Indianapolis, IN – Another win at this weekend’s NHRA U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis would catapult Doug Kalitta and the Mac Tools team right into the middle of the Top Fuel championship discussion. The 2019 U.S. Nationals winner and three-time finalist has had a tough regular season but the resilient championship contender who is sitting eighth in the Top Fuel point standings knows all a driver needs is a chance to run for the championship.

“We have been close to the championship before and we are going into Indy and the U.S. Nationals with a great attitude. We are looking at points and a half at that race so we know we can make a move up the standings,” said Kalitta. “We have won this race before and been to a couple more finals. I feel good about our chances.”

For the first time since 2019 when Kalitta captured the U.S. Nationals title the event will be contested over four days with eliminations on Monday. Teams will have five qualifying rounds with each session offering the four quickest competitors bonus points for their efforts. Four points will go to quickest run, three points for second quickest, and so on for the top four. The additional possible 20 points just in qualifying runs could be a game changer for Kalitta and the Mac Tools Toyota Top Fuel dragster.

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Indianapolis, IN – With the 68th NHRA U.S. Nationals on tap this weekend J.R. Todd and the DHL Toyota GR Supra team will be looking to race into the history books as just one of seven drivers to have won the prestigious event three times in Funny Car. The back-to-back winner in 2017 and 2018 was runner-up in 2020 and has his sights set on a third U.S. Nationals crown.

“This is the biggest race of the season and you want to get that win and take some momentum into the Countdown,” said Todd. “We won this race in 2018 and went on to win the Funny Car championship. We are sixth in the points and we want to hold onto that spot in the standings.”

Todd and the DHL GR Supra team raced to a runner-up finish in Seattle at the end of the Western Swing. Over the past six races Todd has collected a runner-up a semifinal finish and three quarterfinal finishes to maintain his position in the standings. Throughout this season with the newly designed Toyota GR Supra Funny Car body Todd has been in the mix every weekend on race day. Over the off-season with the help from Toyota, Revchem Composites and his DHL team Todd worked to make sure the new Funny Car body was ready to make a statement in the 2022 NHRA season.

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Brainerd, MN – Racing for his third Brainerd Nationals title today Doug Kalitta and the Mac Tools Toyota team rolled into race day as the No. 10 qualifier. On Friday afternoon the team came off the hauler and posted the third quickest elapsed time of the first session earning a qualifying bonus point and setting the team up for the next three rounds. Kalitta is the second winningest Top Fuel driver at Brainerd International Raceway and as qualifying concluded he was paired up with Tony Schumacher, the winningest Top Fuel driver at BIR, in a massive first round battle.

In the opening round Kalitta was first off of the line against Schumacher thanks to a .056 to .069 reaction time advantage. As both drivers approached half track Kalitta fell back slightly but he could see Schumacher having engine issues. Kalitta was beginning to haze his tires and pedaled, getting off the throttle and back on, his Mac Tools dragster trying to chase down his opponent, but he suffered a sizable engine detonation just before the finish line. He dropped a close race and will head to the U. S. Nationals in two weeks sitting in ninth place in the Top Fuel point standings.

“I got a great jump off the starting line and then I had to give it a quick pedal,” said Kalitta. “We have one more race in the regular season and it is the biggest race of the year, the U.S. Nationals. We can head into the playoffs with a lot of momentum if we get that Indy win in two weeks.”

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Brainerd, MN – The Brainerd Nationals once again proved to be a performance playground for Top Fuel and Funny Car teams with weekend temperatures cooling off allowing for near record setting elapsed times and speeds. Following one of the hottest Western Swings followed by last weekend’s sweltering Topeka Nationals J.R. Todd and the DHL Toyota GR Supra team were ready to light up the scoreboard at the fan friendly racetrack. Through two days of qualifying Todd posted one of his quickest runs of the season landing in the No. 7 spot on the qualifying sheet with a solid 3.897 second run at 332.43 mph.

In the opening session on race day Todd and the DHL Toyota GR Supra made the third quickest run of the first round to take the win over No. 10 qualifier Jim Campbell. Todd was the first off the line and never trailed in the race. His winning elapsed time, 3.898 seconds, was just one thousandth of a second off his best qualifying effort.

“That first round run felt great and we went right down the groove,” said Todd. “We are in a tight battle with a lot of Funny Car teams trying to hold our position so getting that first round win was big. Todd and Jon O did a great job setting up this DHL Toyota GR Super Funny Car.”

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Brainerd, MN – After two days of qualifying in cool temperatures Shawn Langdon and the CMR Construction and Roofing Top Fuel dragster team were ready to make moves up the point standings. Their quickest time of 3.737 seconds positioned the team as the No. 11 qualifier going into race day at the Brainerd Nationals.

Langdon was facing a first round mismatch based on qualifying results, but the 2013 Top Fuel world champion knew today was a brand-new opportunity for success. He was first off the starting line with a .045 to .099 reaction time advantage and the CMR Construction and Roofing Toyota Top Fuel dragster never trailed in the race. Langdon tool the win 3.760 seconds to 3.822 seconds to advance to the quarterfinals against No. 3 qualifier Justin Ashley.

Langdon once again was strong off the starting line leaping out in front of Ashley with an impressive reaction time of .049 to his opponent’s .064. Both dragsters were flying down the track and just past half track Ashley got the nose of his 11,000 horsepower Toyota dragster in front of Langdon’s CMR dragster. It was the quickest side-by-side race of the quarterfinal round with Ashley posting the quickest ET and Langdon ringing up the second quickest time in a losing effort. At the finish line it was 3.726 seconds to 3.807 at over 320 mph.

