Doug Kalitta Wins U.S. Nationals

JR Todd Monday

Doug Kalitta Wins U.S. Nationals

Doug Kalitta and the Mac Tools Top Fuel dragster turned on the most notable win light of the veteran driver’s career today when the four-time Indy finalist became a first-time winner at the NHRA U.S. Nationals. Kalitta, the No. 8 qualifier, defeated some of the toughest young and veteran drivers competing in the Mello Yello Drag Racing Series. The win was the 46th in Kalitta’s Hall of Fame worthy career. The race today was also Kalitta’s 500th to start and the victory marked the 25th anniversary of team owner Connie Kalitta’s last Top Fuel victory at the U.S. Nationals.
 
“I just can’t say enough about everyone that’s been working on my Mac Tools Toyota. They were busting their butts – and (team owner) Connie (Kalitta) was right there with them,” said Kalitta. “Having him in our corner is awesome. What a day. It feels great to win a big race that Connie won. The track conditions were incredible this weekend. The Safety Safari team busted their butts out there. The fans here are awesome. It hasn’t settled in that I won the U.S. Nationals.”
 
In the first round of his 22nd U.S. Nationals Kalitta took the win over fellow Countdown contender and veteran driver Clay Millican. It was Kalitta’s right foot that sealed the victory with a stellar reaction time that got the win when both dragsters lit up the scoreboard with identical 3.721 second elapsed times.
 
“I’m a real persistent guy, so I never give up. It does make you wonder. When we got by Clay I was thinking this is going to be a good opportunity and I’m just glad we were able to take advantage of it,” said Kalitta. “These guys out here are all so good. You have to be right on your game every time and I’m not getting any younger, so you have to work a little harder at it. It worked out well just getting by Clay because those guys are always tough.”
 
The No. 1 qualifier was the next opponent for the Mac Tools team and again it was Kalitta getting a win with a solid 3.757 second elapsed time. This was the second race in a row for Kalitta to advance to the semifinals and he would face rookie Austin Prock with a fourth U.S. Nationals final round appearance on the line. The semifinal was Kalitta’s easiest round of the day as Prock went into immediate tire smoke and Kalitta cruised to victory and his 98th career final round.
 
“I just try to stay patient and make sure I go when that light comes on. We try not to worry about who’s in the other lane, but Brittany’s car has been on a rail. She qualified first, so we knew we had a tough run there and it was a close race,” added Kalitta.
 
For the second year in a row it was Kalitta and the Mac Tools dragster hoping to make history with their first U.S. Nationals win. In a dramatic final round for the ages Kalitta and Billy Torrence launched together with Kalitta holding a slight starting line advantage. As both dragsters barreled down the track they were neck and neck before both race cars hazed the tires and lost power just before the finish line. It was Kalitta who had the edge and momentum to get to the stripe for the win, his second of the season and first at the most prestigious drag race in the world.
 
“We came out of the semifinals and had to stop to do a quick interview with FOX and I got back just in time to warm up my car,” said Kalitta. “I was glad I was able to be the one to warm up my car because I didn’t want to change up anything the way our day was going. It was kind of ugly in the final. At 800 feet, it seemed like my car was just coasting with no power. I thought it was over, but the win light came on.”
 
Kalitta’s strong performance today also locked him into the No. 2 position in the Top Fuel points and as the regular season moves into the six race playoff the veteran driver will only be 20 points out of the Top Fuel lead with six races remaining in the season.
 
Quotable: 
Doug Kalitta on heading to the Countdown: “Obviously, my guys are going to have plenty of skip in our step heading into the Countdown – including me. We just have to keep our head down and go rounds and try to prevail. It’s going to be a lot of fun and I can’t wait to get to the next race and get this going. It’s going to be another great opportunity.”
 
Statistics:
Qualified: No. 8 (3.706 sec., 332.75 mph) 
Bonus points: +1 (4th quickest of Q4)

Race Details: 

First Round
Driver                                  Qual          R/T         ET           MPH 
Doug Kalitta                       8              .060        3.721     330.07 (W)          
Clay Millican                        9              .063        3.721     324.59
 
Second Round
Driver                                   Qual         R/T         ET           MPH 
Doug Kalitta                       8              .046        3.757     327.98 (W)
Brittany Force                      1              .058        3.761     322.19  
 
Semifinals Round
Driver                                  Qual         R/T         ET           MPH 
Doug Kalitta                       8              .058        3.766     328.22 (W)
Austin Prock                       12             .053        8.991     80.92
 
Final Round
Driver                                  Qual         R/T         ET           MPH 
Doug Kalitta                       8              .058        4.144     212.43 (W)
Billy Torrence                      2               .062        4.220     206.01

JR Todd Monday

J.R. Todd and DHL Toyota Race to Semifinals at U.S. Nationals

The defending and two-time NHRA U.S. Nationals champion J.R. Todd was racing for history at Lucas Oil Raceway in Indianapolis today. No Funny Car driver had ever won three U.S. Nationals in a row and Todd was eager to add his name to the record books. The reigning Funny Car champion rolled through qualifying picking up three bonus points and starting from the No. 5 spot in the quickest Funny Car field in NHRA history.
 
