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Kalitta Shines with Semifinal Sonoma Nationals Finish
Doug Kalitta was looking for his record-setting sixth Sonoma Nationals championship today start from the No. 2 qualifying position. The 49-time Top Fuel winner came off the Mac Tools hauler on Friday and posted the second quickest run of the first session. He scored two qualifying bonus points and set his team up for success. On Saturday he had one of the quickest Top Fuel dragsters and was full of confidence heading into race day.
In the first round Kalitta was racing August for the first time in his career. He was first off the line and never trailed in the drag race. He quickly pulled away from August who hazed the tires just past half-track. Kalitta made his second quickest run of the weekend running 3.719 seconds nearly matching is best qualifying effort. As he was hitting the lights at the finish line his Mac Tools’ engine let go with a quick fireball but he still earned lane choice over his quarterfinal opponent.
After the win over August Kalitta faced Josh Hart in a battle between two of the best drivers off the starting line. The veteran Kalitta was ready to race and so was his Mac Tools dragster as it made a quick and smooth run for his second win light of the day and a trip to the semifinals. Kalitta’s winning elapsed time of 3.728 seconds positioned him as one of the quickest teams in the semifinals.
Racing against Mike Salinas in the semifinals Kalitta was pulling away but as he crossed half-track his Mac Tools dragster overpowered the track. The loss of traction allowed Salinas, the No. 3 qualifier, to drive around him for the win. While the day did not have the outcome Kalitta was looking for the Mac Tools team continued to show flashes of improvement heading to the final stop of the Western Swing.
“It was nice to make it to the semis. I am really proud of my guys. They had that Mac Tools Toyota dragster really running low 3.70s. That was a lot of fun. It is pretty exciting to see this car turning around,” said Kalitta. “(Crew chiefs) Alan (Johnson) and Brian (Husen) are two of the best in the business. They have been finetuning this race car and we are working through some issues. This weekend was a definite sign we are moving in the right direction. We will be right back at it in five days.”
Kalitta maintained his position in the Top Fuel Top Ten and will head to the Northwest Nationals with his eyes on moving up.
Statistics:
Qualified: No. 2 (3.694 sec, 327.59 mph)
Bonus points: +2 (2nd quickest of Q1)
Race Details:
First Round
Qual Driver RT ET MPH
2 Doug Kalitta .094 3.719 325.30 (W)
15 Ron August Jr .100 3.966 261.72
Second Round
Qual Driver RT ET MPH
2 Doug Kalitta .089 3.726 332.02 (W)
7 Josh Hart .081 3.781 326.95
Semifinals
Qual Driver RT ET MPH
2 Doug Kalitta .081 4.354 193.71
3 Mike Salinas .056 3.844 321.04 (W)
Langdon Continues Hot Streak with Semifinal Finish Driving CMR Top Fuel
Today the CMR Construction and Roofing Toyota Top Fuel dragster and Shawn Langdon continued their hot streak as the second race of the Western Swing wrapped up from Sonoma Raceway. The 2013 Top Fuel world champion raced to the semifinal round of the Sonoma Nationals from the No. 9 spot after outrunning Antron Brown and Leah Pruett in the first two rounds.
Racing Toyota teammate Brown in the first round Langdon jumped off the starting line first with the CMR Construction and Roofing dragster. Langdon’s blue and white land rocket accelerated down track and was pulling away. As the finish line closed in Brown’s motor expired and Langdon powered across the finish line stripe with a winning time of 3.743 seconds, his quickest pass of the weekend, at 326.63 mph.
The quarterfinals matched Langdon up with the No. 1 qualifier, Pruett. It was a rematch of the Mile-High Nationals final round that did not go Langdon’s way. Today Langdon took a sizeable reaction time advantage .049 to .079 and the CMR dragster stayed hooked up the entire length of the track for the win. His winning elapsed time was 3.734 seconds at 330.96 mph. Langdon’s team stepped up with another monster run to move him to the semifinals.
Facing 2017 Top Fuel world champion Brittany Force in the semifinals Langdon knew his team would need to make another strong pass. For the second round in a row Langdon was first off the starting line posting a .056 to .090 reaction time advantage. Unfortunately, Langdon was not able to chase down Force who posted one of the quickest passes of the day crossing the finish line with a time of 3.675 seconds in front of Langdon’s 3.787 second pass.
“We lost a good drag race in the semifinals today,” said Langdon. “Our CMR Toyota dragster has been really strong lately. This was our fourth semifinal in five races. I am looking forward to getting to Seattle.”
Statistics:
Qualified: Qual. 9 (3.766 sec, 326.40 mph)
Bonus points: 0
Race Details:
First Round
Qual Driver RT ET MPH
9 Shawn Langdon .077 3.743 326.63 (W)
8 Antron Brown .076 3.763 324.56
Second Round
Qual Driver RT ET MPH
9 Shawn Langdon .049 3.734 330.96 (W)
1 Leah Pruett .079 3.758 323.97
Semifinals
Qual Driver RT ET MPH
9 Shawn Langdon .056 3.787 311.20
5 Brittany Force .090 3.675 337.75 (W)
Quarterfinal Finish In Sonoma Propels J.R. Todd to Seattle Northwest Nationals
The DHL Toyota GR Supra Funny Car and J.R. Todd used the Sonoma Nationals to continue to build a program that will compete for the 2022 Funny Car world championship. Through two days of qualifying Todd entered race day as the No. 10 Funny Car but the 2017 Sonoma Nationals Funny Car champion knew his racecar was moving in the right direction.
In a tough first round race against veteran Tim Wilkerson Todd’s DHL Toyota GR Supra Funny Car was up to the task. Todd left the starting line first and held the lead the entire 1.000 feet for the win. Wilkerson began to haze the tires at about 700 feet, but Todd was a on a picture-perfect run to advance to the quarterfinals. Todd once again posted a solid 3.999 second pass just a tick off his best qualifying run to get the win.
The first round win moved Todd into the quarterfinals against No. 2 qualifier John Force. This was the fourth time the pair of world champions have squared off this season. Todd was looking to even his head-to-head record against the winningest driver in NHRA history. Todd and Force left the starting line together and Todd’s DHL Toyota stepped up with his quickest run of the weekend 3.958 second but it was not enough to get in front of Force’s 3.932 second pass.
Todd will head to the Northwest Nationals in seventh place just a little over two rounds out of sixth place. There are four races left before the Countdown and Todd is looking to move into the middle of the Funny Car standings.
“We made some quick runs this weekend and I am proud that this DHL Toyota team kept getting quicker as the track was heating up,” said Todd, a ten-time Funny Car national event winner. “We are heading to Seattle and I feel good about our chances especially when you look at our numbers today. I have a lot of confidence and I am going to try and finish the swing on a high note next weekend.”
Statistics:
Qualified: No. 10 (3.991 sec, 325.30 mph)
Bonus points: 0
Race Details:
First Round
Qual Driver RT ET MPH
10 J.R. Todd .076 3.999 324.75 (W)
7 Tim Wilkerson .111 4.774
Second Round
Qual Driver RT ET MPH
10 J.R. Todd .061 3.958 326.16
2 John Force .067 3.932 330.88 (W)