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Kalitta Motorsports

SHAWN LANGDON, KALITTA AIR CAREERS TEAM DUE FOR WIN

YPSILANTI, MI – The 2024 season has been good to Shawn Langdon and his Kalitta Air Careers Toyota team, but this team wants more – its focus now is the same as it was before the season. The 2024 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series Countdown to the Championship NHRA Playoffs resumes Oct. 11-13, 2024 at the Texas NHRA FallNationals in Ennis, Texas, the fourth of six playoff races.

Like everyone else, Langdon and his Kalitta Air Careers team set sail on the 2024 season in search of a championship, and that goal not only remains, it’s within reach. Langdon has two wins in seven final-round appearances and enters Dallas third in points. He trails second-place Justin Ashley by 26 points, leads his teammate, fourth-place Doug Kalitta, by 27 points and trails points leader Antron Brown by 60 points with three races remaining. Entering the second half of the Countdown, this team needs to win.

“The first half (of the Countdown) went well – we just lost some tough races,” the 2013 NHRA Top Fuel champion said. “Heading into Dallas – it’ll be a pretty big race. There’s probably about seven people in contention for the Top Fuel title so now is the part of the year when there’s no mistakes. Every mistake is crucial so you have to excel and win races. We have to work together as a team – the guys have been doing a good job all season so it’s everybody pulling together to do their jobs to the best of their abilities.” Continue reading

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DOUG KALITTA RUNS MOBIL 1 50TH ANNIVERSARY LIVERY IN TEXAS, STRIVES FOR LONE STAR STATE COUTNDOWN WIN

YPSILANTI, MI – Doug Kalitta will run special Mobil 1 50th anniversary livery at this week’s Texas NHRA FallNationals – a fitting tribute to a Texas-based company at an event set for the heart of the Lone Star state. The 2024 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series Countdown to the Championship NHRA Playoffs resumes Oct. 11-13, 2024 at the Texas NHRA FallNationals in Ennis, Texas, the fourth of six playoff races.

Kalitta is a veteran racer. He’s been in just about every racing situation one could imagine, and he fully understands that for his Mobil 1 Toyota team, the time is now. One year ago, Kalitta entered the second half of the Countdown with the points lead. This week, he enters the Texas NHRA Fall Nationals in fourth place in points. He trails his teammate, third-place Shawn Langdon, by 27 points, leads fifth-place Steve Torrence by one point and trails points leader Antron Brown by 87 points with three races remaining in the season. This race team is hungry and prepared for battle. Continue reading

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J.R. Todd, DHL Funny Car, Drops Round 1 to Jack Beckman

Madison, IL – Qualifying: J.R. Todd was the No. 13 qualifier at the NHRA Midwest Nationals. Todd’s best qualifying attempt came during the second of two qualifying sessions when he made a 4.230-second run at 219.47 mph. Qualifying was shortened to two rounds due to weather.

Eliminations: Todd made his best run of the weekend by far in his first-round race with Jack Beckman who is filling in for the injured John Force. Todd made a 3.926-second pass at 326.63 mph, but it was not enough to beat Beckman’s 3.878-second run.

Unofficial Point Standings: Todd leaves St. Louis in sixth place in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series point standings. He trails fifth-place Matt Hagan by 58 points and leads seventh-place Alexis DeJoria by 46 points with three races remaining in the season. Continue reading

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Doug Kalitta, Mac Tools Top Fuel Dragster, Lost to Langdon in Round 1

Madison, IL – Qualifying: Doug Kalitta was the No. 12 qualifier in the rain-shortened qualifying process at the NHRA Midwest Nationals. During the second of two qualifying sessions, Kalitta made a 3.779-second run at 312.93 mph.

Eliminations: Kalitta raced his teammate, Shawn Langdon, in the first round. Both cars left the starting line together. Kalitta was leading the race when the Mac Tools dragster smoked the tires, and Langdon cruised to the win with a 3.727-second run to Kalitta’s 5.399-second effort.

Unofficial Point Standings: Kalitta leaves St Louis in fourth place in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series point standings. He trails his teammate, third-place Shawn Langdon, by 27 points, leads fifth-place Steve Torrence by one point and trails points leader Antron Brown by 87 points with three races remaining in the season. Continue reading

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Shawn Langdon, Kalitta Air Careers Top Fuel Dragster, Drops a Close one in Round 2

Madison, IL – Qualifying: Shawn Langdon was the No. 5 qualifier at the NHRA Midwest Nationals. During the second of two qualifying sessions Saturday afternoon, Langdon made a 3.738-second pass at 320.13 mph to take the No. 5 position. Qualifying was shortened to two rounds due to weather.

Eliminations: Langdon defeated his teammate, Doug Kalitta, in the first round and raced Justin Ashley in the second. Both drivers left at virtually the same time; the race was close until the end, but Ashley won the round 3.721 to 3.731 seconds; the margin of victory was .0167 seconds.

Unofficial Point Standings: Langdon leaves St. Louis in third place in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series point standings. He trails second-place Justin Ashley by 26 points, leads his teammate, fourth-place Doug Kalitta, by 27 points and trails points leader Antron Brown by 60 points with three races remaining in the season. Continue reading

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J.R. TODD FOCUSING ON PERFORMANCE IN THIRD PLAYOFF RACE

YPSILANTI, MI – J.R. Todd and his DHL GR Supra team need more performance, and the time is now. The 2024 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series Countdown to the Championship NHRA Playoffs resumes Sept. 27-29, 2024 at the NHRA Midwest Nationals in Madison, Ill., the third of six playoff races.

