Doug Kalitta and Sonoma Raceway are a pretty good match. The 2023 NHRA Top Fuel champion has five wins in six final rounds at the wine-country track, but in order to get that sixth win this weekend, he’ll need more “crisp” runs. he 2024 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Season resumes July 26-28, 2024 at the Denso NHRA Sonoma Nationals in Sonoma, Calif.
On Sunday in Seattle, Kalitta won his first-round matchup with Billy Torrence when he blistered the Pacific Raceways track with a nearly perfect 3.670-second run at 337.41mph; it was the quickest and fastest run in track history, and Kalitta knew it could be special.
“You can feel the difference when it’s on a run like that,” Kalitta said. “The motor just seems more crisp. You can just kinda tell this thing is ready to have some really good performance with the way it’s idling. On the burnout, you can kinda tell he (Crew Chief Alan Johnson) has the thing spiced up pretty good. Obviously, you need track conditions to be able to have that thing set up like that for it to stick. It’s definitely a fun ride and a hell of an opportunity we have with Alan and (Assistant Crew Chief) Mac Savage and all my guys to be driving that thing when it’s running like it is so it’s pretty cool.”
Just like the 2024 season is for the Michigan Motorsports Hall of Famer. Kalitta has three wins in six final rounds this season. His semifinal showing in Seattle last weekend ended a four-race streak in which he raced in the final round. In fact, either Kalitta or his teammate, Shawn Langdon, raced in every final round of the season so far except one. It appears, as the regular season winds down with three races remaining, this team is only getting stronger.
“That’s the trend we’re hoping for, and the results are showing it,” Kalitta added. “The car’s been going down the track and Alan has a lot of confidence with the tune up and the team so I’m pretty excited with what we have going on right now.”
Sonoma Raceway is a special place for Kalitta not only because he won his first race there in 1998 but also because he has five wins although his last wine-country win came in 2005.
“I won my first race there against Bruce Sarver,” Kalitta said. “That was the only win I got that year so it was a huge deal for me to win that first one at a new place in the wine country and the whole deal, but I have to admit – it’s been a while. It’s been quite a while sort of like Seattle last weekend. It was the same thing so I was really hoping to pull it off there since it’s been a while since we’d won there. Looking forward to getting back to Sonoma. The conditions there are almost always really good. When the sun goes down, it really cools off so it’s one of those places where, with our tune-up and everything we’re doing, I think it’ll be a good track for us.”
Race Information:
Denso NHRA Sonoma Nationals
Sonoma Raceway; Sonoma, Calif.
TV Schedule (All times eastern):
- 2Fast2Tasty Challenge: 6-7 p.m. Saturday, July 27 on FOX
- Qualifying Show: 2-4 p.m. Sunday, July 28 on FS1
- Finals: 4-7 p.m. Sunday, July 28 on FOX
2023 Denso NHRA Sonoma Nationals Recap: Qualified No. 8; lost to Justin Ashley.
Doug Kalitta Career Stats: 598 events, 55 wins, 62 runner-up, 791 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.
Seattle: Qualified No. 4; defeated Billy Torrence and Jasmine Salinas; lost to Steve Torrence.
When the opportunity presents itself, even guys that are happiest driving 330 mph like to slow down, play some golf and taste some wine. The 2024 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Season resumes July 26-28, 2024 at the Denso NHRA Sonoma Nationals in Sonoma, Calif.
Shawn Langdon made the most of his west coast time between races in Seattle, Wash., and Sonoma, Calif. After a runner-up finish near Seattle on Sunday, Langdon, teammate J.R. Todd and Team Kalitta General Manager Chad Head took some time to enjoy the California wine country before it was time to focus on Sonoma Raceway, and for Langdon, it was a welcome respite.
“I was able to do some wine tasting and play some golf between Seattle and Sonoma,” Langdon said. “We always look forward to this time of year. Our schedules are usually so jam-packed. You get in, race and get out again. You show up for an appearance, and then run to the next thing so it’s nice to get to a race city and have time to enjoy the scenery, the cities and enjoy some time with friends and colleagues and just have a couple days off.
