Las Vegas – Doug Kalitta and the red and white Mac Tools Top Fuel dragster were racing for their third win at the NHRA Las Vegas National today from The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. For twenty seasons Mac Tools and Kalitta have been racing and winning and today the veteran driver was looking for his 50th career Top Fuel victory.

After three qualifying sessions on Friday and Saturday Kalitta rolled into race day as the No. 13 qualifier in a tight Top Fuel field. The perennial championship contender was facing another Countdown qualified Top Fuel dragster driven by Bristol winner and eventual Las Vegas Nationals runner-up Mike Salinas.

In the opening session Kalitta launched off the starting line side by side with Salinas and both racecars were welded together as they accelerated down track. As the finish line approached Kalitta’s 11,000 horsepower Mac Tools machine was hitting on all eight cylinders. At the stripe it was Salinas getting the win light with a slightly quicker 3.726 second pass against Kalitta’s 3.735 second run.

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Las Vegas – Racing the CMR Construction and Roofing Top Fuel dragster Shawn Langdon entered race day at the NHRA Las Vegas Nationals as the No. 12 qualifier after two days at the track. The 2013 Top Fuel champion was looking to race to his first win at the fall classic from Bruton Smith’s The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

In the first round facing fellow Countdown competitor Billy Torrence Langdon was looking for a long race day at the next two last race of the season. In an impressive display of driving skill Langdon jumped off the starting line with a .049 second reaction time giving his CMR Construction and Roofing a solid lead for most of the race. As both 11,000 horsepower dragsters flew to the finish line Langdon’s opponent got around him by. 0001 of a second in the closest race of the event. It was a photo finish that ended Langdon’s bid for victory.

Langdon’s first round elapsed time was an improvement from his qualifying time but not enough to advance to the quarterfinals. With one race remaining in the season Langdon and the CMR Construction and Roofing team will revert to their traditional DHL Kalitta Air look for the NHRA Finals in Pomona.

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Las Vegas – Doug Kalitta is closing in on the end of his incredible 20th season with primary sponsor Mac Tools as the NHRA Las Vegas Nationals from The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway fire up this weekend. The 49-time Top Fuel winner collected two of those wins during this race when he took home the trophy in 2015 and 2004. This weekend Kalitta and the familiar red and white Top Fuel dragster will be looking for a third win at the desert fall classic from Bruton Smith’s impressive facility which hosts two NHRA national events annually.

“We have gotten a couple wins at the fall race and we would definitely like to get that third win at The Strip this weekend,” said Kalitta. “We have been battling all season and have come close a couple times. I know we have what it takes to get four win lights on Sunday we just need to make it happen.”

The perennial championship contender will not earn his first Top Fuel world championship this year but his success on the track for primary sponsor Mac Tools over the past 20 years cannot be diminished by another solid top ten finish. In addition to his two wins at the Las Vegas Nationals he also has a runner-up to his credit from 2007.

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Las Vegas – With two races remaining in the 2021 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series season J.R. Todd and the DHL Toyota Camry Funny Car team are right in the middle of a tight battle for the championship. Two weeks ago Todd raced to a runner-up finish and on the way defeated three drivers who were trying to distance themselves from the 2018 Funny Car world champion. Todd was able to move from fifth to third in the point standings and sits just 83 points out of first place. With points and a half on the line at the season ending World Finals another strong finish by Todd at the Las Vegas Nationals could have him controlling his own destiny to wrap up his second Funny Car world championship.

“Bristol was a big weekend for this DHL Toyota Funny Car team for sure,” said Todd, who has a win and three runner-up finishes in 2021. “Getting the win would have been great but we definitely closed the gap and I feel like we have a lot of momentum going into Las Vegas. That track has been pretty good to us so we will see what we can do this weekend.”

During his world championship winning season Todd won the Las Vegas Nationals the race right after a runner-up finish and he closed out the season with a win at Pomona. That year the points were a little tighter for the Funny Car driver but this year the gap is still manageable.

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Las Vegas – This weekend Shawn Langdon will step away from his familiar yellow and red DHL Top Fuel dragster and slide into an 11,000-horsepower race car adorned with the logo and colors of new sponsor CMR Construction and Roofing.  The one race appearance caps a wildly successful rookie season for the Kalitta Motorsports sponsor that saw them expand their initial associate sponsorship to include presented by sponsorship of the Kalitta Motorsports Sponsor Summit in Charlotte and primary sponsorship for the Las Vegas Nationals this weekend. The enhanced branding also includes Langdon’s firesuit, team uniforms and special collectible hero cards for this event only.

“I am looking forward to representing CMR Construction and Roofing at the Las Vegas Nationals this weekend and I want to thank Steve and Chandra Soule for all the support,” said Shawn Langdon. “CMR has been very active with all our sponsors and at events since the summer. They love everything about the NHRA and we are enjoying hosting their customers and employees.”

The CMR Construction and Roofing Top Fuel dragster will make its debut on Friday night during the first qualifying session and will have two more qualifying runs on Saturday before final eliminations get underway on Sunday morning. A sizeable field of race cars will be vying for one of the 16 coveted starting spots. Langdon knows that a strong start on Friday night will set his team up for success all weekend.

