Six-race stretch will feature $3,000 donation for every win light on race day

YPSILANTI, MI – After a successful endeavor in four races one year ago, Kalitta Motorsports, long-time partner DHL Express and Kalitta Air are partnering again to accelerate the fight against food insecurity by helping those who need it most — working families, children and senior citizens – through a six-race program in 2023: The “Race to End Hunger.”

The United States Department of Agriculture defines food insecurity as “a lack of consistent access to enough food for every person in the household to live an active, healthy life.” Partnering with Feeding America, the largest charity working to end hunger in the United States, DHL, Kalitta Motorsports and Kalitta Air will support the race to end food insecurity.

During the next six NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series events, every time Team Kalitta drivers Doug Kalitta, J.R. Todd or Shawn Langdon turn on a race day win light, Kalitta Motorsports will donate $1,000, and both DHL and Kalitta Air will match it with their own $1,000 donations making each race day win light worth $3,000, or more importantly, some 30,000 meals.

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YPSILANTI, MI – The number is three. That’s how many times Shawn Langdon has hoisted the U.S. Nationals “Wally” after winning the most prestigious race in all of drag racing. A team looking for the right combination, like the Kalitta Air Careers team, winning the season’s biggest race would definitely become one of the season’s biggest surprises, but that’s why they run the race. It’s the U.S. Nationals – anything can happen. The 2023 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series closes its regular season with this weekend’s Dodge Power Brokers NHRA U.S. Nationals Sept. 1-4 at Lucas Oil Raceway Park in Indianapolis, Ind.

Langdon’s three wins all came with very different circumstances. He won the 2010 Super Gas title. Three years later, he took the Top Fuel title at the U.S. Nationals and went on to win the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series championship while driving for Alan Johnson Racing. His most-recent win came in 2020 during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic – a race in which nothing was normal.

“The prestige of winning the U.S. Nationals and being able to put your name alongside some of the biggest names in the sport is very rewarding,” Langdon said. “In 2013, it was pretty special because we had a career year and were able to double up after winning the Traxxas Shootout. In 2020, it was a little bit odd because we were racing in a pandemic. It was my first win driving (team owner Connie Kalitta) Connie’s dragster so it was pretty special to be able to share the winner’s circle with him even though, at that time, we didn’t get to do winner’s circle. It was ‘pull the car out of your pit and stand with it for a picture.’”

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YPSILANTI, MI – J.R. Todd remembers watching the U.S. Nationals as a child from the top end of the race track and waving at the teams and drivers as they went by. The first time he went to the U.S. Nationals, at age 10, he drove a Junior Dragster in an exhibition race, and the Lawrenceburg, Ind., native was hooked. He knew, one day, he’d race at the U.S. Nationals. The 2023 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series closes its regular season with this weekend’s Dodge Power Brokers NHRA U.S. Nationals Sept. 1-4 at Lucas Oil Raceway Park in Indianapolis, Ind.

The 2018 NHRA Funny Car champion comes home this weekend for the 2023 edition of the largest and most-prestigious drag race in the world – a race he won in 2017 and ’18. His DHL Funny Car enters the race having won three races ago in Sonoma, Calif., and having advanced to at least the semifinals at six of the last eight races. The DHL Toyota team had a good summer, but finishing the regular season with a U.S. Nationals win would give Todd a U.S. Nationals hat trick.

“It’s my home race, and I’ve been going to the U.S. Nationals since I was a kid,” Todd said. “I’ve seen a lot happen there; I got to win it twice and understand how important it is. It’s the one race, all year long, that everybody’s geared up to try to win so it definitely holds more importance than any other race during the season.

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YPSILANTI, MI – Doug Kalitta’s grandmother, Evelyn, had a bottle of champagne she was saving to drink when her son, Kalitta Motorsports team owner Connie Kalitta, won the U.S. Nationals. Year after year, she’d get the bottle ready to drink, but year after year, she’d put it back. The 2023 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series closes its regular season with this weekend’s Dodge Power Brokers NHRA U.S. Nationals Sept. 1-4 at Lucas Oil Raceway Park in Indianapolis, Ind.

