YPSILANTI, MI – Multiple time world championship winning team Kalitta Motorsports will once again join the chorus of professional organizations supporting breast cancer awareness throughout the month of October, along with primary sponsors DHL and CMR Construction and Roofing. Beginning this weekend at the Texas NHRA Fall Nationals, 2018 Funny Car world champion J.R. Todd will campaign a pink DHL Toyota GR Supra Funny Car while Shawn Langdon will fly the pink highlighted livery of CMR Construction and Roofing. For the final two national events of the Countdown, both Todd and Langdon will compete for the Funny Car and Top Fuel world championships in pink DHL race cars. In addition to supporting breast cancer awareness in October, the teams will be raising awareness for men’s health in November with a unique logo on each DHL race car.

This is an important cause to support and raise awareness for not just in the month of October but throughout the year,” said Todd, a 10-time Funny Car national event winner. “Breast cancer affects so many people every year that we just want to do our part to help support those that are battling and help support the organizations that are working on a cure. It is cool that we get to do this with both DHL and CMR Construction and Roofing.”

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YPSILANTI, MI – Heading into the Texas NHRA Fall Nationals at Texas Motorplex this weekend Kalitta Motorsports and DHL have donated 140,000 meals to Feeding America,  the largest charity working to end hunger in the United States, to help in a race to end food insecurity with the ‘Drive For Purpose Challenge.’ Thanks to win lights recorded by Doug Kalitta, Shawn Langdon and J.R. Todd at the Carolina Nationals in Charlotte and the Midwest Nationals in St. Louis, the program is off to strong start as the team races towards its original goal of 500,000 meals.

With two more races remaining in the Drive for Purpose Challenge the team is confident they will hit the mark especially on the heels of a winning weekend in St. Louis where both Langdon and Kalitta raced to the semifinals in the DHL and Mac Tools Top Fuel dragsters and Todd collected a quarterfinal finish with his DHL Toyota GR Supra Funny Car. Following the success of the weekend Kalitta Air joined the cause with a commitment to match the $25,000 donation from Kalitta Motorsports for a total of $50,000 from the two Michigan based companies owned by drag racing legend Connie Kalitta.

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Madison, IL – Two days of qualifying at the NHRA Midwest Nationals from World Wide Technology had J.R. Todd and DHL Toyota GR Supra Funny Car entering race day as the No. 10 Funny Car. Todd and his team were looking for another win and adding meals to Feeding America through their win light program with primary sponsor DHL. Every win light on race day would mean Kalitta Motorsports and DHL would donate 20,000 meals to the national charity working to erase food insecurity in America.

In a rematch of last week’s first round against Toyota teammate Alexis DeJoria Todd took the win light in a wild first round race. Todd was first off the starting line but just before the finish line his DHL Funny Car begins to sashay in his lane. The 2018 world champion stayed on the throttle knowing the finish line was just off the nose of his GR Supra Funny Car. The confidence paid off as he held off a charging DeJoria for the win and advancement to the quarterfinals.

It was an epic second round race with Todd facing No.2 qualifier John Force for a shot at the semifinals. Both former world champions knew each other tactics and the race was a great side-by-side battle. Todd took off just after Force and was around him and pulling away by half track. As the finish line closed in Force was able to make up some ground and as they crossed the finish line it was Todd coming up about three feet short. The DHL Toyota GR Supra lit up the scoreboard with a 3.967 second, 321.58 mph in a losing effort.

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Madison, IL – The DHL Toyota Top Fuel dragster and driver Shawn Langdon rolled into race day at the NHRA Midwest Nationals on the strength of his best qualifying performance of the 2022 NHRA season. The 2013 Top Fuel world champion was No. 3 on the qualifying sheet with a season quickest 3.697 second pass to close out Saturday’s final day of qualifying. The veteran driver was ready for his first round match up with part-time Top Fuel driver Kyle Wurtzel.

The DHL Toyota team which was also flying the colors of www.kalittaair.com/careers this weekend knew they would need to be at the top of their game. Langdon jumped off the line with a strong .072 reaction time which proved to be the difference maker. The DHL Toyota dragster crossed the finish line with a winning time of 3.760 seconds in front of Wurtzel’s quicker 3.747 second run. Langdon’s margin of victory was estimated to be nine feet at nearly 330 mph.

In the quarterfinals Langdon faced Tony Schumacher another tough Countdown contender. It was a wire-to-wire win for Langdon as he was first off the line and never trailed in the race in front of a tire smoking Schumacher. It was another winning. 3.760 second pass for Langdon and set up another semifinal race for the DHL Toyota Top Fuel dragster.

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Madison, IL – For the second week in a row Doug Kalitta and the Mac Tools Toyota Top Fuel dragster stormed through the Top Fuel field in qualifying and on race day. After two days of nearly 20 Top Fuel dragsters battling for 16 spots in the field Kalitta secured the No. 4 spot on the strength of his 3.684 second pass. In a strong field that featured seven teams posting run in the 3.60s to set the field Kalitta and the Mac Tools team featuring Ferguson and WypAll knew race day was going to be a tough battle.

A first round race with veteran Doug Foley was no easy race for the 49-time Top Fuel national event winner. Kalitta grabbed a starting line advantage and just past half track his Mac Tools dragster began to haze the tire robbing the perennial championship contender of much needed horsepower, but he was far enough in front of Foley who was having his own issues to grab the win. Kalitta stayed on the throttle and muscled his race car across the finish line for the win.

