Kalitta Motorsports
J.R. Todd and DHL Toyota GR Supra Bring Heat to Championship Chase at Texas Motorplex
Ennis, TX – As the battle for the Funny Car world championship comes to conclusion J.R. Todd and the DHL Toyota GR Supra Funny Car 
team are looking at the NHRA Texas Fall Nationals as their next chance to move up in the standings. Three Countdown playoff national events remain on the schedule and Todd has experienced success at every event throughout his career. The Texas Fall Nationals is the one track where he hasn’t captured a Funny Car title, but the versatile driver has won in Top Fuel capturing the win in 2008. The Stampede of Speed event which will be capped with the Texas Fall Nationals October 14-16 will offer Todd and the DHL Funny Car four qualifying runs which the veteran driver knows will be critical to race day success.
“I wish every track had four qualifying runs because you just get better information and it gives all the teams more chances for success on race day,” said Todd. “I am looking forward to getting to the Texas Motorplex this weekend. That all-concrete track with some good weather could mean really quick times. There is also a $15,000 bonus for low ET on Friday night which will make it pretty exciting.”
Surging Doug Kalitta and Mac Tools Team Taking on Texas Motorplex with Winning Attitude
Ennis, TX – A resurgent Doug Kalitta and the Mac Tools Toyota Top Fuel team will roll into the NHRA Texas Fall Nationals looking to 
continue to close the gap on the Top Fuel points leaders. Over three of the past four races Kalitta has raced to three semifinal finishes and sits in seventh place in the point standings only 88 points back from first place in one of the tightest Top Fuel races in recent memory. The Texas Fall Nationals, the fourth of six Countdown playoff races, will be a turning point for the perennial championship contender and his Alan Johnson and Brian Husen led team.
“We have been running really well since Indy and I think the team really turned a corner,” said Kalitta, a 49-time Top Fuel national event winner. “We brought on Alan and Brian at the beginning of the season and we knew it wouldn’t be a quick turnaround. It is all starting to come together and it couldn’t happen at a better time with three races left in the season. It is anyone’s championship.”
Kalitta has two wins at Texas Motorplex grabbing the Top Fuel title in 2013 and 2002. The all-concrete track built by former Funny Car driver Billy Meyer is known as one of the quickest and fastest tracks in the country. The cooler conditions that are forecasted for the track located south of the DFW metroplex could play right into Kalitta’s hands for running low elapsed times.
Langdon Goes Pink with CMR for Texas Fall Nationals Looking for Victory
Ennis, TX – The DHL Toyota Top Fuel team and Shawn Langdon will be looking to keep the momentum that began building at the NHRA 
Midwest Nationals in St. Louis. Langdon raced to a semifinal finish and added 40,000 meals to Feeding America for his efforts along with Kalitta Motorsports and primary sponsor DHL. This weekend Langdon will be supporting Feeding America as well as breast cancer awareness and men’s health with a pink highlighted DHL Toyota Top Fuel dragster. The 2013 NHRA Top Fuel champion is appreciative of the efforts to support a variety of causes that impact the NHRA fan, but he is most focused in winning the Texas NHRA Fall Nationals for the first time.
“We have been runner-up a few times and I would definitely like to get those four win lights on Sunday,” said Langdon. “We have raced to a couple final rounds this season and we were making a lot of progress at the end of the summer. We have a great team over here and I think we will finish these last three races on a high note.”
Langdon raced to the final round at the NHRA Texas Fall Nationals recording runner-up finishes as recently as 2017 as well as his championship season of 2013 and in 2010. Langdon also went No. 1 in back-to-back races in 2012 and 2013.
Kalitta Motorsports Goes Pink with DHL and CMR
YPSILANTI, MI – Multiple time world championship winning team Kalitta Motorsports will once again join the chorus of professional 
organizations supporting breast cancer awareness throughout the month of October, along with primary sponsors DHL and CMR Construction and Roofing. Beginning this weekend at the Texas NHRA Fall Nationals, 2018 Funny Car world champion J.R. Todd will campaign a pink DHL Toyota GR Supra Funny Car while Shawn Langdon will fly the pink highlighted livery of CMR Construction and Roofing. For the final two national events of the Countdown, both Todd and Langdon will compete for the Funny Car and Top Fuel world championships in pink DHL race cars. In addition to supporting breast cancer awareness in October, the teams will be raising awareness for men’s health in November with a unique logo on each DHL race car.
