YPSILANTI, MI – The preliminaries are over, and starting this weekend, it’s down to business for real. The 2025 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Countdown to the Championship NHRA Playoffs begin Sept. 12-14 at the NHRA Reading Nationals Presented by Nitro Fish in Mohnton, Pa.

Langdon and his Kalitta Air 25th Anniversary team had an excellent regular season; they fell just short of winning NHRA’s inaugural regular season championship, but Langdon won three races in five final rounds. He enters the Playoffs as the No. 2 seed, and thanks to the addition of bonus points from his five wins in the Mission Foods #2fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge during the season, he starts just 16 points out of first place.

“We had a very good year as Team Kalitta as a whole,” Langdon said. “One of the cool things about coming down to the end of the season when you have the playoffs is that every race matters and every round matters. That’s not to say the regular season doesn’t, because you get to the point in Indy where we were all separated by a round or two, and it comes down to the end. In the beginning of the season, you may think, ‘it doesn’t matter; we can make it up later,’ but it always matters in the end; every little thing. Every good thing, every bad thing, every little mistake – it all adds up in the end. Continue reading →

Indianapolis – Qualifying: J.R. Todd was the No. 7 qualifier at the Cornwell Quality Tools NHRA U.S. Nationals. His best qualifying attempt came in the first session Friday night when the DHL GR Supra reached the finish line in 3.904 seconds at 323.50 mph.

Eliminations: Todd raced Bob Tasca in the first round of eliminations. The DHL GR Supra made its best run of the weekend, a 3.898-second effort at 334.82 mph, but it wasn’t enough. Tasca went 3.868 at 337.04 mph and won the round. Both cars left the starting line together, and Todd was leading the race before Tasca drove around him.

Unofficial Point Standings: Todd finishes the regular season in sixth place in the NHRA Funny Car point standings. He trails fifth-place Paul Lee by 79 points and leads seventh-place Dan Wilkerson by 50 points at the conclusion of the regular season. The point standings will be reset for the Countdown to the Championship NHRA Playoffs tomorrow, and bonus points from the Mission Foods #2fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge will be added to set the field for the playoffs. Continue reading →

Indianapolis – Qualifying: Shawn Langdon was the No. 6 qualifier at the Cornwell Quality Tools NHRA U.S. Nationals. His best attempt happened during the first qualifying session Friday night when he made a 3.712-second run at 337.24 mph. During the fourth qualifying session early Sunday afternoon, Langdon set the track speed record when he reached 340.90 mph in a 3.717-second run in his Applied Innovation/Kalitta Air Careers dragster, but that speed is no longer the track record. It was also Langdon’s career-best speed, and it came 61 years after Team Owner Connie Kalitta set the track speed record when he became the first driver to break the 200 mph barrier at the Indianapolis track in 1964 and the first to reach 200 mph in a national event.

Eliminations: Langdon raced defending U.S. Nationals winner Clay Millican in the opening round. Langdon and Millican were in a great drag race when the Applied Innovation/Kalitta Air Careers dragster developed problems; Millican’s car did the same, but he was further down the track when it happened and won the round.

Unofficial Point Standings: Langdon leaves Indianapolis in second place in the NHRA Top Fuel point standings.  He ends the regular season trailing regular-season champion Tony Stewart by 39 points and leading third-place Justin Ashley, today’s race winner, by 15 points. The point standings will be reset for the Countdown to the Championship NHRA Playoffs tomorrow, and bonus points from the Mission Foods #2fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge will be added to set the field for the playoffs. Continue reading →

Indianapolis – Qualifying: Doug Kalitta was the No. 4 qualifier at the Cornwell Quality Tools NHRA U.S. Nationals. Kalitta’s best qualifying attempt came during the Friday night session when the Mac Tools dragster reached the finish line in 3.697 seconds at 329.99 mph. It was his 11th top-four qualifying effort, including seven No. 1 qualifiers, in the 14-race regular season.

Eliminations: Kalitta defeated Tony Schmacher in the first round and raced Justin Ashley in the quarterfinals. Both cars smoked the tires; both drivers pedaled, but Ashley was further down the track than Kalitta and won the round.

Unofficial Point Standings: Kalitta leaves Indianapolis in fourth place in the NHRA Top Fuel point standings. He finishes the regular season two points behind third-place Justin Ashley, today’s race winner, and leads fifth-place Brittany Force by 173 points. The point standings will be reset for the Countdown to the Championship NHRA Playoffs tomorrow, and bonus points from the Mission Foods #2fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge will be added to set the field for the playoffs. Continue reading →

INDIANAPOLIS – Shawn Langdon broke the 340 mph barrier setting the Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park speed record at 340.90 mph during qualifying 61 years after Team Owner Connie Kalitta became the first driver to break the 200 mph barrier at the same track. The Cornwell Quality Tools U.S. Nationals is tomorrow at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park. The race broadcast is set for 2-5 p.m. Monday, Sept. 1 on FOX.

Langdon’s track-record run, a 3.717-second effort at 340.90 mph in his Applied Innovation/Kalitta Air Careers dragster, comes 61 years after Team Owner Connie Kalitta made the first-ever 200 mph run in national-event history at Indianapolis Raceway Park in 1964. It was the first 200 mph run at Indianapolis Raceway Park but the second in NHRA history. Don Garlits had already broken the barrier but not in a national event. Langdon is the third Top Fuel driver to break the 340 mph barrier following his teammate, Doug Kalitta, and Brittany Force.