In the first round he faced two-time world champion Cruz Pedregon. The DHL Toyota Camry was not taking the Funny Car in the other lane lightly posting a 3.918 second elapsed time at over 326 mph. The win gave him lane choice over his quarterfinal opponent newcomer Ray Martin, who upset No. 4 qualifier Ron Capps.
 
Again it was Todd and his DHL Yella Fellas stepping up their game running 3.900 seconds the quickest winning elapsed time to race to the semifinals. The win extended Todd’s win streak at the most prestigious drag race to ten round wins in a row. As the possibility of a third U.S. Nationals title loomed on the horizon a semifinal match-up with Jack Beckman was up next for Todd.
 
The DHL Toyota Camry had lane choice and Todd took off with a starting line reaction time advantage. As Todd’s Toyota Camry raced to the finish line at around 700 feet his Goodyear slicks lost traction and it opened the door for Beckman to move around him just before he also lost traction. He had enough of a lead to narrowly hold off Todd for the round win.
 
At the end of the day Todd will head into the Countdown as the No. 8 driver and a strong feeling of confidence that his DHL Toyota Camry team has turned the corner on the performance equation.
 
“I want to win the championship. I think the race car is back on track,” said Todd. “No matter where we end up in points we are going to have to do what we did last year. We will be looking to go to every final possible and win as many races as possible. I have to give it up to the DHL guys for never giving up. I also have to especially thank my crew chiefs and the guys at TRD. We have our ducks in a row and now is the time to get after it.”
 
Quotable:
J.R. Todd on heading to Countdown: “We are going to go into Reading with the attitude that we can win that race like we did last year. We have a championship contending car but it is going to be tough. There are a lot of cars that are capable of winning and we will be gunning for that second championship. It will be a battle but we are up to the task.”
 
Statistics:
Qualified: No. 5 (3.883 sec., 331.20 mph)
Bonus points: +3 (3rd quickest of Q1 and 4th quickest of Q5)

Race Details:
 
First Round
Driver                                    Qual       R/T         ET           MPH  
J.R. Todd                              5              .079        3.918     326.56 (W)
Cruz Pedregon                      12           DQ – Centerline
 
Second Round
Driver                                    Qual       R/T         ET           MPH
J.R. Todd                               5              .089        3.900     329.10 (W)          
Ray Martin                             13           .129        4.256     21.71
 
Semifinal Round
Driver                                    Qual       R/T         ET           MPH
J.R. Todd                              5              .065        4.547     193.71
Jack Beckman                      1              .076        4.065     250.09 (W)

Shawn Monday

Shawn Langdon Races into Quarterfinals and Countdown

The consistency and high performance level continued at the NHRA U.S. Nationals for Shawn Langdon and the Global Electronic Technology Toyota Camry Funny Car. After a strong three days of qualifying that saw Langdon head into race day as the No. 7 Funny Car in the quickest Funny Car field in NHRA history the former Top Fuel Indy winner was excited for race day.
 
Prior to the eliminations Langdon was also able to add his name to the list of Funny Car drivers that locked into the Countdown to the Championship, the six-race NHRA playoffs. In two weeks the second year Funny Car driver will only be 90 points out of first place, after the points have been reset, heading into the NHRA national event at Maple Grove Raceway.
 
“We have been getting a lot of bonus points and that sets you up well in qualifying,” said Langdon. “I think we have a top three car. We get to the quarterfinals and that shows we have a top eight race day car. I feel like we are a better team than that. We just have to get the fine details worked out. We are so damn close. I feel like more wins are right around the corner.”
 
Today it was Langdon focusing on trying to become one of a handful of racers to have won the NHRA U.S. Nationals in both Top Fuel and Funny Car. Langdon picked up his Top Fuel win in 2013 and today Langdon was poised to get his first Indy Funny Car title.
 
The first round was a spectacular race with Langdon getting the win over Tommy Johnson Jr. with a strong 3.895 second run at 328.70 mph. As Langdon’s Global Electronic Technology Toyota Camry Funny Car was blasting past the Christmas Tree Johnson was blowing the tires off his race car and was force to watch as Langdon flew down the track.
 
