Doug Kalitta Reach NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals Final Round

Doug Kalitta, Mark III Benefits Top Fuel Dragster

Finals Broadcast Replay: 10 p.m.-1 a.m. Wednesday, June 12, 2024 on FS2

Qualifying: Doug Kalitta was the No. 14 qualifier at the Super Grip NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals. Kalitta had his quickest pass of qualifying on Friday night when the Mark III Benefits dragster reached the finish line in 3.937 seconds at 311.77 mph.

Eliminations: Kalitta defeated three-time champion Antron Brown, five-time champion Steve Torrence and two-time champion Brittany Force before finishing runner-up to eight-time champion Tony Schumacher in the finals. In what was a rematch of the New England Nationals finals from just a week ago, Kalitta and Schumacher would pedal their way to the Bristol Dragway finish line. Kalitta would make a 4.890-second run at 150.06 mph to come up short to Schumacher’s 4.236 at 259.41.

It was Kalitta’s third final round appearance of the season, 115th of his career and his first runner-up finish of 2024.

When Kalitta advanced to the semifinals, he earned a spot in the Mission #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge in two weeks in Richmond Virginia. During Saturday’s qualifying sessions in Richmond, the drivers who reached the semifinals in Bristol will re-run the semifinals and final earning additional purse and championship bonus points.

Unofficial Point Standings: Kalitta leaves Bristol in first place in the NHRA Top Fuel point standings. His second-round win pushed him past Justin Ashley

Kalitta on Bristol: “It was great to make it to another final with this Mark III employee benefits dragster. Can’t thank everyone from Mark III enough for stepping up and jumping on board with our program, really wish we could have got the win for them at their first race in the sport. We are going to continue to build and do it again at Richmond, all three of the Kalitta cars are running strong right now and it’s a big testimate to everyone’s hard work.”