In the quarterfinals Kalitta had a chance to take out a Countdown contender and start closing the gap on the handful of cars in front of him in the points. He grabbed a starting line advantage with a .055 reaction time in front of Brittany Force’s .079 and he never trailed in the race. His 3.768 second run outran Force’s slower 3.833 second run and moved him into the semifinals for the second consecutive race and fourth time this season.

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Madison, IL – Heading into the third NHRA Countdown race with a semifinal finish from the Carolina Nationals Doug Kalitta and the Mac Tools Toyota Top Fuel team can feel the momentum building. Four races remain in the NHRA playoffs and the Midwest Nationals at World Wide Technology Raceway would not come at a better time for the 49-time Top Fuel National event winner. Kalitta has won the Midwest Nationals four times most recently the 2020 title. The perennial championship contender has the second most Top Fuel wins at the popular track located just outside of the St. Louis. The Mac Tools team will also get an added boost this weekend from Ferguson Facilities Supply, a division of Ferguson Enterprises, along with WypAll towels and wipes which will join Mac Tools on his dragster as they move in the right direction at the right time heading to a track they have had a long history of success.

“I am ready to get to St. Louis for sure,” said Kalitta. “We had a solid race in Charlotte and we made some big steps forward. We were provisional No. 1 qualifiers and raced to the semifinals. This is the time of year you need to start getting round wins and our Mac Tools team is starting to get that done.”

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Madison, IL – The Midwest Nationals this weekend at World Wide Technology Raceway will be a critical turning point for Shawn Langdon and the DHL Toyota Top Fuel team. There are four races remaining the NHRA Countdown with the season finale earning the team points and a half. A strong performance by his DHL team that will also be promoting career opportunities at Kalitta Air with the KalittaAir.com/Careers logo could move him into position to maximize the final three races of the season. Fortunately for the 2013 Top Fuel world champion has some unique history of success at the track located just outside of St. Louis. Langdon is one of only two drivers to have won both nitro categories at the track positioned in the shadow of the famed St. Louis Arch. In 2016 he won Top Fuel and in 2019 he outran teammate J.R. Todd for his second Funny Car national event. The only other driver to achieve this special double win is Hall of Famer Gary Scelzi.

“It is cool to be one of only two drivers to have won Top Fuel and Funny Car at a national event, but we are focusing on getting another Top Fuel win this weekend,” said Langdon. “We got on a roll earlier this season and we need to get make into that kind of groove.”

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Madison, IL – The race for the 2022 NHRA Funny Car championship will reach a critical turning point this weekend for not just J.R. Todd and the DHL Toyota GR Supra Funny Car team but the entire category still has a shot at reeling in the points leader. Todd, who is sitting in seventh place is just 150 point off the lead and with four races and points and half at the season finale race in Pomona, California, it is still very much anyone’s championship. In 2018 when Todd won his first world championship the driver who came up through the junior dragster ranks before a successful career in Top Fuel made the back half of the Countdown his playground. The Midwest Nationals was the lone event he did not dominate during his championship run but the 10-time Funny Car national event winner knows this track could be the key to his second championship.

“In 2018 we made it to the semifinals at the Midwest Nationals and that kept us in the championship hunt,” said Todd. “A win this weekend could give this DHL Toyota team just the push we need to grab another title. This team is ready for a win and I know we are hungry for the championship.”

In 2019 Todd raced to the final round and squared off with his teammate Shawn Langdon who was in his second year piloting an 11,000 horsepower Funny Car. It was a close race that went Langdon’s way that Sunday. With Langdon back in the Top Fuel ranks Todd has turned his attention to the other tough Funny Car competitors.

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YPSILANTI, MI – Race three of the NHRA Countdown will feature Top Fuel championship contender Doug Kalitta racing his familiar red and white Mac Tools Toyota dragster with an added boost from Ferguson Facilities Supply, a division of Ferguson Enterprises, along with WypAll towels and wipes. During the Midwest Nationals, September 23-25, Ferguson and WypAll will take advantage of the VIP hospitality pit side experience with Kalitta Motorsports. The international corporation will utilize the unique atmosphere to develop B2B relationships with KMS partners and well as promote their relationship with WypAll.

“This is our second season with Ferguson and we appreciate how they leverage our motorsports program to highlight companies like WypAll,” said Chad Head, Kalitta Motorsports General Manager. “Ferguson is a global company with business relationships with some of the biggest brands in the world. The fact that they showcase our brand and VIP entertainment experience to their customers says a lot about the power of NHRA and our business-to-business relationship.”

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Charlotte, NC – J.R. Todd and the DHL Toyota GR Supra Funny Car rolled into zMax Dragway looking for their first career win at the track located in the heart of NASCAR country. In 2018 during his Funny Car championship season Todd raced to a runner-up finish and this weekend he was looking for one more win light. Four win lights today would have created the opportunity for Kalitta Motorsports and primary sponsor DHL to donate 80,000 meals to Feeding America. The two companies are collaborating during the month of September to donate 20,000 meals for every win light beginning this weekend and for the following three NHRA national events.

Through two days of qualifying Todd and the DHL Toyota GR Supra made solid runs with their two passes on Saturday earning him four qualifying bonus points as the second quickest run of each session. Heading into race day his quickest time of 3.873 seconds at 328.54 mph gave him lane choice over Toyota teammate Alexis DeJoria.

In the opening round today both Funny Cars rolled into the staging beams and it was Todd taking a starting line advantage with a .056 second reaction time in front of DeJoria’s .071 second start. As soon as his racecar left the starting line it began moving around and the 10-time Funny Car national event winner had his hands full. The loss of one cylinder robbed Todd of valuable horsepower and had Todd manhandling his race car down the track. DeJoria posted a career quickest pass to turn on the win light.

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