“It was always fun to listen to Connie tell the story of his mother, who watched Connie’s career and knew how badly he wanted to win Indy,” Doug Kalitta said. “Apparently, she had this bottle of champagne she was saving to drink whenever he won this thing. Every year, she’d put it back where she got it after he didn’t win. Finally, one year, she decided the hell with it; she just opened it and drank it. To listen to Connie tell that story about his Mom and him trying to win it, and then she drinks it one night after he didn’t win it, was just a story that always stuck with me. After Connie won the race (in 1994) is probably when he started telling that story.

“I was racing my Silver Crown car over in Springfield, Ill., and the U.S. Nationals was delayed because of rain. So we ended up flying into a little airport right next to the race track – I think it was called Speedway Airport; I don’t think it’s there anymore. We bopped in there, raced over to the track and made it just in time to watch Connie win the U.S. Nationals. It was pretty cool. We just knew, following him over the years, how badly he wanted to win that thing, and to pull it off was super exciting. It was cool.”

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Brainerd, MN – Qualifying: Shawn Langdon was the No. 9 qualifier at the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals; his best qualifying attempt came in the final session Saturday afternoon when the Kalitta Air Careers car reached the finish line in 3.796 seconds at 327.43 mph.

Eliminations: Like Kalitta, Langdon made his best run of the weekend when he made a 3.782-second run at 323.97 mph, but like Millican against Kalitta, Antron Brown made a 3.689-second run and won the round. Langdon had a brilliant reaction time and left the starting line well before his opponent, but it was not enough to win the round.

Unofficial Point Standings: Langdon leaves Brainerd in 11th place in the NHRA Top Fuel point standings. He trails 10th place Josh Hart by 63 points and leads 12th place Tony Schumacher by 99 points.

Langdon on Brainerd: “Brainerd was another tough race for the Kalitta Air Careers team; we made a couple of pretty good runs in qualifying yesterday and made our best run of the weekend today, but it wasn’t good enough. Jason, Kurt, Ronnie (co-crew chiefs Kurt Elliott, Jason McCulloch and Ronnie Thompson) and all our guys are working as hard as they can for Kalitta Air, Revchem, Toyota and everybody who supports us; it’s frustrating – we just have to keep working. We’re testing tomorrow so we’re all hoping we figure things out for Indy.”

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Brainerd, MN – Qualifying: Doug Kalitta was the No. 2 qualifier at the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals; it was his eighth top-four qualifying effort of the season. During the first round of qualifying, Kalitta made a 3.757-second pass at 330.31 mph to earn the provisional No. 1 qualifier. That run set him up perfectly for the night session, but that session was canceled after the Funny Car session due to a lack of daylight. Kalitta made two strong runs Saturday, but did not keep the No. 1 spot.

Eliminations: Kalitta made his best run of the weekend, a 3.720-second run at 327.82 mph, but Clay Millican made a 3.689-second pass to win the round and advance.

Unofficial Point Standings: Kalitta leaves Brainerd in eighth place in the NHRA Top Fuel point standings. He trails seventh-place Mike Salinas by eight points and leads ninth-place Clay Millican by 37 points.

Kalitta on Brainerd: “This Mac Tools team is doing a great job in qualifying, but we’ve been struggling on race day lately so we really need to get that fixed before we get to Indy in a couple of weeks. I’m still really proud of my guys and all the hard work they put in for Mac Tools, Revchem, Toyota and everybody else that supports us. We have to keep everybody moving forward – we have a lot talent on this team, but we just have to prove it on Sunday. Our team is testing tomorrow so we’ll figure it out and be ready to race at the U.S. Nationals.”

Brainerd, MN – Qualifying: J.R. Todd was the No. 2 qualifier at the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals; it was his best qualifying position of the season. Todd’s best qualifying attempt came in the Friday night session when he posted a 3.907-second pass at 327.98 mph.

Eliminations: Todd’s DHL GR Supra dropped a cylinder immediately slowing his elapsed time to 4.045-seconds and allowing Dale Creasy, Jr. to win the round. The last time Todd went out in the first round was June 11 in Bristol, Tenn.

Unofficial Point Standings: Todd leaves Brainerd in eighth place in the NHRA Funny Car point standings. He trails seventh-place Tim Wilkerson by 30 points and leads ninth-place John Force by 44 points.