“I went to Del Dotto Vineyards and a couple other wineries, and it was great. Del Dotto has a great atmosphere and a great experience. We tried wine that was still in the barrel and learned how the different kinds of wood in the barrel affect the way the wine tastes. It was really cool. Then I was able to plan three days of golf in San Francisco. It was really relaxing, but I might be a little sore by the time qualifying starts Friday night.”
Kidding aside, it was a welcome break for the 2013 Top Fuel champion who’s having an excellent season with two wins in five final rounds and a second-place position in points. After a runner-up finish last weekend, Langdon and the Kalitta Air Careers Toyota team hope to do one better in Sonoma – it would be Langdon’s first win in wine country since his championship season.
“We had a good weekend in Seattle even though it started off a little rough in qualifying. We got a little behind the eight ball but were able to turn it around. We made some good runs on Sunday and made it to the final so all in all, we left second in points and got the Kalitta cars back to one-two in points so it was a good weekend. We feel like both cars are capable of making (track record) runs like Doug made in the first round at Seattle at any time. Both cars have really good capabilities of running well and making runs like that on a regular basis. That would be really nice. We’re looking to win this weekend and feel like we have a car capable of it. The conditions should be pretty good this week; the temperatures look nice for the weekend so we’re excited to go out there and make some good laps.”
Race Information:
Denso NHRA Sonoma Nationals
Sonoma Raceway; Sonoma, Calif.
TV Schedule (All times eastern):
- 2Fast2Tasty Challenge: 6-7 p.m. Saturday, July 27 on FOX
- Qualifying Show: 2-4 p.m. Sunday, July 28 on FS1
- Finals: 4-7 p.m. Sunday, July 28 on FOX
2023 Denso NHRA Sonoma Nationals Recap: Qualified No. 5; defeated Leah Pruett; lost to Josh Hart.
Shawn Langdon Career Stats: 341 events, 19 wins, 24 runner-up, 366 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.
Seattle: Qualified No. 13; defeated Justin Ashley, Josh Hart and Clay Millican; lost to Steve Torrence.
J.R. Todd and his DHL GR Supra team found something they’d lost last weekend in Seattle: consistency. The 2024 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Season resumes July 26-28, 2024 at the Denso NHRA Sonoma Nationals in Sonoma, Calif.
For the first time in quite a while, Todd’s DHL Funny Car went down the race track consistently with four strong runs in qualifying followed by more on race day. It was a welcome development that ended with cylinders dropped in the semifinals, but it was progress for the driver ranked fourth in the Funny Car standings.
“It was definitely a good turn-a-round from where we’ve been this season,” Todd said. “We struggled a little bit keeping the thing running on eight cylinders, and that definitely cost us in the semifinals. All in all, it was a good weekend. It felt good. It’s nice to be able to throw down and make runs when you need to. We just have to fine tune it with it dropping cylinders, and hopefully, we’ll be in good shape the rest of the season. Conditions are gonna be good in Sonoma so we’ll definitely have to run hard there.”
Which is exactly what they did last year when Todd ended a lengthy winless streak with a Sonoma Raceway win followed by the traditional Sonoma winner’s circle glass of wine. It was his fourth wine-country win.
“It was good because we’d struggled for however long and hadn’t had a win so it was nice to reward the guys,” the 2018 Funny Car champion said. “You never know if or when your next win is gonna come so after all the struggles, it was nice to finally get another one. Any win is special. I’ve definitely had success at Sonoma in the past, and it’s definitely my favorite track on the tour so it’s always good to return as the defending winner. We went into that race last year with a little momentum from Seattle like we will this week so hopefully, we can parlay that into another win this weekend.”
Race Information:
Denso NHRA Sonoma Nationals
Sonoma Raceway; Sonoma, Calif.
TV Schedule (All times eastern):
- 2Fast2Tasty Challenge: 6-7 p.m. Saturday, July 27 on FOX
- Qualifying Show: 2-4 p.m. Sunday, July 28 on FS1
- Finals: 4-7 p.m. Sunday, July 28 on FOX
2023 Denso NHRA Sonoma Nationals Recap: Qualified No. 8; defeated Blake Alexander, Bob Tasca, Matt Hagan and Chad Green.
Funny Car Career Stats: 309 events, 21 wins, 26 runner-up, 344 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.
Seattle: Qualified No. 4; defeated Buddy Hull and Bob Tasca; lost to Austin Prock.
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