Norwalk, OH – At the halfway point of the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series regular season J.R. Todd and the DHL Toyota GR Supra Funny Car team are sitting in sixth place in the point standings and looking to make a move as the summer heats up. The DHL Funny Car team has three semifinal finishes in the previous six races along with an additional quarterfinal finish at the Charlotte Four-Wide Nationals. This weekend at the Norwalk Nationals Todd will be looking to race to his first win at the track located an hour outside of Cleveland.

“We have been right on the cusp of getting our first win with this new Toyota GR Supra Funny Car body,” said Todd. “The track in Norwalk is fast so I am excited to get four qualifying runs and then see what we can do on Sunday. Everyone over here on this DHL Toyota team is working hard so I have a lot of confidence.”

Nine races into the new season Todd has made around 40 passes in qualifying or competition with the new Supra body. The brand-new design affords Todd better vision and the team is working to develop a solid tune up to maximize the new look Supra.

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Norwalk, OH – Racing the SealMaster Top Fuel dragster with additional support from Applied Innovations, 49-time Top Fuel winner Doug Kalitta will roll into the NHRA Norwalk Nationals with his focus on picking up a second win at the fan-favorite stop. Kalitta has raced to the final round three times in his last nine appearances at the racetrack located an hour outside of Cleveland, Ohio, in Norwalk. This season Kalitta has been working with new crew chiefs Alan Johnson and Brain Husen to establish themselves as championship contenders in a tough class of Top Fuel competitors.

“Having Alan and Brian join the team has been great and we are working together to get our Mac Tools Top Fuel dragster some wins. This weekend we will be running a SealMaster dragster and I am really excited about that. Duke and Rhonda Thorson have been great supporters of Kalitta Motorsports and we definitely want to show off for them this weekend in Norwalk.”

Kalitta’s success at the Norwalk Nationals has not been limited to his final round appearances. For nearly four consecutive years Kalitta grabbed the No. 1 qualifier.  The veteran driver recorded the quickest passes in qualifying in 2013, 2015, 2016 and 2017. In 2015 Kalitta took the win from the No. 1 spot outrunning Tony Schumacher in the final.

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Norwalk, OH – Shawn Langdon and the DHL Top Fuel dragster team are heading into the Norwalk Nationals with momentum and confidence after a successful weekend in Bristol. The 2013 Top Fuel champion nearly secured his first personal “double-up” when he won the Super Comp class and was runner-up in Top Fuel at the Thunder Valley Nationals. Langdon made more passes down the track over the three-day event than any other competitor switching between his two race cars and going rounds on Sunday.

“It was a busy day for sure,” said Langdon. “It was cool to be in that race mode all day and it felt like I never took my focus off the track. I warmed up my CMR Construction and Roofing dragster and then hopped right in my Super Comp dragster to go race. It definitely kept me sharp all day.”

The past two races for Langdon and his DHL Toyota Top Fuel team have been dominant events. In Epping Langdon was cruising through eliminations when a shredded blower belt derailed his efforts to reach the final round. Last weekend he took out Spencer Massey, Mike Salinas and Antron Brown on the way to the final round. He last run of the day was another solid pass that was just a little off pace for eth win.

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YPSILANTI, MI – Applied Innovation, the award-winning Michigan based company with over 35 years of expertise, provides imaging, technology, and automation services for businesses across all industries, is expanding their on-car presence with Kalitta Motorsports this weekend at the NHRA Norwalk Nationals. They will be taking over the front sections of both the Doug Kalitta and Shawn Langdon Top Fuel dragsters.  For over three seasons Applied Innovation, formerly Applied Imaging, has been building their business-to-business relationships with Kalitta Motorsports and a host of companies associated with NHRA drag racing.

“We started our relationship with Applied Innovation in 2019 and we are excited to be a part of their growth over the past three years,” said Chad Head, Kalitta Motorsports General Manager. “They are very active participants in our annual sponsor summits and have supported several initiatives away from the track as well. Their business is built on speed, precision, and teamwork which matches our business goals perfectly. I am excited to see them highlighted on Doug and Shawn’s Top Fuel dragsters this weekend.”

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YPSILANTI, MI – Doug Kalitta will be flying the branding and logos of long-time Kalitta Motorsports marketing partner SealMaster during the NHRA Norwalk Nationals this weekend when the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series rolls into Summit Motorsports Park. SealMaster, a global leader in the manufacturing and distribution of pavement maintenance products and equipment, has been a major sponsor with both Kalitta Motorsports and the NHRA, which features the wildly popular SealMaster Track Walk on Sunday mornings of race day. During the NHRA Norwalk Nationals Kalitta’s 11,000 horsepower Top Fuel dragster will sport the familiar SealMaster colors and logo while his team will wear special crew shirts.

“The Norwalk track is the closest race to our race shop as well as the SealMaster headquarters so this will be a cool event to run this SealMaster Top Fuel dragster,” said Kalitta, who is currently sitting in the Top Fuel Top Ten. “They get huge crowds at Norwalk and I know we will have a ton of folks from our shop as well as SealMaster at the race.”

