YPSILANTI, MI – One of the longest-running sports marketing partnerships ever is back for another year in 2025 as Mac Tools returns to the Kalitta Motorsports Top Fuel dragster for its 24th-consecutive season as its primary corporate partner, the team announced today. The 2025 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series begins March 7-9, 2025 at the Amalie Oil NHRA Gatornationals in Gainesville, Fla.

Doug Kalitta will once again pilot the red and white Mac Tools Toyota Top Fuel dragster, but the team will debut fresh, new livery when the season starts next week. Team Kalitta’s Mac Tools primary partnership, which began in 2001, spans more than two decades in a relationship that feels more like a friendship. Mac Tools is a significant part of the long-term success Kalitta Motorsports enjoys in NHRA Drag Racing.

“Our partnership with Kalitta Motorsports not only benefits our brand, but also helps promote the sport of drag racing and inspires the next generation of automotive professionals,” Mac Tools president Phil Cox said. “Kalitta Motorsports has been an amazing ambassador of the Mac Tools brand for more than 25 years, and we are excited to see what the new season holds for Doug Kalitta and the entire Kalitta Motorsports team. Continue reading →

YPSILANTI, MI – PJH TrackBite, through its parent company, Superior Industrial Solutions, joins Kalitta Motorsports in the upcoming season as its newest corporate partner, the team announced today. The 2025 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series begins March 7-9, 2025 at the Amalie Oil NHRA Gatornationals in Gainesville, Fla.

PJH TrackBite will be an associate sponsor on Doug Kalitta’s Mac Tools Top Fuel dragster, Shawn Langdon’s Kalitta Air Careers Top Fuel dragster and J.R. Todd’s DHL GR Supra Funny Car. In addition, Superior will entertain its clients and guests in the Team Kalitta trackside hospitality area.

Superior Industrial Solutions makes PJH TrackBite, the official traction compound of the NHRA, which will be used at all NHRA national events to enhance traction. It uses a unique formula to create adhesion between rubber, asphalt and concrete.

“Superior, with our traction compound brand PJH TrackBite, is excited to partner with Kalitta Motorsports,” Superior Industrial Solutions President Kurt Hettinga said. “Their dedication to excellence will support and enhance our work as we continue to provide products that create excitement within the racing industry.” Continue reading →

YPSILANTI, MI – Ferguson Industrial Packaging will entertain its guests in the Kalitta Motorsports VIP hospitality area this season, the team announced today. The 2025 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series begins March 7-9, 2025 at the Amalie Oil NHRA Gatornationals in Gainesville, Fla.

Ferguson boasts nearly 2,000 locations in North America with some 35,000 associates supplying more than 36,000 manufacturing products to its customers. With its headquarters in Newport News, Va., Ferguson Industrial provides expertise in a wide range of products including packaging, packaging equipment, safety, MRO, Janitorial supplies plumbing and lighting. Ferguson will entertain its guests at the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing events located in Joliet, Ill., Norwalk, Ohio and Indianapolis this summer.

“We are very happy to welcome Ferguson back to our VIP hospitality area this season,” Team Kalitta General Manager Chad Head said. “Our hospitality team is the best in the business, and they create welcoming, professional product for our corporate partners. Chris Hill, Kraig Fasnacht, Nick Smith and George Barnett do an awesome job, and that team is one of the reasons Ferguson is back for a third-straight year. We also look forward to welcoming our Ferguson partners to this year’s Kalitta Motorsports business-to-business summit.” Continue reading →

YPSILANTI, MI – Kalitta Motorsports is paying tribute to the late Scott Kalitta with throwback livery at this weekend’s race in Bradenton, Fla., the team announced today. The 2025 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series begins March 7-9, 2025 at the Amalie Oil NHRA Gatornationals in Gainesville, Fla.

Todd’s Team Kalitta GR Supra Funny Car will sport the bright red Kalitta Flying Service livery of the Funny Car Scott Kalitta raced to his first NHRA national event win in 1989 at this weekend’s SCAG PRO Superstar Shootout. Kalitta won the NHRA Top Fuel championship in 1994 and ’95 and is one of only 19 drivers to win races in both Top Fuel and Funny Car.

