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Doug Kalitta and Mac Tools Race to Semifinals in Indy
The Mac Tools Top Fuel dragster and driver Doug Kalitta rolled into the 68th NHRA U.S. Nationals looking to recapture their winning mojo from 2019 when Kalitta won the Top Fuel title for the first time in his illustrious career. This weekend’s race schedule with five qualifying runs over three days and race day today, on Labor Day Monday, mirrored the schedule Kalitta navigated on his way to victory three seasons ago. The team lost one qualifying session to rain on Saturday but entered race day as the No. 12 qualifier with a best elapsed time of 3.741 seconds at 324.44 mph in the quickest Top Fuel field in NHRA history.
The opening round had Kalitta taking on veteran Clay Millican and the 49-time Top Fuel champion came off the starting line with his quickest run of the event a strong 3.713 second pass at 328.06 mph which was enough to get the win over Millican’s 3.727 second pass by approximately four feet at the finish line.
In quarterfinals Kalitta was off the line first and never trailed as both dragsters chewed up their engines in an internal combustion war of attrition. As Kalitta’s Mac Tools Revchem dragster was reeling in the finish line Mike Salinas’ dragster was spitting fire behind him in the neighboring lane. The win moved Kalitta to the semifinals and a race against the No. 1 qualifier.
Overcast skies moved in and out throughout the day as the threat of rain lurked over Indianapolis Raceway Park. Thankfully, the track stayed dry leading up to the semifinals and Kalitta’s Mac Tools dragster was geared up advance to another U.S. Nationals final round. When the starting line Christmas Tree flashed green both dragsters launched and Kalitta went into immediate tire smoke robbing the perennial championship contender of any hope of a third win light on race day.
“We didn’t get the win today, but we won some rounds and have some momentum going into the Countdown,” said Kalitta. “This was a crazy weekend with over 20 Top Fuel dragsters. This is a huge race and my family has a lot of history here. I was hoping to make some more today but this Mac Tools team will be ready for Maple Grove.”
Finishing the NHRA regular season in the Top Ten and putting the Mac Tools team was one of the many goals for Kalitta this season. That mission has been accomplished and with six races left in the Countdown play-off Kalitta will be a threat to rapidly advance up the standings in two weeks in Reading, Pennsylvania.
Statistics:
Qualified: No. 12 (3.741 sec, 324.44 mph)
Bonus points: 0
Race Details:
First Round
Qual Driver RT ET MPH
11 Doug Kalitta .063 3.713 328.06 (W)
5 Clay Millican .056 3.727 320.28
Second Round
Qual Driver RT ET MPH
11 Doug Kalitta .059 3.802 278.92 (W)
4 Mike Salinas .061 3.989 236.30
Semifinals
Qual Driver RT ET MPH
11 Doug Kalitta .061 6.518 137.60
1 Brittany Force .046 3.676 335.07 (W)
U.S. Nationals Ends with Quarterfinal Finish for Todd and DHL Funny Car
J.R. Todd and the DHL Toyota GR Supra Funny Car were racing for their third win at the NHRA U.S. Nationals and with points and half on the line they were looking to hold off any pursuers as the regular season ended today. Over three days of qualifying Todd’s Supra Funny Car steadily improved and established themselves as a car to beat on race day. In the third and fifth qualifying sessions Todd posted the fourth quickest elapsed time picking up qualifying bonus points and positioning the team in the top half of the qualified field.
Entering the first round as the No. 8 qualifier Todd faced two-time Funny Car world champion Cruz Pedregon. This was the third time the pair had squared off this season with Todd holding a 2-1 edge in the races. It was Todd’s day once again as his Todd Smith and Jon Oberhofer tuned Funny Car blasted down the track with the quickest Funny Car run of the event, a monster 3.856 second pass at 330.88 mph in front of a tire smoking Pedregon. Todd never trailed in the drag race with a .036 to .043 reaction time advantage.
“That was a great run by these DHL yella fellas,” said Todd, at the top end. “Todd and Jon have been working on a run like that for a while. We knew we could put up a good number based on what we had done in qualifying. This is the kind of race car you want for the Countdown.”
In the quarterfinals Todd drew No. 1 qualifier Ron Capps with the chance to race to his fourth semifinal of the season. Once again Todd was first off the line with a .063 reaction time and Todd was pulling away from Capps when he had to give his 11,000-horsepower Funny Car a quick pedal to maintain traction as the finish line closed in. Capps was beside him and did not have any issues sliding around Todd for the win in a Supra versus Supra match-up.
“We were right there with Capps and I had to give my DHL Supra a quick pedal,” said Todd. “The biggest take away from this weekend was how good our DHL Supra is running. I have a lot of confidence going into the Countdown and anything can happen over those six races. We just need to be at the top of our game.”
Todd will be in sixth place at the conclusion of the regular season and will trail the Funny Car points leader by 60 points when the playoffs begin, and the points reset at Maple Grove Raceway.
Statistics:
Qualified: No. 8 (3.894 sec, 329.50 mph)
Bonus points: +2 (4th quickest of Q3 and Q5)
Race Details:
First Round
Qual Driver RT ET MPH
8 J.R. Todd .036 3.856 330.88 (W)
9 Cruz Pedregon .043 7.086 191.45
Second Round
Qual Driver RT ET MPH
8 J.R. Todd .063 4.458 218.94
1 Ron Capps .064 3.883 333.08 (W)
Shawn Langdon and DHL Top Fuel Turn Attention to Countdown Title Hopes
The 68th U.S. Nationals was Shawn Langdon’s chance to pick up his second Top Fuel win at the most prestigious drag race in the country and his third overall at the NHRA’s oldest national event. Langdon was racing the DHL Toyota dragster looking to improve his points position at the final regular season race of the season before the NHRA’s six-race Countdown starts in two weeks at historic Maple Grove Raceway. Through three days of qualifying that saw one of the five scheduled sessions face cancellation because of rain Langdon qualifying No. 15 in the quickest Top Fuel field in NHRA history. Two dozen of the quickest and fastest Top Fuel dragsters from across the country were vying for one of sixteen spots in the Monday race day field.
In the opening round Langdon squared off with Toyota teammate Justin Ashley, the No. 2 qualifier. In an epic race between two of the best drivers off the starting line it was Langdon taking the advantage with his DHL Toyota dragster leaving first with a strong .033 reaction time. His lead was short-lived as Ashley moved around him and crossed the finish line with a winning time of 3.690 seconds over his 3.788 second run. It took the quickest pass of the first round to end Langdon’s day.
“This wasn’t how we wanted our U.S. Nationals to go but we have six races to get after it for the championship,” said Langdon. “There is no quit in this DHL team. I won Reading when I won the championship in 2013 so I have great memories from that track.”
As the regular season wrapped up today Langdon will once again race for the Top Fuel championship entering the Countdown in eighth place. With six races on the schedule Langdon will only be 80 points out of first place when the series resumes in two weeks at Maple Grove Raceway.
Statistics:
Qualified: Qual. 15 (3.754 sec, 322.73mph)
Bonus points: 0
Race Details:
First Round
Qual Driver RT ET MPH
15 Shawn Langdon .033 3.788 308.78
2 Justin Ashley .036 3.690 331.85(W)