This is an important cause to support and raise awareness for not just in the month of October but throughout the year,” said Todd, a 10-time Funny Car national event winner. “Breast cancer affects so many people every year that we just want to do our part to help support those that are battling and help support the organizations that are working on a cure. It is cool that we get to do this with both DHL and CMR Construction and Roofing.”
Kalitta Motorsports and DHL Have Raced to Provide over100,000 Meals for Feeding America After Two Events
YPSILANTI, MI – Heading into the Texas NHRA Fall Nationals at Texas Motorplex this weekend Kalitta Motorsports and DHL have 
donated 140,000 meals to Feeding America, the largest charity working to end hunger in the United States, to help in a race to end food insecurity with the ‘Drive For Purpose Challenge.’ Thanks to win lights recorded by Doug Kalitta, Shawn Langdon and J.R. Todd at the Carolina Nationals in Charlotte and the Midwest Nationals in St. Louis, the program is off to strong start as the team races towards its original goal of 500,000 meals.
With two more races remaining in the Drive for Purpose Challenge the team is confident they will hit the mark especially on the heels of a winning weekend in St. Louis where both Langdon and Kalitta raced to the semifinals in the DHL and Mac Tools Top Fuel dragsters and Todd collected a quarterfinal finish with his DHL Toyota GR Supra Funny Car. Following the success of the weekend Kalitta Air joined the cause with a commitment to match the $25,000 donation from Kalitta Motorsports for a total of $50,000 from the two Michigan based companies owned by drag racing legend Connie Kalitta.
Quarterfinal Finish for J.R. Todd and DHL at Midwest Nationals
Madison, IL – Two days of qualifying at the NHRA Midwest Nationals from World Wide Technology had J.R. Todd and DHL Toyota GR 
Supra Funny Car entering race day as the No. 10 Funny Car. Todd and his team were looking for another win and adding meals to Feeding America through their win light program with primary sponsor DHL. Every win light on race day would mean Kalitta Motorsports and DHL would donate 20,000 meals to the national charity working to erase food insecurity in America.
In a rematch of last week’s first round against Toyota teammate Alexis DeJoria Todd took the win light in a wild first round race. Todd was first off the starting line but just before the finish line his DHL Funny Car begins to sashay in his lane. The 2018 world champion stayed on the throttle knowing the finish line was just off the nose of his GR Supra Funny Car. The confidence paid off as he held off a charging DeJoria for the win and advancement to the quarterfinals.
It was an epic second round race with Todd facing No.2 qualifier John Force for a shot at the semifinals. Both former world champions knew each other tactics and the race was a great side-by-side battle. Todd took off just after Force and was around him and pulling away by half track. As the finish line closed in Force was able to make up some ground and as they crossed the finish line it was Todd coming up about three feet short. The DHL Toyota GR Supra lit up the scoreboard with a 3.967 second, 321.58 mph in a losing effort.
Shawn Langdon Races DHL to Semifinals at NHRA Midwest Nationals
Madison, IL – The DHL Toyota Top Fuel dragster and driver Shawn Langdon rolled into race day at the NHRA Midwest Nationals on the 
strength of his best qualifying performance of the 2022 NHRA season. The 2013 Top Fuel world champion was No. 3 on the qualifying sheet with a season quickest 3.697 second pass to close out Saturday’s final day of qualifying. The veteran driver was ready for his first round match up with part-time Top Fuel driver Kyle Wurtzel.
The DHL Toyota team which was also flying the colors of www.kalittaair.com/careers this weekend knew they would need to be at the top of their game. Langdon jumped off the line with a strong .072 reaction time which proved to be the difference maker. The DHL Toyota dragster crossed the finish line with a winning time of 3.760 seconds in front of Wurtzel’s quicker 3.747 second run. Langdon’s margin of victory was estimated to be nine feet at nearly 330 mph.
