated Terry Totten; lost to Justin Ashley.
Las Vegas 4W: Qualified No. 1; defeated Shawn Langdon in the first round, Brittany Force and Josh Hart in the semifinals followed by Justin Ashley, Steve Torrence and Tony Stewart in the final round.
Charlotte 4W: Qualified No. 1; defeated Shawn Reed and Cody Krohn in the first round, Billy Torrence and Jasmine Salinas in the semifinals before beating Antron Brown but losing to Justin Ashley and Clay Millican in the final round.
Chicago: Qualified No. 3; lost to Justin Ashley.
Epping: Qualified No. 1; defeated Scott Farley, Tony Stewart, Shawn Langdon and Tony Schumacher.
Bristol: Qualified No. 14; defeated Antron Brown, Steve Torrence, Brittany Force; lost to Tony Schumacher.
Richmond: Qualified No. 2: after first-round bye, defeated Josh Hart, Tony Stewart and Shawn Langdon.
Norwalk: Qualified No. 1; defeated Kyle Wurtzel, Billy Torrence and Steve Torrence; lost to Antron Brown.
LANGDON WANTS WINNER’S CIRCLE RETURN
AT SITE OF FIRST NATIONAL-EVENT WIN
YPSILANTI, Mich. (July 16, 2024) – When it’s been a while since the last victory, sometimes, returning to the place of a career milestone can be the missing piece of the winner’s circle puzzle. The 2024 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Season resumes July 19-21, 2024 at the NHRA Northwest Nationals in Kent, Wash.
Shawn Langdon won his first-career national event at Pacific Raceways in 2002. That Super Comp national event win was the first of many for the Mira Loma, Calif., native, he also has three runner-up finishes in Seattle – two in Top Fuel and one in Super Gas. The 2013 Top Fuel champion last won in Phoenix seven races ago. That said, Langdon finished the first half of the season third in points with two wins in four final rounds.
“I’m looking forward to getting to Seattle and making some good runs so we can start the Western swing on the right foot,” Langdon said. “The first half of the season was really good for our team, but we tested last week to learn some things we can apply to the car to make it run better in the next couple of races, and I think we were able to achieve that. We just want our Kalitta Air Careers car to run quicker and faster.”
Two of Langdon’s four final-round appearances came in the last month, and he earned his first No. 1 qualifier of the season at Richmond two races ago. While each race increases in importance as the regular season winds down, the Kalitta Air Careers Toyota team will stick with its routine and strive for consistently-strong runs in the last four races of the regular season.
“Seattle is another race, and we’ll address it the same way we addressed the first 10 races of the season,” Langdon said. “Our job is to put in the work during the week, prepare ourselves as well we can and let the results take care of the rest. We just want to do the best job we can possibly do to prepare ourselves for this next race. Brian (Husen) continues to do a great job in his first season as a crew chief. We’ve done well in qualifying and run well on race day. We’re still progressing as a team, and he’s still learning as a crew chief, but overall, we’re in the championship hunt so it’s good.”
Race Information:
NHRA Northwest Nationals
Pacific Raceways; Kent, Wash.
TV Schedule (All times eastern):
- Qualifying Show 1: 10:30 p.m.-Midnight Friday, July 19 on FS1
- Qualifying Show 2: 1-3 p.m. Sunday, July 21 on FS1
- Finals: 4-7 p.m. Sunday, July 21 on FOX
2023 NHRA Northwest Nationals Recap: Qualified No. 8; defeated Antron Brown and Mike Salinas before losing to Steve Torrence in the semifinals.
Shawn Langdon Career Stats: 340 events, 19 wins, 23 runner-up, 363 round wins, 21 No. 1 qualifiers.
2024 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series Results To Date (wins in italics):
Gainesville: Qualified No. 1; defeated Cody Krohn, Justin Ashley, Antron Brown and Billy Torrence.
Pomona: Qualified No. 7; defeated Krista Baldwin; lost to Tony Schumacher.
Phoenix: Qualified No. 5; defeated Josh Hart, Antron Brown, Steve Torrence and Justin Ashley.
Las Vegas 4W: Qualified No. 8; lost to Doug Kalitta and Steve Torrence in the first round.
Charlotte 4W: Qualified No. 7; lost to Antron Brown and Brittany Force in the first round.