The first two playoff races were frustrating for the DHL GR Supra team. With one round win in two races, the team is now sixth in points – its lowest points position of the season. This team needs a trip to the later rounds of this weekend’s race to stay in the conversation.

“We just need to go out there, figure out how to perform with the front runners and do our thing,” Todd said. “We don’t need to worry about where we are in the points or what we need to do there – just focus on our performance. It’s not hard to do that at this point because we need a miracle to get back in the championship hunt. I don’t need to change my approach as far as how I drive the car; there’s only so much you can do in the seat, but it would be nice to go out there and win another race before the season’s over.” Continue reading

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DOUG KALITTA, MAC TOOLS TEAM “DIGGING HARD” FOR ST. LOUIS SUCCESS

YPSILANTI, MI – It’s playoff time in drag racing – Doug Kalitta and his Mac Tools Toyota team find themselves right where they want to be: in the thick of the battle for the 2025 NHRA Top Fuel championship. The 2024 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series Countdown to the Championship NHRA Playoffs resumes Sept. 27-29, 2024 at the NHRA Midwest Nationals in Madison, Ill., the third of six playoff races.

The top of the standings is tight in Top Fuel, and the reigning champ is right there. Kalitta is locked in a tight battle with points leader Antron Brown, second-place Justin Ashley and his teammate, third-place Shawn Langdon, just five points ahead of him. The top-four positions are separated by just 67 points, and second through fourth are separated by 14 points.

“That’s what makes this fun,” Kalitta said. “This championship battle is the opportunity we all pray for at the beginning of the year – to be in it at the end. We’re in the hunt and all my guys are hungry to win. Alan and Mac (Crew Chief Alan Johnson and Assistant Crew Chief Mac Savage) have this Mac Tools Toyota group focused on the task at hand – they’re digging hard. It was nice to go some rounds in Charlotte last weekend – we want to keep that going and see what we can do in these last four races.” Continue reading

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THIRD PLACE SHAWN LANGDON KNOWS TITLE IS STILL “ANYBODY’S BALLGAME”

YPSILANTI, MI – For a baseball guy, it’s a perfect description for the third race of the playoffs: “it’s anybody’s ballgame.” The 2024 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series Countdown to the Championship NHRA Playoffs resumes Sept. 27-29, 2024 at the NHRA Midwest Nationals in Madison, Ill., the third of six playoff races.

Shawn Langdon played a lot of baseball and passed on a career in America’s pastime to focus on his passion: drag racing. His assessment after the first two races is perfect. The top-four Top Fuel drivers are separated by just 67 points, and second through fourth are separated by only 14 points. Antron Brown leads second-place Justin Ashley by 53 points with Langdon nine points back in third followed by Doug Kalitta just five points behind Langdon.

“We’ve done ok so far,” Langdon said. “We went to the final at the first (Countdown) race and are still third in points so we’re still in contention – we’re good so far. Super excited to have the opportunity to race with the best of the best in NHRA Drag Racing. We don’t really need to change anything – we just need to start winning races again. We don’t have any issues – the Kalitta Air Careers car is running well. We just have to win.” Continue reading

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Wilkerson Defeats J.R. Todd and the DHL Funny Car

Concord, NC – Qualifying: J.R. Todd was the No. 6 qualifier at the NHRA Carolina Nationals. Todd’s quickest qualifying run came during the Friday-night session when he reached the finish line in 3.886 seconds at 334.15 mph.

Eliminations: Todd raced Dan Wilkerson in the first round; both cars made strong runs. Todd made a 3.945-second run – the second-quickest pass of the entire first round – but it was not enough. Wilkerson left the starting line first and was able to upset the 2018 Funny Car champion by .0105 seconds.

Unofficial Point Standings: Todd leaves Charlotte in sixth place in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series point standings. He trails fifth-place Ron Capps by three points and leads seventh-place Alexis Dejoria by 47 points.

Todd on Charlotte: “You have to go out and execute. We put ourselves in a hole at the first race of the Countdown last week, and you can’t afford back-to-back early-round losses. That’s kind of the way our season’s gone – not consistently qualifying at the top and going to the later rounds. We have to put ourselves in a better position. The DHL GR Supra made a good run today, but when a guy goes .17 on the tree (Wilkerson’s .017 reaction time), you can’t do (anything) about that. We’ll just go to St. Louis, try to qualify near the top and win the race.” Continue reading

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Langdon Smokes the Tires in Round 2 Losing to Kalitta

Concord, NC – Qualifying: Shawn Langdon was the No. 6 qualifier for the NHRA Carolina Nationals; Langdon’s best qualifying attempt came during the Friday-night session when he made a 3.725-second run at 334.15 mph.

Eliminations: Langdon defeated Josh Hart before losing to his teammate, Doug Kalitta, in the second round. Langdon was ahead early before the Kalitta Air Careers dragster smoked the tires. Langdon pedaled, but it was too late; Kalitta advanced to the semifinals.

Unofficial Point Standings: Langdon leaves Charlotte in third place in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series point standings. He trails second-place Justin Ashley by four points and leads the fifth-place driver, his teammate Doug Kalitta, by five points. He trails points leader Antron Brown by 62 points with four races remaining in the season.

Langdon on Charlotte: “The Kalitta Air Careers car was good this weekend, but we struggled with the heat a little bit. We lost a close race to Doug (Kalitta) in the second round so we’ll go to St. Louis and try again there.”

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