After finishing second in the final season standings in 1993, Kalitta became the first Top Fuel driver to win four-straight races in 1994 reaching the winner’s circle at Columbus, Ohio, Topeka, Kan., Denver and Sonoma, Calif. He won five races that season on the way to his first NHRA Top Fuel title. The next season, he won six races and his second-consecutive season championship and followed the championships with a runner-up finish in 1996.

“It means a lot to me to run a Scott Kalitta tribute car,” Todd said. “Scott’s family lives in the area, and I’m sure they’ll be at the race again this weekend. It’s a big deal – I’ve always wanted to run a throwback car since I started with Kalitta Motorsports. I ran the “Bounty Hunter” car in my first race driving for Connie (Team Owner Connie Kalitta), and now to drive a throwback to Scott and Scott’s Funny Car that I have the honor to drive means a lot. Continue reading →

YPSILANTI, MI – Applied Innovation returns to the Kalitta Motorsports family of corporate partners in 2025 looking for additional success in the new season, the team announced today. The 2025 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series begins March 7-9, 2025 at the Amalie Oil NHRA Gatornationals in Gainesville, Fla.

Applied Innovation will be the primary partner for 2023 NHRA Top Fuel champion Doug Kalitta’s dragster for the special pre-season event set for Feb. 6-8, 2025 in Bradenton, Fla., and the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series event in Norwalk, Ohio June 27-29, 2025. Applied will also be a co-primary partner with Kalitta Air on Shawn Langdon’s Top Fuel dragster at the Cornwell Quality Tools U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis Aug. 29-Sept. 1, 2025. Kalitta is the defending champion of this week’s second-annual SCAG PRO Superstar Shootout.

“Our relationship with Kalitta Motorsports helps us tell the Applied Innovation story,” Applied Innovation owner John Lowery said. “We opened our Indianapolis location last year and look forward to exposing that market to the Applied Innovation brand when we join Shawn’s team for the U.S. Nationals. We’re thrilled to be back on Doug’s car for two races this season and hope to help Doug and his team get the season started with a Florida win like they did last year. The Kalitta folks are real pros, and we’re proud to be back with them again this season.” Continue reading →

YPSILANTI, MI – Shawn Langdon’s Kalitta Air Careers team will race with new livery designed to look like a Kalitta Air plane in the upcoming season, the team announced today. The 2025 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series begins March 7-9, 2025 at the Amalie Oil NHRA Gatornationals in Gainesville, Fla.

In the middle of the 2023 season, Kalitta Air began using Langdon’s Top Fuel team as part of its multi-faceted, multi-media effort to recruit pilots and mechanics to work at Kalitta Air. The program is working well, but in an effort to link the race team more closely to the airline, the new livery makes the car look more like the planes that deliver cargo around the world – Langdon’s Top Fuel car is now almost an extension of the Kalitta Air Boeing 747 and 777 aircraft.

“The Kalitta Air Careers car is definitely making a difference in our hiring at Kalitta Air,” Kalitta Air Senior VP and Deputy Chief Operating Officer Heath Nichol said. “This program is working, but we still need more pilots and mechanics so we’re rebranding the Kalitta Air Careers car to make it mirror our aircraft in hopes of more closely linking the race team with the iconic Kalitta Air 747s many people see at airports around the world. Flying a 747 is a dream job for many pilots – we just want to make sure they know we’re hiring.” Continue reading →

YPSILANTI, MI – Longtime NHRA Funny Car Crew chief Dickie Venables is the new crew chief for J.R. Todd’s DHL GR Supra Funny Car, the team announced today. The 2025 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series begins March 7-9, 2025 at the Amalie Oil NHRA Gatornationals in Gainesville, Fla.

Venables, 60, is a four-time NHRA Funny Car championship crew chief having won the title in 2007 with then driver Tony Pedregon at Tony Pedregon Racing; he was the assistant crew chief for Pedregon’s 2003 title at John Force Racing. After working with Del Worsham at Alan Johnson Racing, Venables joined Don Schumacher Racing in 2011 and led driver Matt Hagan to the NHRA Funny Car championship in 2014, ’20 and ’23.

