FOUR-TIME POMONA WINNER SHAWN LANGDON LOOKS TO BUILD ON PHOENIX FINAL ROUND

YPSILANTI, Mich. (March 28, 2023) – DHL Top Fuel driver Shawn Langdon has more race wins at In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip than any other race track, and with the DHL Toyota team’s final round appearance last weekend in Phoenix, team and driver hope to turn on one more win light Sunday and return Kalitta Motorsports to the winner’s circle. The 2023 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Season resumes March 31-April 2, 2023 at the Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals in Pomona, Calif.

Langdon’s DHL Toyota team missed winning last weekend’s race by .0574 seconds when the DHL dragster slowed approaching the finish line. That final round appearance moved Langdon up to sixth place in the NHRA Top Fuel point standings. With Langdon’s four wins in seven Pomona final rounds, he could easily be considered a favorite to win this weekend.

“The DHL team’s done a fabulous job getting the car prepared properly and giving Jake (co-crew chief Jason McCulloch), Kurt (co-crew chief Kurt Elliott), Ronnie (assistant crew chief Ronnie Thompson) and Connie (team owner Connie Kalitta) a good race car,” the 2013 NHRA Top Fuel champion said. “They’re making good calls and running big speeds. We have a good-running car right now so we just have to take advantage of it and make the best of it. We want to continue what we were doing in Phoenix. A win’s around the corner for this team.”

And the next stop around that corner is a place at which Langdon is not only comfortable but confident.

“I’ve been fortunate to have a lot of success at Pomona; it’s my home track, and I always look forward to racing there” Langdon said. “We traditionally start the season there, but this year, it’s the third race on the schedule so it’ll be a little bit different atmosphere, but it’ll still be the same Pomona so I’m excited to get there. It will be a big race for me with a lot of friends and family there so that’s always fun. The weather will be cold next week so we’ll have to kind of wait and see how the track handles the temperatures. Should be fast though.”

When Langdon advanced to the semifinals on Sunday, he earned a spot in the Mission #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge this weekend. During Saturday’s qualifying sessions in Pomona, the drivers who reached the semifinals in Phoenix will re-run the semifinals and final earning additional purse and championship bonus points.

“We are definitely looking forward to being a part of the Mission #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge,” Langdon said. “It’s a great opportunity to run a race within a race, and it makes the Saturday qualifying rounds a little more interesting for the fans. I feel blessed to be a part of it, and having a company like Mission Foods make an investment like this in our sport is very positive for everyone.

“This DHL Toyota team is feeling really optimistic about what we’re doing now and what we all think we’ll be doing as the season goes on. I wish we’d gotten the win in Phoenix, but all is good right now. We have a really, really good group of guys this year, and I feel very excited about that. The guys we have this year work very well together; they have great team chemistry, and I think it’s gonna be a fun year.”

Race Information:
Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals
In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip, Pomona, Calif.
TV Schedule:

Qualifying 1: 7-8:30:30 p.m. Saturday, April 1 on FS1
Qualifying 2: 12:30-2 p.m. Sunday, April 2 on FS1
Finals: 7-10 p.m. Sunday, April 2 on FS1

2022 Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals Recap: Qualified eighth and lost to Josh Hart in the first round.

Shawn Langdon Career Stats: 311 events, 335 round wins, 17 wins, 38 final rounds, 19 No. 1 qualifiers

2023 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series Results To Date:
Gainesville: Qualified 11th and lost to Antron Brown by two 10 thousandths of a second.
Phoenix: Qualified No. 8; defeated Antron Brown, Doug Kalitta and Leah Pruett; lost to Justin Ashley

Current Point Standings: Langdon enters Pomona in sixth place in the NHRA Top Fuel point standings. He trails his teammate, fifth-place Doug Kalitta, by 12 points and leads seventh-place Brittany Force by six points.

Photo Courtesy: Gary Nastase/Kalitta Motorsports

PHOENIX NO. 1 QUALIFIER, #2FAST2TASTY CHALLENGE WIN MAKE DOUG KALITTA, MAC TOOLS TEAM EVEN HUNGRIER

YPSILANTI, Mich. (March 28, 2023) – It had been a while since Doug Kalitta and his Mac Tools team turned on a win light, and after winning the inaugural Mission #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge, Kalitta and his Mac Tools team are even hungrier to return Kalitta Motorsports to the winner’s circle. The 2023 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Season resumes March 31-April 2, 2023 at the Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals in Pomona, Calif.In addition to winning the new NHRA special event, Kalitta earned his 52^nd No. 1 qualifier in Phoenix. Despite suffering a quarterfinal loss to his teammate, Shawn Langdon, the weekend provided more evidence of a Team Kalitta comeback.