Chicago: Qualified No. 4; defeated Cody Krohn, Shawn Reed and Dan Mercier before losing to Antron Brown.
Epping: Qualified No. 4; defeated Shawn Reed and Billy Torrence before losing to Doug Kalitta.
Bristol: Qualified No. 4; defeated Shawn Reed; lost to Tony Schumacher.
Richmond: Qualified No. 1; defeated Lex Joon, Steve Torrence & Antron Brown before losing to Doug Kalitta.
Norwalk: Qualified No. 6; lost to Clay Millican.
TODD, DHL TEAM READY TO RETURN TO “LATER ROUNDS”
YPSILANTI, Mich. (July 16, 2024) – J.R. Todd and his DHL GR Supra team know that racing in the later rounds on Sunday is the key to drag racing success – now they want to get back to them. The 2024 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Season resumes July 19-21, 2024 at the NHRA Northwest Nationals in Kent, Wash.
At seven of the 10 races this season, Todd reached at least the semifinals including a win at the season-opening race and final-round appearances at Charlotte and Bristol, Tenn. All three of the races at which he did not reach the semifinals were in the last five events including each of the last two. That said, the team qualified No. 2 in Norwalk, Ohio one race ago so the issue, as it has been for some time, is something for which all teams strive: consistency.
The DHL team raced in the Mission Foods Challenge seven times this season winning the Saturday event in both Phoenix and Chicago. It’s a good barometer of success if one’s goal is racing in the later rounds. That’s something Todd and team did well on the western swing last season. The 2018 Funny Car champion advanced to the final round in Seattle, his second Seattle final round in as many seasons, won the Mission Foods Challenge in Sonoma the next week and then won the Sonoma race the next day. Warm race tracks are generally good for the DHL GR Supra team, and each of the next two races on this year’s western swing should fall into that category.
“When it gets hot and tricky, that’s where this DHL Toyota team generally runs well,” Todd said. “I expect it to be warm in Seattle like it usually is, and that’s usually the kind of conditions when we run well so I’m looking forward to getting there.
“We’re getting to the point now where it’s getting later in the year, and you have to start looking towards Indy and the Countdown when points matter. We’re fifth in points, but we need to get back to making semifinals and finals on a regular basis to make sure we don’t slide back. You definitely want to put some space between yourself and the guys behind you, but you also don’t want to let the guys in front of you get too far away. We’re going to Seattle where we’ve had some success so hopefully, we can take those notes, get some consistency and leave there with a trophy.”
Race Information:
NHRA Northwest Nationals
Pacific Raceways; Kent, Wash.
TV Schedule (All times eastern):
- Qualifying Show 1: 10:30 p.m.-Midnight Friday, July 19 on FS1
- Qualifying Show 2: 1-3 p.m. Sunday, July 21 on FS1
- Finals: 4-7 p.m. Sunday, July 21 on FOX
2023 NHRA Nationals Recap: Qualified No. 5; defeated Alex Laughlin, Cruz Pedregon and Chad Green before losing to Tim Wilkerson in the final round.
Funny Car Career Stats: 308 events, 21 wins, 26 runner-up, 342 round wins, 14 No. 1 qualifiers.
2024 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series Results To Date (wins in italics):
Gainesville: Qualified No. 6; defeated Blake Alexander, Ron Capps, Bob Tasca and Austin Prock.
Pomona: Qualified No. 11; defeated Cruz Pedregon and Paul Lee; lost to Matt Hagan.
Phoenix: Qualified No. 5; defeated Cruz Pedregon and John Force before losing to Austin Prock.
Las Vegas 4W: Qualified No. 3; defeated D. Wilkerson, D. Richards before losing to M. Hagan and R. Capps
Charlotte 4W: Qualified No. 12; defeated Ron Capps and Buddy Hull in the first round, Cruz Pedregon and John Force in the semifinals before beating John Force but losing to Matt Hagan and Daniel Wilkerson in the final round.
Chicago: Qualified No. 12; lost to Alexis DeJoria.
Epping: Qualified No. 3; defeated Dave Richards and Bob Tasca before losing to John Force.
Bristol: Qualified No. 11; defeated Terry Haddock, Ron Capps, John Force; lost to Austin Prock.
Richmond: Qualified No. 7; lost to Matt Hagan.
Norwalk: Qualified No. 2; defeated Chris King; lost to Ron Capps.
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