“The first round race was a big win for us,” said Langdon. “We continued to show how quick this Global Electronic Technology Camry Funny Car is. I felt like we were in great position to have a long day after that round win.”
 
In the quarterfinals Langdon faced fellow Countdown contender Matt Hagan. The Funny Cars were separated by .003 seconds in performance from their first round wins. As both race cars staged the fans knew they were going to see a stellar drag race but at the hit of the throttle Langdon’s Camry overpowered the track and ended his bid for a second U.S. Nationals title.
 
“I am not sure what happened in the second round. We were over in the right lane but we weren’t really worried about track conditions. I just hit the throttle and we went right into tire smoke. That was out only off run all weekend. We ran great in qualifying. We got some of those valuable qualifying bonus points. Overall a good weekend but not the results we ultimately wanted,” added Langdon.
 
The Global Electronic Technology Toyota team will leave Indianapolis in 9th place in the Mello Yello Funny Car standings.
 
“Our goal at the beginning of the year was to win the championship and win races.  We are close. We have a great car in qualifying,” said Langdon. “There are just some minor improvements on race day really just some minor tweaks and we can get this Camry in the winner’s circle. It is very capable. I really feel like we have a top three race car right now. We lost lane choice (after the first round) and got moved over to the right lane. I am bummed that we smoked the tires like that obviously. We weren’t expecting that. We weren’t trying to be that aggressive. At the end of the day I feel really good about going into the Countdown.”
 
Quotable:
Langdon on heading to Countdown: “I there is a lot of mental work in the Countdown as a driver. There is no easy way to go about it. I do know that being in the No. 1 spot it is yours to lose. That is a tough spot to be in and you have a lot of eyes on you. I like being an aggressive driver. I feel like coming from the nine spot will let me express my competitive nature and my aggressive driving style. I just want to do what I need to do to make sure this Toyota is in the mix at the end.”
 
Statistics:
Qualified: No. 7 (3.887 sec., 330.63 mph) 
Bonus points: +3 (4th quickest of Q1 and 3rd quickest of Q2)

Race Details:

First Round
Driver                                  Qual         R/T         ET           MPH  
Shawn Langdon                7              .081        3.895      328.70 (W)          
Tommy Johnson Jr.            10            .053        9.686       88.23
 
Second Round
Driver                                  Qual         R/T         ET           MPH 
Shawn Langdon                7              .050        12.468     68.70    
Matt Hagan                         2              .061        3.939       320.89 (W)

Richie Monday

Countdown Spot Secured at U.S. Nationals by DHL and Richie Crampton

The U.S. Nationals might have come to an end earlier than Richie Crampton and the DHL/Kalitta Air Top Fuel team would have liked but that doesn’t take away from the three days of strong qualifying. The team clinched their spot in the Countdown to the Championship with their qualifying effort and will be one of ten teams racing for the 2019 NHRA Mello Yello Top Fuel world championship. Over three days of qualifying Crampton steadily improved and on Sunday had one of the quickest race cars on the property.
 
During the final two qualifying sessions Crampton and the DHL Top Fuel dragster posted the third quickest run of the fourth session and they were the quickest Top Fuel dragster in the final qualifying session picking up four points for that effort. Overall the team rang up six qualifying bonus points putting pressure on the teams behind them in the standings.
 
On race day today Crampton took lane choice over rookie Austin Prock in the opening session. They were the last pair of Top Fuel dragsters and when Crampton’s team fired up his dragster he was securely in the Countdown. His dragster launched hard and as both dragsters stormed down the track they were side by side until half-track. Just past that point Crampton’s dragster hazed the tires briefly and opened the door for Prock to pull away.
 
“We produced some great runs this weekend,” said Crampton. “That was really exciting for me and the entire team to make it down the track like that. We were at the top of the sheet most of those sessions. I thought that would equate into a good race day. We know what we can do so we are not going to dwell on one round. We will get back after it in a couple weeks in Reading in the Countdown.”
 
Crampton was just behind his opponent as they crossed the finish line. The 2014 U.S. Nationals Top Fuel winner was unable to join his three teammates in the quarterfinals.
 
Quotable: 
Richie Crampton on heading to the Countdown: “In the Countdown you have to minimize first round loses. Those will kill you in the Countdown. You want to come out at the first race and start going rounds. The bottom line is you have to get the points and the only way to do that is to win rounds on Sunday.” 
 
Statistics:
Qualified: No. 5 (3.696 sec., 331.53 mph)
Bonus points: +6 (3rd quickest of Q4 and quickest of Q5)

Race Details: 

First Round
Driver                                  Qual          R/T         ET           MPH  
Richie Crampton                5              .060        4.933     142.70   
Austin Prock                       12           .045        3.712     330.15 (W)