In the quarterfinals Langdon faced Tony Schumacher another tough Countdown contender. It was a wire-to-wire win for Langdon as he was first off the line and never trailed in the race in front of a tire smoking Schumacher. It was another winning. 3.760 second pass for Langdon and set up another semifinal race for the DHL Toyota Top Fuel dragster.
St. Louis Semifinal Motivates Doug Kalitta and Mac Tools for Back Half of Countdown
Madison, IL – For the second week in a row Doug Kalitta and the Mac Tools Toyota Top Fuel dragster stormed through the Top Fuel field in 
qualifying and on race day. After two days of nearly 20 Top Fuel dragsters battling for 16 spots in the field Kalitta secured the No. 4 spot on the strength of his 3.684 second pass. In a strong field that featured seven teams posting run in the 3.60s to set the field Kalitta and the Mac Tools team featuring Ferguson and WypAll knew race day was going to be a tough battle.
A first round race with veteran Doug Foley was no easy race for the 49-time Top Fuel national event winner. Kalitta grabbed a starting line advantage and just past half track his Mac Tools dragster began to haze the tire robbing the perennial championship contender of much needed horsepower, but he was far enough in front of Foley who was having his own issues to grab the win. Kalitta stayed on the throttle and muscled his race car across the finish line for the win.
In the quarterfinals Kalitta had a chance to take out a Countdown contender and start closing the gap on the handful of cars in front of him in the points. He grabbed a starting line advantage with a .055 reaction time in front of Brittany Force’s .079 and he never trailed in the race. His 3.768 second run outran Force’s slower 3.833 second run and moved him into the semifinals for the second consecutive race and fourth time this season.
Doug Kalitta Brings Championship Focus and New Look to Midwest Nationals
Madison, IL – Heading into the third NHRA Countdown race with a semifinal finish from the Carolina Nationals Doug Kalitta and the Mac 
Tools Toyota Top Fuel team can feel the momentum building. Four races remain in the NHRA playoffs and the Midwest Nationals at World Wide Technology Raceway would not come at a better time for the 49-time Top Fuel National event winner. Kalitta has won the Midwest Nationals four times most recently the 2020 title. The perennial championship contender has the second most Top Fuel wins at the popular track located just outside of the St. Louis. The Mac Tools team will also get an added boost this weekend from Ferguson Facilities Supply, a division of Ferguson Enterprises, along with WypAll towels and wipes which will join Mac Tools on his dragster as they move in the right direction at the right time heading to a track they have had a long history of success.
“I am ready to get to St. Louis for sure,” said Kalitta. “We had a solid race in Charlotte and we made some big steps forward. We were provisional No. 1 qualifiers and raced to the semifinals. This is the time of year you need to start getting round wins and our Mac Tools team is starting to get that done.”
Opportunity for St Louis Success Has Langdon and DHL Top Fuel Team Ready to Attack Track
Madison, IL – The Midwest Nationals this weekend at World Wide Technology Raceway will be a critical turning point for Shawn Langdon 
and the DHL Toyota Top Fuel team. There are four races remaining the NHRA Countdown with the season finale earning the team points and a half. A strong performance by his DHL team that will also be promoting career opportunities at Kalitta Air with the KalittaAir.com/Careers logo could move him into position to maximize the final three races of the season. Fortunately for the 2013 Top Fuel world champion has some unique history of success at the track located just outside of St. Louis. Langdon is one of only two drivers to have won both nitro categories at the track positioned in the shadow of the famed St. Louis Arch. In 2016 he won Top Fuel and in 2019 he outran teammate J.R. Todd for his second Funny Car national event. The only other driver to achieve this special double win is Hall of Famer Gary Scelzi.
“It is cool to be one of only two drivers to have won Top Fuel and Funny Car at a national event, but we are focusing on getting another Top Fuel win this weekend,” said Langdon. “We got on a roll earlier this season and we need to get make into that kind of groove.”
