Kalitta Motorsports News

POINTS LEADER DOUG KALITTA, MOBIL 1 TEAM FEELING GOOD ENTERING SECOND HALF OF PLAYOFFS

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Doug Kalitta Mobil1 Dragster For Texas Motorplex
10
Oct

YPSILANTI, Mich. (Oct. 10, 2023) – Doug Kalitta and his Mobil 1 Toyota team are feeling good about the progress they made in the first half of the playoffs but completely understand much more work lies between themselves and their ultimate goal. The NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series resumes this weekend at the NHRA FallNationals in Ennis, Texas, the fourth of six races that make up the Countdown to the Championship NHRA Playoffs.

That ultimate goal is the season championship that has eluded the six-time season runner up for his entire career. Will Kalitta win the title this year? Only time will tell, but what is certain at the moment is that the Michigan driver is in position to challenge for the championship, which is all any driver can want with three races remaining in the season.

“It feels good – leading the points is definitely a good place to be – ahead of all the other guys and girls in the hunt for this thing,” Kalitta said. “It’s definitely more fun, absolutely. It’s where we want to be and where we want to stay, but the competition is coming for us. We’ll be up for it for sure. We’re looking forward to getting down to Dallas and getting this weekend started. Mainly, it’s just trying to stay there, really, so we have to figure out what we have to do to qualify well and go rounds.”

Qualifying well is an area in which the Mobil 1 team excelled in 2023. Kalitta has 12 top-four qualifying efforts this season including each of the last six races. And as for going rounds, Kalitta has two wins and a semifinal in the last four races.

“I’m very confident in Alan (co-crew chief Alan Johnson) and all my guys so that’s the biggest part of it,” the two-time Texas Motorplex winner added. “We have to make a big team effort and make it happen but this is what we do – we’re looking forward to the challenge. What we’ve been doing is working so we’re not looking to change a lot because we lead the points right now. We don’t need to get too carried away. We just need everyone to go out there and keep doing their jobs for Mobil 1, Revchem and Safety-Kleen and have fun at it. That’s what we do. It’s a great opportunity for sure.”

The weather could be a story this weekend as Friday will be far warmer than Saturday, and Sunday could be cooler than Saturday possibly making tuning decisions a bit challenging.

“Everybody’s running in the same conditions,” Kalitta said. “I’m real confident in my guys under any conditions – I’m just real fortunate to have the brain power we have on this Mobil 1 Toyota team right now. These guys have won a lot of championships so you just want to continue to be part of that with Alan and Brian (co-crew chiefs Alan Johnson and Brian Husen) and the rest of the guys that have won championships – we’re hoping to pull it off.”

And should they pull off a win this weekend, it will be with Mobil 1 livery on the car and Mobil 1 guests in attendance.

“Our relationship with Mobil 1 was developed through our relationship with the Toyota TRD folks,” Kalitta said. “Mobil 1 always has our backs with everything they do on the track and off the track. We are fortunate to have Mobil 1 behind us, and Texas is a perfect area for them – I think that’s where they have the most activity with some of their customers and vendors. We look forward to having them in our hospitality and definitely hope to win the race for them.”

Race Information: Texas NHRA Fall Nationals Texas Motorplex; Ennis, Texas

TV Schedule:

  • Qualifying Show: 1-3 p.m. eastern Sunday, Sept. Oct. 15, 2023 on FS1.
  • Finals: 3-6 p.m. eastern Sunday, Oct. 15, 2023 on FS1.

2022 Texas NHRA FallNationals Recap: Qualified No. 7; lost to Justin Ashley in the first round.       

Career Stats: 584 events, 761 round wins, 51 wins, 111 final rounds, 53 No. 1 qualifier

2023 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series Results To Date:

  • Gatornationals: Qualified No. 3; defeated Spencer Massey, Antron Brown; lost to Steve Torrence
  • Phoenix: Qualified No. 1; defeated Rob Passey, lost to Shawn Langdon in the second round.
  • Pomona: Qualified 11th and lost to Antron Brown in the first round.
  • Las Vegas: Qualified 10th; lost to Steve Torrence and Josh Hart in the first round.
  • Charlotte: Qualified No. 6, lost to Leah Pritchett and Pat Dakin in the first round.
  • Chicago: Qualified No. 3; defeated Kyle Wurtzel, lost to Clay Millican in the second round.
  • Epping: Qualified 12th; lost to Leah Pruett.
  • Bristol: Qualified No. 6; defeated Clay Millican and Steve Torrence before lost to Antron Brown.
  • Norwalk: Qualified No. 4; lost to Dan Mercier in the first round.
  • Denver: Qualified No. 2; defeated Terry Totten, Josh Hart and Steve Torrence before losing to Clay Millican in the final round.
  • Seattle: Qualified No. 2; defeated Ron Smith, had a second-round bye and defeated Clay Millican before losing to Steve Torrence in the final-round run.
  • Sonoma: Qualified No. 8; lost to Justin Ashley in the first round.
  • Topeka: Qualified No. 3; lost to Austin Prock in the first round.
  • Brainerd: Qualified No. 2; lost to Clay Millican in the first round.
  • Indianapolis: Qualified No. 4; defeated Spencer Massey and Mike Salinas before losing to Steve Torrence in the semifinals.
  • Reading: Qualified No. 3; defeated Josh Hart, Shawn Langdon, Leah Pruett and Steve Torrence.
  • Charlotte: Qualified No. 3; defeated Steve Torrence, Shawn Langdon, Leah Pruett, Mike Salinas.
  • St. Louis: Qualified No. 1; defeated Lex Joon, lost to Leah Pruett in the second round.

Current Point Standings: Kalitta enters Dallas in first place in the NHRA Top Fuel point standings. He leads second-place Leah Pruett by 47 points at the halfway mark of the Countdown to the Championship NHRA Playoffs.

Photo Courtesy: Kalitta Motorsports