“It was awesome – we were happy to turn on the win light so hats off to Alan (crew chief Alan Johnson) and all my guys,” Kalitta said. “We took a lot of positives out of Phoenix with the No. 1 qualifier and our win in the Mission #2Fast2Tasty challenge. I couldn’t be more excited about what’s going on. It was nice to be back in the winner’s circle, and that only makes our Mac Tools Toyota team even hungrier to win again- were working on it. We just have to be patient apparently because we’ve been trying for a long time now, but we’re sneaking up on it for sure. This week would be a perfect time to do that.”

Kalitta enjoys prolific Pomona stats. He has six wins in 13 final-round appearances along with six No. 1 qualifiers. In addition, In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip is also considered crew chief Alan Johnson’s home track, and the legendary tuner has won countless races and clinched multiple championships with race wins at the historic track.

“Pomona has been a really good track for us over the years, and we’d like to make more memories there this weekend,” Kalitta said. “We’ve done well there, but so has Alan so that’s a lot of track knowledge that will be an added bonus for our Mac Tools Toyota team. Hopefully things will line up well for us, and we can have a shot at a win this weekend.

“The Winternationals is a race with so much incredible history. It’s one of the NHRA’s most historic tracks, and you could call it the birthplace of the NHRA so it’s always fun to race there. Southern California race fans are passionate, and they know their drag racing. We always have great crowds there, and that only adds to the excitement of racing at Pomona.”

Race Information:
Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals
In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip, Pomona, Calif.
TV Schedule:

Qualifying 1: 7-8:30:30 p.m. Saturday, April 1 on FS1
Qualifying 2: 12:30-2 p.m. Sunday, April 2 on FS1
Finals: 7-10 p.m. Sunday, April 2 on FS1

2022 Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals Recap: Qualified No. 5 and lost to Tony Schumacher in the first round.

Doug Kalitta Career Stats: 568 events, 741 round wins, 49 wins, 107 final rounds, 52 No. 1 qualifiers

2023 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series Results To Date:
Gatornationals: Qualified third; defeated Spencer Massey, Antron Brown; lost to Steve Torrence
Phoenix: Qualified No. 1; defeated Rob Passey, lost to Shawn Langdon

Current Point Standings: Kalitta enters Pomona in fifth place in the NHRA Top Fuel point standings. He trails fourth-place Justin Ashley by five points and leads sixth-place Langdon by 12 points.

Photo Courtesy: Gary Nastase/Kalitta Motorsports

J.R. TODD READY FOR SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA VIBE AT POMONA WINTERNATIONALS

YPSILANTI, Mich. (March 28, 2023) – J.R. Todd and his DHL Toyota team entered the second race of the season in Phoenix last weekend ready to pick up where they left off with a final round appearance in the season-opening race in Gainesville, Fla., but while things didn’t play out as planned, the 2018 NHRA Funny Car champion remains bullish on the new season. The 2023 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Season resumes March 31-April 2, 2023 at the Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals in Pomona, Calif.

After starting the season with that final round in Gainesville and leaving there second in points, Todd raced in the inaugural Mission #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge in a rematch of the Gainesville semifinals. While qualifying didn’t happen as the team hoped, an excellent run in a first-round loss in Phoenix shows the potential this team has with a new car and a new setup.

“We just have to build on what we did in Gainesville and in the first round at Phoenix,” Todd said. “Since we unloaded this car, it’s been completely different from anything we’ve had in the last four or five years which is really encouraging. We have a new tune-up, a new car and a new mindset which is exciting. I think everybody’s really excited for the season. We just had a little hiccup in Phoenix, but it’s still really early in the season. We aren’t really counting points yet, but you still want to get as many as you can. Right now, we’re just focused on winning races. We’ll go to Pomona, try to win there and let the points fall where they may.

Todd has two wins in four final-round appearances at In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip, and as the old saying goes, there’s no time like the present to add to those numbers.

“I like racing at Pomona – it’s the birthplace of drag racing pretty much, and Southern California has a cool vibe that I like,” Todd added. “Hopefully the conditions allow us to go out there and throw down. That place is always fast when conditions allow for it so there’s no reason it shouldn’t be when we get there.”

Race Information:
Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals
In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip, Pomona, Calif.
TV Schedule:

Qualifying 1: 7-8:30:30 p.m. Saturday, April 1 on FS1
Qualifying 2: 12:30-2 p.m. Sunday, April 2 on FS1
Finals: 7-10 p.m. Sunday, April 2 on FS1

2022 NHRA Arizona Nationals Recap: Qualified eighth and lost to Alexis DeJoria in the first round.

J.R. Todd Career Stats: 280 events, 307 round wins, 19 wins, 42 final rounds, 14 No. 1 qualifiers

2023 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series Results To Date:
Gainesville: Qualified sixth; defeated Blake Alexander, Robert Hight, Chad Green; lost to Matt Hagan in final.
Phoenix: Qualified eighth; lost to Alexis DeJoria in the first round

Current Point Standings: Todd leaves Phoenix seventh place in the NHRA Funny Car point standings. He trails sixth-place Bob Tasca by two points and leads eighth-place John Force by 24 points.