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Brainerd, MN – The DHL Toyota GR Supra team and J.R. Todd are in a strong position with two races left in the NHRA regular season. They are sitting in sixth place in the point standings and if they can hold off the handful of drivers pursuing them over the next two races they will enter the six race playoffs three rounds out of first place. Two races ago they raced to a runner-up finish in Seattle on a track that was incredibly tricky so getting on track at Brainerd International Raceway in conditions that play to his team’s strengths has the 2018 Funny Car champion eager to get behind the wheel.

“We have been racing on tracks where the track temperatures have been 140 degrees or hotter,” said Todd, a 10-time Funny Car national event winner. “(Crew chiefs) Todd Smith and Jon Oberhofer have been doing a killer job getting this DHL Toyota GR Supra to put up good numbers. This weekend conditions will be cooler and I think we can really get after it. I am looking forward to four great qualifying runs.”

This season Todd and the DHL team have made significant strides with the new Toyota GR Supra Funny Car body that Todd, Kalitta Motorsports sponsors Revchem Composites and Toyota Gazoo Racing North America all contributed to on the development side. In addition to the Seattle final round Todd has raced deep into eliminations in Norwalk and Epping.

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Brainerd, MN – Shawn Langdon is winding down the NHRA regular season with a consistent and quick Top Fuel dragster and the 2013 Top Fuel champion is eager to get to Brainerd International Raceway. The 15-time Top Fuel national event winner will be racing the CMR Construction and Roofing Toyota dragster that he powered it to a runner-up finish at the Thunder Valley Nationals earlier this season. Since that race Langdon has tallied another final round, a semifinal and two quarterfinal finishes.

“We have been on a pretty good run since Bristol and I am looking forward to getting back in the CMR Construction and Roofing Top Fuel dragster,” said Langdon. “I almost got the double up win in Bristol with a Super Comp and Top Fuel Wally. We got close in Denver but had an issue in the final. This team can win every weekend which is the position you want to be in at this time of the season.”

Langdon and the CMR Construction and Roofing Toyota dragster will once again be facing the toughest group of competitors the Top Fuel class has seen in recent memory. This season seven different drivers have won in Top Fuel with an almost equal number scoring runner-up finishes. The past six races have seen six different winners.

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Brainerd MN – Heading to Brainerd Doug Kalitta and the Mac Tools Toyota Top Fuel team will be focused on finishing the regular season on a high note and moving into the NHRA Countdown with momentum. The traditionally cool and fast track at Brainerd International Raceway has been the site of four final round appearances for Kalitta including two wins for the 49-time Top Fuel winner. The pursuit of the 50th Top Fuel win could come to a conclusion this weekend with a strong performance from the Mac Tools team.

“We would love to get that 50th win for sure but really we want to build some momentum heading to Indy and into the Countdown,” said Kalitta. “This Mac Tools team has been working hard all season and we are ready to get those four round wins on Sunday.”

Throughout the season Kalitta has had a consistently quick race car in qualifying starting from the top half of the field every race except one. They have scored a No. 1 qualifier in Arizona and have also tallied six top four starts. During his career in Brainerd Kalitta has recorded three No. 1 qualifiers in 2010, 2004 and 2002.

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Topeka, KS – Through two days of qualifying J.R. Todd and the DHL Toyota GR Supra battled hot temperatures and tricky track conditions. At the conclusion of Saturday’s two qualifying sessions Todd posted runs quick enough to land him just outside the top half of the qualified field sitting in the No. 8 spot out of fourteen Funny Cars at Heartland Motorsports Park. His quickest elapsed time of qualifying 3.986 seconds at 323.50 mph set him up with a first round match-up against Toyota teammate Alexis DeJoria.

On Sunday morning looking to advance to his second consecutive final round of the season and at Heartland Motorsports Park Todd, last year’s Topeka finalist, was eager to get the first round underway. The two Toyota GR Supras executed their burnouts and they rolled in to stage their 11,00 horsepower racecars. In advance of the tree flashing DeJoria leapt off the starting line -.049 early triggering a redlight disqualification. Todd made a smooth quick pass in his lane. Unfortunately, during the post-race technical inspection process, NHRA officials disqualified Todd’s run due to one of the headers being out of tolerance by a small margin.

Todd and the DHL Toyota GR Supra will be back on track in one week at the Brainerd Nationals. Todd will remain in sixth place in the Camping World Drag Racing Series point standings with two races remaining in the regular season.

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Topeka, KS – In a classic battle between two of the sport’s heavyweights, Doug Kalitta came up .011 of a second short against eight-time world champion Tony Schumacher in the first round of the 33rd Menard’s NHRA Nationals today at Heartland Motorsports Park in Topeka, Kansas.

The result denied the veteran driver of the Mac Tools/Toyota a chance to take a specialty design KalittaAir.com/careers dragster to the winners’ circle in a race in which he had won two times previously and in which cousin Scott won a record six times for Kalitta Motorsports.

“We had a really cool-looking race car this weekend promoting KalittaAir.com/careers,” Kalitta said.  “I wish we could have put it in the winners’ circle.  The guys gave me a really good car and we made a good run.  It just didn’t go our way today.”

The 49-time tour winner enters this week’s Brainerd Nationals at Brainerd, MN, in eighth place in Camping World points with just two events in which to improve his standing and his starting position in the Countdown to the Championship.

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