Todd on Brainerd: “It was great to qualify second, but today was really unfortunate for the DHL GR Supra team. When you drop a cylinder at the hit, you have to get really lucky to win the round, and we weren’t lucky enough today. That (stinks) because Todd, Jon-O (co-crew chiefs Todd Smith and Jon Oberhofer) and the Yella Fellas have this DHL Toyota running really well, but that’s how it goes. We had this little hiccup today, but we’ll regroup and be ready for Indy.”

YPSILANTI, MI – As the regular season begins to wind down towards the Countdown to the Championship NHRA Playoffs, Shawn Langdon and his Kalitta Air Careers team need to get moving in hopes of finishing the regular season on a high note – and earning his first-career race win at Brainerd International Raceway would be a great way to get that done. The NHRA Camping World Drag Racing season continues this weekend with the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals Aug. 18-20 in Brainerd, Minn.

Despite flashes of brilliance, the 2023 NHRA season is not playing out as planned for Langdon and his Kalitta Air Careers Toyota team, but anyone who’s spent significant time in Motorsports fully understand that things can change rapidly. With just this week’s race in Minnesota and the U.S. Nationals on Labor Day weekend remaining before the Countdown begins, the Kalitta Air Careers team simply needs to win rounds.

“We’re still in the batter’s box, and we’ll keep swinging until as long as the pitches keep coming,” the 2013 Top Fuel champion said. “We’re excited to get to Brainerd because it’s our next opportunity to go some rounds and get our season headed back in the right direction. We made some progress on the Western swing, but we have to keep working to get better. We’d love to have a couple of good races here at the end of the regular season to make our jobs a little easier in the Countdown. I know our guys are working as hard as they can to get us where we need to be.

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YPSILANTI, MI – Doug Kalitta has been through it before. He knows the highs and lows of a sport that arguably produces more thrills for competitors and spectators alike than just about any other, and he knows hard work will eventually pay off. He and his Mac Tools Toyota team are hoping it will happen this weekend, in front of some of the sport’s most rabid fans. The NHRA Camping World Drag Racing season continues this weekend with the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals Aug. 18-20 in Brainerd, Minn.

Another thing Kalitta knows about is the Wally – the trophy given to each NHRA winner. He’s received 49 of them and wants another as soon as possible. With two wins in four final-round appearances at Brainerd International Raceway and a team capable of producing winning performance, it could happen this weekend. Kalitta enters the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals following two final round appearances in the last four races. The trick is posting more of the former less of the latter.

“We’ve definitely had our highs and lows this season,” Kalitta said. “We’ve had some really good races that made everyone at Mac Tools, Toyota, Revchem and all our partners proud, and we’ve had some that weren’t as good. I know Alan, Brian (co-crew chiefs Alan Johnson and Brian Husen) and all my guys are doing everything they can every day to keep us moving in the right direction, and I’m super proud of them. We just need to get back to winning rounds so the race wins can follow. This Mac Tools team is an awesome group of guys with a great work ethic. That 50th win is out there – we just have to go get it.”

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YPSILANTI, MI – J.R. Todd’s season has undergone quite an evolution. He and his DHL GR Supra team went from pre-season title contender through a rough patch, and now, Todd has advanced to at least the semifinals at five of the last six races including a win and a runner-up finish. With two races remaining in the regular season, Todd is closing in on title-contender status. The NHRA Camping World Drag Racing season continues this weekend with the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals Aug. 18-20 in Brainerd, Minn.

Todd won the Denso NHRA Sonoma Nationals in California last month; it was his first win in some two years, and it followed multiple semifinal showings and a runner-up finish. Last week’s semifinal finish in Topeka, Kan., was another step forward in the team’s resurgence. In stifling heat followed by a six-hour race-day rain delay, the team forged ahead. Despite his recent upward mobility, Todd is eighth in the NHRA Funny Car point standings, but with tight point totals all around, he could definitely make significant strides in the regular season’s final two races.

“It was a hot one in Kansas, and my guys continued to rise to the occasion,” Todd said. “We lost a close one (to Matt Hagan) in the semis, but we get to do it all over again in a few days – time to fight it out! It’s getting harder and harder to win in this class. The car is definitely turning the corner and going to the later rounds consistently. Our points don’t really reflect what we’ve done over the last month, but that doesn’t take anything away from the progress we’ve made.”

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