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YPSILANTI, MI – During the upcoming Las Vegas NHRA Nationals Shawn Langdon will be racing a new look CMR Construction and Roofing Top Fuel dragster for the next to last Countdown to the championship race.  Throughout the back half of the season CMR Construction and Roofing has been an active new addition to the Kalitta Motorsports sponsor roster. They have been associate sponsors on all three race cars since the Sonoma Nationals and in September they expanded to become the presenting sponsor of the Fall Sponsor Summit during the Carolina Nationals. In October Kalitta Motorsports joined the effort to promote the Ragin Country Crawl charity concert, a charity concert sponsored by CMR on November 7, featuring music from Lee Brice, Randy Houser, Colt Ford and Dee Jay Silver. CMR will be featured as the primary sponsor with Langdon wearing a CMR firesuit and the team sporting CMR starting line uniform shirts.

“I am looking forward to representing CMR Construction and Roofing at the Las Vegas Nationals this weekend and I want to thank Steve and Chandra Soule for all the support,” said Shawn Langdon. “CMR has been very active with all our sponsors and at events since the summer. They love everything about NHRA and we are enjoying hosting their customers and employees.”

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Bristol, TN – Throughout the Countdown playoffs Shawn Langdon and the DHL Kalitta Air Top Fuel team have been battling to find consistency. The team was looking for their third win from Bristol Dragway and a strong finish over the final three Countdown playoff races. On Friday and Saturday during qualifying the team worked to build a tune-up that would set them up for victory on race day. Their best effort sent them into Sunday eliminations as the No. 10 qualifier and a first round race with Justin Ashley.

Both drivers are battling in the Countdown to the championship and have been tough competitors with Langdon holding a 5-2 record over the second-year driver. Today the 2013 Top Fuel world champion made his best run of the weekend in a losing effort.

Langdon took a starting line advantage and held a lead as both dragsters accelerated down the track. Neither race car was giving up an inch as they closed in on the finish line. In one of the closest races of the first round it was Ashley getting the win by four thousandths of a second at over 330 mph. Langdon’s losing time of 3.739 seconds was the fourth quickest elapsed time of the round and would have advance him to the quarterfinals had he secured a different first round match-up.

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Bristol, TN – Doug Kalitta has raced to six final rounds at the Thunder Valley Nationals from historic Bristol Dragway. The Mac Tools Top Fuel dragster was looking for its fourth win at the track carved into the Tennessee mountainside on the Tennessee and Virginia border. Through two days of tough qualifying the veteran driver was able to make the field in the fifth Countdown playoff race as the No. 11 qualifier. Track conditions were tough for al the teams with several top teams struggling to make consistent and quick runs on Friday and Saturday.

Coming into race day the Mac Tools team faced the coolest temperatures of the year with the air temperature at 50 degrees and the track temperature just about 70 degrees. Facing fellow Countdown competitor Billy Torrence Kalitta, a 49-time Top Fuel national event winner, was giving up lane choice.

As the 11,000 horsepower dragsters staged it was Kalitta getting the lead off the starting line, and he was pulling away as the Mac Tools dragster approached half-track. Just as quickly his Goodyears started overpowering the track losing traction. Torrence stayed hooked up as Kalitta tried mightily to pedal his race car and track down his opponent.

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Bristol, TN – J.R. Todd and the DHL Toyota Camry raced to the final round and runner-up honors today at the 20th NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals at historic Bristol Dragway. The 2018 NHRA Funny Car champion re-inserted himself into the Funny Car championship chase moving from fifth place to third place in the Camping World championship point standings. Starting from the No. 12 qualifier position Todd took out the points leader and No. 3 qualifier Matt Hagan in a huge first round match-up. In the second round he trailered 16-time Funny Car champion John Force before outrunning Ron Capps another driver who ended the day as the points leader but is only 83 points ahead of Todd, with two races remaining. In a final round for the ages Todd squared off with Toyota Racing teammate Alexis DeJoria, the event No. 1 qualifier. At the end of the day even without a victory Todd understood the magnitude of the three win lights he did earn.

“There is nothing I would have done differently in that final,” said Todd. “You are not going to beat a .002 light and a 3.92 on the race track. That is unbelievable. All in all, a great day for the Yella Fellas. It just shows what kind of team I have behind me with everything that has gone on the last three races. It was a good points day, but I just wanted that one bad. The kind of day we had today is the day you dream about as a driver, and I just want to finish it off. There is nothing we could have done differently in the final.”

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Bristol, TN – This weekend at the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals Shawn Langdon will be looking to take home his third Top Fuel Wally from Bristol Dragway. The 2013 NHRA Top Fuel champion won the event in 2014 and 2016 and he would like nothing more than to see four win lights on Sunday in his DHL Kalitta Air Top Fuel dragster that is tuned by drag racing legend Connie Kalitta. In 2015 Kalitta was recognized as a Thunder Valley Legend for his contributions to growing drag racing in the area as well as setting the NHRA Top Fuel speed record in 1965 at Bristol Dragway at a speed of 209.72 mph.

“It is an honor to drive a race car tuned by Connie,” said Langdon. “He is a living legend, and you know that when you strap in you will be in a fast and quick race car. I know we have the capability to go to the top of the field every time we roll to the starting line.”

The DHL Kalitta Air Top Fuel team raced to the final round of the historic Gatornationals to start the season and throughout the rest of the year they have been making solid runs and collecting win lights on Sunday. Four more semifinal finishes throughout the season kept them solidly in the Top Ten heading into the Countdown playoff races. They are looking to add to those win totals over the final three races of the season starting with the Thunder Valley Nationals

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