Doug Kalitta and Mac Tools Wrapping Up Regular Season with Eyes on Countdown

Brainerd, MN – On a cool and fast track at Brainerd International Raceway Doug Kalitta and the Mac Tools Top Fuel team were looking to pick up their third Brainerd Nationals title. Through three rounds of qualifying on Friday and Saturday the team worked on a consistent tune-up and rolled into race day as the No. 9 qualifier and a rematch of last week’s Topeka Nationals first round with Clay Millican. Kalitta’s best elapsed time in qualifying a 3.823 second pass was a solid starting point for the team to step up from in eliminations.

Kalitta faced Millican in the second pair of dragsters to hit the track on Sunday morning. The 49-time national event winner got a starting line advantage with a superior reaction time, .061 to .076, and both 11,000 horsepower race cars were charging down the track. The Mac Tools Top Fuel dragster was on its best pass of the weekend, but it wasn’t enough to get to the finish line first. Kalitta’s elapsed time of 3.809 second at 321.88 mph was an improvement over his qualifying time but not enough to move on to the next round.

“We are battling to get round wins with this Mac Tools team,” said Kalitta. “We are going to test tomorrow and get some things figured out before Indy and the Countdown. There is one more race left in the regular season and then the playoffs start.”

A strong performance at the U.S. Nationals, a race Kalitta won in 2019, would move him up in the top ten going into the playoffs. The team is currently solidly in the top ten and will be looking to clinch their spot in two weeks in Indianapolis

Statistics:
Qualified: No. 9 (3.823 sec., 308.99 mph)
Bonus points: 0

Race Details:

First Round
Driver                                  Qual       R/T         ET           MPH
Doug Kalitta                      9             .061       3.809     321.88
Clay Millican                      4             .076       3.729     327.27 (W)