Kalitta Advances To Finals, Extends Point Lead In Reaching Milestone At E3 Spark Plugs NHRA Nationals

INDIANAPOLIS, IN – Doug Kalitta became just the second Top Fuel driver in NHRA history to record 700 round wins on his way to advancing to the finals in the NHRA Mello Drag Racing Series return to the race track at the E3 Spark Plugs NHRA Nationals at Lucas Oil Raceway, Sunday.

In reaching his third consecutive final round this season, Kalitta stretched out his Top Fuel point lead to 111 points over second-place Steve Torrence.

The Mac Tools Toyota driver defeated Lex Joon and Leah Pruett in the opening two rounds to set up a semifinal match-up with fellow Toyota driver Antron Brown. Brown had the advantage on the tree and led through the 60-foot mark before losing traction as Kalitta pulled away to earn that historic 700th Top Fuel round win, joining Tony Schumacher as the only drivers in NHRA history to record that feat.

In the finals against Billy Torrence, Kalitta laid down an outstanding .018-second reaction time and held the lead almost the entire way down the race track before Billy Torrence chased him down past the 660’ mark, eventually winning by just .012 seconds.

In Funny Car, J.R. Todd advanced to the semifinals today in defeating Alex Miladinovich and Alexis DeJoria. In the semis against Tommy Johnson, he had the advantage on the tree, only to go up in smoke quickly to end his day.

The Mello Yello Drag Racing Series will be back in Indianapolis next weekend for the Lucas Oil Nationals, July 18-19.