Concord, NC – Qualifying: Shawn Langdon was the No. 11 qualifier at the Circle K NHRA Four-Wide Nationals. His best qualifying attempt during the second round of qualifying was a 3.727-second pass at 332.18 mph

Eliminations: Langdon had the best reaction time of his first round “quad,” but the car smoked the tires, and Langdon was eliminated.

Unofficial Point Standings: Langdon leaves Charlotte in eighth place in the NHRA Top Fuel point standings. He trails the drivers tied for sixth place, Antron Brown and Mike Salinas, by 45 points and leads ninth-place Josh Hart by 12 points.

Langdon on Charlotte: “Definitely not the weekend we hoped to have, but these things happen. I really appreciate all the hard work our guys do each week, and I’m really confident in our race team. We win as a team, and we lose as a team. We’ll learn from this period of the season and come back stronger in Chicago.”

YPSILANTI, MI – For 2018 NHRA Funny Car champion J.R. Todd and his DHL Toyota team, it could be tempting to look back at all that transpired in the last month, but instead, Todd is looking forward – forward to the next run, forward to the next race and definitely forward to the rest of the season. The NHRA Camping World Drag Racing season resumes Friday with the Circle K NHRA Four-Wide Nationals at zMAX Dragway near Charlotte April 28-30, 2023.

The season’s first four races included a semifinal appearance, a berth in the inaugural #Mission2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge, a qualifying accident, an engine explosion and failing to qualify for a race. After an April that was eventful, to say the least, Todd and team would like nothing better than to resume what they started when the season began and finish the month with a four-wide win, and it all starts with the first qualifying attempt.

“All we can do is go up there, hit the gas in Q1(first qualifying session), do what I know how to do, hope the car goes down the track in a straight line and a quick manner and get the thing qualified where it should be,” Todd said. “You can’t dwell on all the things that happened in the last few weeks because if you do, you’ll just go out there and make mistakes. That’s not what I’m paid to do. We are only looking forward; it’s still early in the year so we have plenty of time to regroup, put what’s happened in the past and go out there and win races so we can contend for a championship.

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YPSILANTI, MI – When 2013 NHRA Top Fuel champion Shawn Langdon straps into the CMR Construction & Roofing Top Fuel Car this weekend, his thoughts could easily revisit his first-career victory that came at zMAX Dragway more than a decade ago. The NHRA Camping World Drag Racing season resumes Friday with the Circle K NHRA Four-Wide Nationals at zMAX Dragway near Charlotte April 28-30, 2023.

And when he eases the car up to the lights to stage it for the first time since he did the same in Las Vegas two weeks ago, he will definitely stage the car on time. During the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals semifinals two weeks ago, Langdon “timed out” because he did not stage the car within seven seconds of the when the first driver staged, and a car that could have won the race was eliminated. It was a situation that included Langdon as well as drivers Josh Hart and Steve Torrence.

“At the four-wides at Las Vegas, the racing situation shouldn’t have happened, and I took full responsibility for it,” Langdon said. “Steve (Torrence), Josh (Hart) and I talked about the situation, and everything’s all good. We talked about what happened in Las Vegas, what caused it and our plans going forward. It’s over, and we’ve moved on. I wish them nothing but luck, and it’ll be fun to race against them in Charlotte.”

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YPSILANTI, MI – While many NHRA competitors used the second off week of the NHRA season to rest, relax or catch up on personal business, Mac Tools Toyota driver Doug Kalitta spent the week working his real job as CEO of Kalitta Charters, and last week, that meant attending Aviation Week MRO Americas, a major aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul show in Atlanta. The NHRA Camping World Drag Racing season resumes Friday with the Circle K NHRA Four-Wide Nationals at zMAX Dragway near Charlotte April 28-30, 2023.

MRO Americas had 850 exhibitors and tens of thousands of attendees representing the major aircraft and aircraft maintenance companies from all over the world. Some 16,000 people attended opening day, and the crowds grew through the show. Kalitta Air and Kalitta Charters handle maintenance on all of their aircraft at the Oscoda, Mich., maintenance facility.

While at this show, Kalitta was able to meet with suppliers ranging from engine manufacturers, brakes and wheels and just about any other aircraft component to talk about what it takes to keep the Kalitta Air and Kalitta Charters fleets flying. Eighteen Kalitta Air employees worked the booth representing departments such as engines, materials, wheels and brakes, quality control and purchasing/procurement among others.

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Las Vegas, NV – Qualifying: After a herculean effort to get the DHL Toyota GR Supra ready to compete following the team’s misfortune in Pomona, Calif., two weeks ago, the DHL Supra did not qualify for the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals. This race represents the first time J.R. Todd failed to qualify for a race since he started driving the DHL Funny Car in 2017.

After the team’s primary car was repaired following the Pomona qualifying incident, the car did not perform as it had prior to the incident. The DHL team will test Monday, April 17 in Las Vegas to prepare the car for the Circle K NHRA Four-Wide Nationals in two weeks and the remainder of the 2023 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing season.

Eliminations: Todd did not qualify for eliminations. He provided analysis on The Strip Vegas Motor Speedway public address system during the first round of eliminations and then joined Brian Lohnes and Tony Pedregon in the booth for the NHRA on FOX broadcast on FS1.