“I’m pretty pumped about that one,” Langdon said. “Good job to the team and good job to Brian (Crew Chief Brian Husen) and everybody else on the Applied Innovation/Kalitta Air Careers Toyota team. They give us the opportunity to do cool stuff like going 340 mph. I was a little surprised; I thought I clicked it a little bit early, but regardless, it still said 340 on the scoreboard. Hat’s off to the team, SealMaster, Superior/PJH and Revchem.” Continue reading →

INDIANAPOLIS – Doug Kalitta and J.R. Todd captured a double win in the final Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge of the 2025 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing season. With a total of 23 championship bonus points in the special event this season, Kalitta also won the Top Fuel season championship in the special event. The Cornwell Quality Tools NHRA U.S. Nationals is set for Monday, Sept. 1 at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park. The race broadcast is set for 2-5 p.m. Monday, Sept. 1 on FOX.

Kalitta and his teammate, Shawn Langdon, dominated the Top Fuel Mission Foods Challenge, taking a total of 10 wins in the 13 races at which it was contested. Kalitta advanced to the Mission Foods final round with a 3.749-second run at 338 mph to defeat Jordan Vandergriff and advance to the final round against Clay Millican. In the final, Kalitta made a brilliant 3.730-second pass at 332.92 mph to get the win.

“That was really cool, especially having Mr. Gonzalez (Mission Foods CEO Juan Gonzalez) there at the end,” Kalitta said. “We definitely appreciate what Mission Foods does for the NHRA, it’s just super cool. I hope it’s working for them because we appreciate what they do for us. The cool part is being able to race before race day during qualifying. It’s cool for the fans, and it’s good for the drivers to have an opportunity to race on Saturday. Continue reading →

YPSILANTI, MI – In a season dominated by rebuilding an entire program, J.R. Todd’s DHL GR Supra team enters the U.S. Nationals, the final race of the regular season, in its best form of the year and very much on the upswing. The 2025 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series completes its regular season Aug. 29-Sept. 1 at the Cornwell Quality Tools NHRA U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis.

Todd raced to the final round at the Lucas Oil Nationals in Minnesota two weeks ago. It was his second final round of the season and his best showing since winning in New Hampshire earlier this summer. What was most significant about the weekend, however, was the consistency the team showed in the runner-up effort. Todd was the No. 5 qualifier but was No. 1 following the first qualifying session. The team made strong, consistent runs throughout the weekend, and except for overpowering the racetrack in the final round, Todd was a legitimate threat to win his second race of the season.

“It’s definitely the best our DHL car performed all year,” Todd said. “That gives you confidence going into the biggest race of the year and the most important time of the year.  It would have been nice to leave Brainerd with a trophy, but we definitely know we have a car that’s capable of competing with the front runners out there now so that’s encouraging. That’s been the goal all year – to get to where they are. I’m not saying we’re fully there, but we made changes going in the Brainerd race to try and ‘wake up’ the car. It seems to have worked, but until we can keep repeating it, we’re not there yet.” Continue reading →

YPSILANTI, MI – The goal for any athlete on any team in any sport is to be performing at its highest level when the season-ending playoffs approach, and that is exactly where Doug Kalitta finds himself. The 2025 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series completes its regular season Aug. 29-Sept. 1 at the Cornwell Quality Tools NHRA U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis.

The 2023 NHRA Top Fuel champion and his Mac Tools team are in great form entering the final regular-season race. Back-to-back wins are great at any time, but when they happen with the Countdown to the Championship NHRA Playoffs on the horizon, they’re phenomenal.

Kalitta enters this week’s U.S. Nationals in third place in the NHRA Top Fuel point standings just six points behind second place Tony Stewart and 51 points behind his teammate, points leader Shawn Langdon. Kalitta has been a prolific qualifier this season recording seven No. 1 qualifiers and qualifying in the top-four positions 10 times in the 13 races to date. Entering the biggest race of the year in top form with the sport’s first $150,000 regular-season championship within reach makes the weekend even bigger than the season’s biggest race. Continue reading →

YPSILANTI, MI – Top Fuel points leader Shawn Langdon and his Applied Innovation/Kalitta Air Careers team enter the U.S. Nationals with one aspiration: Win the race, and the rest will take care of itself. The 2025 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series completes its regular season Aug. 29-Sept. 1 at the Cornwell Quality Tools NHRA U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis.

The 2025 season has been good to the Applied Innovation/Kalitta Air Careers team with three wins in five final-round appearances. Langdon enters the final race of the regular season with a 45-point lead over second-place Tony Stewart and a 51-point lead over his teammate, third-place Doug Kalitta, who won the last two races. The U.S. Nationals, however, pays “points and a half” so a round win is worth 30 points instead of 20 putting the top three within two rounds of racing. That puts Stewart and Kalitta in position to swipe the regular-season title and its $150,000 payout should the opportunity present itself.

“The goal is to be first in points so we we’re just trying to hopefully have a good weekend,” Langdon said. “The car’s been good all season. It’s been running well these last few races so hopefully, we can maintain our lead; that’s the plan. I try to treat every race the same and have the same mentality, but every one’s a little bit different.” Continue reading →