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YPSILANTI, MI – As the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series moves in the back half of the regular season Ferguson Facilities Supply, a division for Ferguson Enterprises, enters its second year of a multi-faceted marketing and promotions relationship with Kalitta Motorsports. During the Norwalk Nationals, June 24-26, Ferguson will take advantage of the VIP hospitality pit side experience with Kalitta Motorsports. The international corporation will utilize the unique atmosphere to develop B2B relationships with KMS partners and well as recruit and retain employees and customers.

“We are looking forward to hosting guests from Ferguson Facility Supply in Norwalk,” said Chad Head, Kalitta Motorsports general manager. “Ferguson has introduced a number of different companies to NHRA and we are looking forward to continuing to use racing as a platform to grow business relationships. The excitement and high energy environment is a new experience for many of their guests and we have had a lot of success in making new fans and building B2B relationships.”

As a leading value-added distributor across residential, non-residential, new construction and repair, maintenance, and improvement (RMI) end markets Ferguson Facility Supply has over 34,000 suppliers and more than one million customers. They deliver local expertise, value-added solutions, and the industry’s most extensive portfolio of products. The breadth of their services includes infrastructure, plumbing, appliances, HVAC, fire protection, fabrication, Jan San, MRO, and safety supplies. The ability to host customers and business partners at the races with Kalitta Motorsports’ hospitality has made a positive impact over the past two seasons.

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Bristol, TN – Doug Kalitta and the Mac Tools Top Fuel dragster team were racing for their fourth national event win at one of the most historic and picturesque NHRA tracks on the tour. Through two days of qualifying at Bristol Dragway Kalitta was able to make the 16-car field but uncharacteristically the perennial championship contender was starting his race day from the bottom half of the field as the No. 12 qualifier. His quickest run of qualifying was a 3.877 second pass at 321.12 mph.

The veteran driver faced a tough first round opponent in points leader Brittany Force, the No. 5 qualifier. Kalitta took a huge starting line advantage with a solid .057 second reaction time and was pulling away when his Goodyear slicks lost traction as he passed half-track. The veteran driver attempted to regain his momentum, but Force was on a smooth pass in the right lane and advanced to the quarterfinals.

“This Mac Tools Toyota team is battling out here every weekend,” said Kalitta. “We are getting some good data and we are making good runs. This was a tricky track and we will take the positives from this weekend and head to Norwalk in a couple days. It was cool to race on Father’s Day again here in Bristol.”

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Bristol, TN – The DHL Toyota GR Supra team and driver J.R. Todd were looking to chase down one more win light on race day on the heels of their runner-up finish in 2021. Last year in the fall Todd lost a close race to Toyota teammate Alexis DeJoria and this weekend the 2018 Funny Car world champion was looking to secure four win lights. Two tough days of qualifying on a tricky track had the DHL Toyota Funny Car team headed into race day as the No. 11 qualifier.

In the opening round Todd faced multi-time champion Cruz Pedregon in a tough first round match-up. In one of the closest races in the first round of Funny Car Todd dropped a close race with his quickest run of the weekend. Todd and his DHL Toyota team stepped up and posted a 4.168 second pass but it wasn’t enough for Pedregon’s slightly quicker 4.148 second run.

“We just got a little behind the eight ball in qualifying,” said Todd. “That first round run was solid and we just lost a close drag race. There were a lot of close races today and I am looking forward to getting to Norwalk. I know that first round pass is something we can build on.”

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Bristol, TN – Shawn Langdon and the CMR Construction and Roofing Top Fuel team continued to improve on their 2022 season performance as they raced to the final round of the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals at Bristol Dragway. The 2013 Top Fuel world champion started race day as the No. 9 qualifier and at the end of the day was one of the last two Top Fuel drivers standing.

In a great first round win over the No. 8 qualifier the CMR Toyota Top Fuel dragster showed that they would be a tough customer all day. Langdon made the second quickest run of first round with a blistering 3.809 second pass at 322.50 mph to advance to the quarterfinals. It was the team’s best run of weekend for the CMR Construction and Roofing Top Fuel dragster and set them up with data and confidence heading into the second round against No. 1 qualifier Mike Salinas.

“There is no pressure, this is what we do,” said Langdon, after first round win. “I feel like if you think this is pressure you don’t know what you are doing. We have a lot of the CMR Construction and Roofing group out here this weekend. We are trying to put on a good show for them along with DHL, Toyota, Mac Tools, Revchem and all the people that support us. Going rounds this time of year is important.”

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Bristol, TN – The Mac Tools Top Fuel team and driver Doug Kalitta are looking to build on the positive momentum they have been gathering over the past two events. The off-season addition of world champion crew chiefs Alan Johnson and Brian Husen has taken hold and the team has raced to back-to-back quarterfinal finishes with a breakthrough event around the corner. The Thunder Valley Nationals could be just the event for the 49-time Top Fuel national event winner to notch win No. 50.

“We have had a lot of success in Bristol for sure,” said Kalitta. “I love that track and it is a Bruton Smith track so you know it will be nice. There is a lot of history in Bristol and the fans really turn out.”

Kalitta has raced to six final rounds at Thunder Valley Dragway collecting Top Fuel wins in 2001, 2005 and 2006. His runner-up finishes have been tallied in 2009, 2012 and most recently 2014 when he lost to now teammate Shawn Langdon. Kalitta is the second winningest Top Fuel driver in the history of the Thunder Valley Nationals

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