Unofficial Point Standings: Todd leaves Las Vegas in 11th place in the NHRA Funny Car point standings. He trails 10th place Blake Alexander by 15 points and leads 12th place Alex Laughlin by 16 points.

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Las Vegas, NV –  Qualifying: Doug Kalitta was the No. 10 qualifier at the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals. Kalitta reached the finish line in 3.780 seconds at 328.38 mph in his best qualifying attempt.

Eliminations: Kalitta posted a strong first-round run with a 3.806-second effort at 324.59 mph, but the Mac Tools dragster was not one of the first two cars that reached the finish line resulting in a first-round loss.

Unofficial Point Standings: Kalitta leaves Las Vegas in ninth place in the NHRA Top Fuel point standings. He trails eighth-place Austin Prock by 34 points and leads ninth-place Josh Hart by 28. points.

Kalitta on Las Vegas: “We ended up on the wrong end of a really good drag race in that first-round quad. The Mac Tools car made a really strong run, but it wasn’t quite enough. Alan (crew chief Alan Johnson), Brian (co-crew chief Brian Husen) and the rest of my guys did a great job on the car and put us in position to advance. The Mac Tools Toyota team will have another shot at a four-wide win in two weeks at Charlotte.”

Las Vegas, NV – Qualifying: Shawn Langdon was the No. 6 qualifier at the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals. The best qualifying effort for the DHL Toyota Top Fuel team was a 3.754-second effort at 325.24 mph.

Eliminations: Langdon defeated Krista Baldwin and Clay Millican to advance to the second round of eliminations along with Mike Salinas. In the second round, the four-wide semifinals, Langdon raced Salinas, Steve Torrence and Josh Hart. As the four drivers were staging for the run, Langdon and Hart were the last to stage with Langdon going in last. Unfortunately, Langdon staged more than seven seconds after the first driver staged which caused him to be eliminated before the run began.

Unofficial Point Standings: Langdon leaves Las Vegas in seventh place in the NHRA Top Fuel point standings. He trails sixth-place Leah Pruett by 18 points and leads eighth-place Austin Prock by three points.

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YPSILANTI, MI – DHL Top Fuel driver Shawn Langdon has a lot of strengths – sitting still isn’t one of them. While most teams and drivers enjoyed a holiday off weekend between Pomona and Las Vegas, Langdon was hard at it honing his skills running bracket races in Las Vegas. The 2023 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Season resumes April 14-16, 2023 at the NHRA 4-Wide Nationals on The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Langdon raced in the “Spring Fling” on The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway last weekend. He reached the final 18 in the million-dollar race and the fifth round of nearly 700 entries in a race to win $100,000. He was a win light or two away from a six-figure weekend.

“I just enjoy racing – it’s nice to bracket race because it lets me do laps,” Langdon said. “I made close to 30 laps in just over two days of racing. That’s the part of racing I enjoy most – making laps down the track. It definitely helps me drive better and makes me more in-tune with the car. At the national events, we’re busy with all of the obligations that come with driving in a major Motorsports series. I make as many laps as I can during the off weekends to stay as competitive as possible in the DHL Top Fuel car.”

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YPSILANTI, MI – Bruton Smith, the late founder of Speedway Motorsports Inc., once had a vision of NHRA racing four-wide, and he followed that vision with action building drag strips in Concord, N.C. and Las Vegas that could accommodate four-wide racing, which returns this weekend. The 2023 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Season resumes April 14-16, 2023 at the NHRA 4-Wide Nationals on The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Mac Tools Top Fuel driver Doug Kalitta, the owner and president of Kalitta Charters, knows a thing or two about innovation and what it takes to be successful. It is that understanding and respect of the late SMI founder’s vision that fuels Kalitta’s desire to win a four-wide race.

“I look forward to racing in the four-wide events because it’s a cool idea from one of the greatest track developers of all time, Bruton Smith,” Kalitta said. “I mostly just love supporting one of his visions and one of the coolest innovations in the history of drag racing. It’s the same as far as getting to the finish line first to win the race, but it’s kinda nice on race day when the top-two cars advance to the next round. I think the fans really like these events, too. I’d love to win one of these one day – we raced in the final a couple years ago; maybe this weekend will be our time.”

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YPSILANTI, MI – J.R. Todd, a three-time Funny Car winner in Las Vegas, will look to make it four of a kind later this week in Las Vegas, and he’ll do that in the same new car the DHL Toyota team debuted at the start of the season thanks to some quick work from Team Kalitta. The 2023 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Season resumes April 14-16, 2023 at the NHRA 4-Wide Nationals on The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

After two racing incidents at the last race in Pomona, Calif., the DHL team worked quickly to put the team in position compete at the highest level this weekend. On Sunday as teams were racing in the Winternationals in Pomona, the primary chassis that was involved in the Saturday qualifying incident was already on a trailer headed back to Precision Built Race Cars in Indianapolis thanks to two members of the team’s hospitality staff who dropped their normal duties to get the car to Indianapolis for repairs as fast as possible.

Monday morning, rather than servicing the car and making the short hop to Las Vegas as planned, the entire DHL Funny Car team headed back to the Kalitta Motorsports shop in Michigan to prepare a new backup chassis and two Funny Car bodies for competition. Kalitta Motorsports picked up the repaired primary chassis from Precision Thursday evening. The team worked all day Friday and Saturday to prepare the car for competition. Many could be blown away by this fast work, but it was just another day at the office for Team Kalitta.

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