Venables comes to Kalitta Motorsports from Tony Stewart Racing where he teamed with Hagan since the team’s inception. Longtime Kalitta Motorsports team member Jon Oberhofer will serve as Venables’ Assistant Crew Chief. Venables replaced Todd Smith who joined Kalitta Motorsports in 2016. Continue reading →

INDIANAPOLIS – Dayco is introducing a new 97mm wide 11mm blower belt for Top Fuel cars at this week’s Performance Racing Industry show in Indianapolis, and Kalitta Motorsports is its exclusive trackside distributor, the team announced today. The 2025 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series begins March 7-9, 2025, at the NHRA Gatornationals in Gainesville, Fla.

Kalitta Motorsports will distribute Dayco’s new 97mm wide blower belt in addition to the existing Dayco 84mm wide 11mm blower belt that’s been used on the team’s Funny Cars as part of their partnership agreement, which commenced prior to the 2024 season. Dayco and Team Kalitta have worked together over the past year to expand the Dayco blower belt line, in an effort to provide more coverage for vehicles with different engine and fuel specifications.

The Dayco 11mm blower belt line is specially engineered for Top Fuel and Funny Cars with nitromethane engines. Featuring a hybrid carbon cord encapsulated in custom rubber compounds and patented low friction PTFE tooth fabric, the belt offers one of the highest load ratings in racing and has helped numerous teams cross the finish line first. That success is due in large part to the Dayco team’s utilization of real-world track data to enhance its belt designs. Additional information about Dayco’s commitment to motorsports is available here. Continue reading →

Pomona, CA – Qualifying: J.R. Todd was the No. 9 qualifier at the In ‘n Out Burger NHRA Finals. The Funny Car class was able to complete one qualifying session Friday afternoon before rain washed out the second session. Todd made his best qualifying attempt in the first session Saturday afternoon when his DHL GR Supra reached the finish line in 3.878 seconds at 331.45 mph.

Eliminations: Todd raced Cruz Pedregon in the first round for the third-consecutive race. Todd got the win and advanced to the second round with an excellent 3.858-seocnd effort at 330.07 mph. Unfortunately, he raced newly crowned NHRA Funny Car champion Austin Prock in the second round. Todd left the starting line first, but the DHL GR Supra didn’t have enough. Todd ran 3.900 secs. at 332.84 to Prock’s 3.850-second effort.

Unofficial Point Standings: Todd finished the season in eighth place in the NHRA Mission Foods Funny Car point standings. Continue reading →

Pomona, CA – Qualifying: Shawn Langdon was the No. 4 qualifier at the In ‘n Out Burger NHRA Finals. After entering the season’s final race 45 points behind first-place Justin Ashley. With 30 points available through each round of qualifying, Langdon hoped to earn at least 16 points in qualifying to move within one round of Ashley entering Sunday. Unfortunately, rain caused cancelation of both Friday sessions leaving only Saturday’s two sessions to set the field.

Langdon smoked the tires in the first session and was not in the field entering the final qualifying session of the season. No problem for the Kalitta Air Careers team. Langdon made the quickest run of his career with a 3.653-second pass at 331.45 mph. That run put Langdon atop the field, but three drivers made quicker runs moving him to the No. 4 position. Despite losing the first two sessions, Landon picked up 12 points on Ashley, moved to second in points and entered eliminations 33 points out of first place.

Eliminations: Langdon defeated Josh Hart in the first round setting up a second-round matchup with Antron Brown who defeated points leader Justin Ashley in the first round and entered race day trailing Langdon by three points. Langdon’s Kalitta Air Careers dragster smoked the tires almost immediately when the run began, but Brown also smoked the tires. Langdon pedaled the car, but Brown’s car hooked up first. He won the round, advanced to the semifinals, took the points lead and went on to win the 2024 NHRA Top Fuel Championship. Continue reading →