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Kalitta Motorsports

Doug Kalitta To Run Osborn Top Fuel Dragster July 18-19

Ypsilanti, MI –  NHRA Mello Yello Top Fuel points leader Doug Kalitta will be campaigning a new look blue and white Top Fuel dragster adorned in the logo of Team Kalitta business partner Osborn, during the July 18-19 NHRA Summernationals in Indianapolis. The Top Fuel dragster will feature the Osborn livery for this race and the NHRA Springnationals in Houston, TX as well as Osborn associate branding at the U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis, IN, Thunder Valley Nationals in Bristol, TN, and NHRA Nationals in Las Vegas, NV.

The Kalitta and Osborn partnership was announced at the PRI Show in December of 2019 and since then both organizations have been working on a number of marketing initiatives leading up to the Top Fuel dragster debut. Osborn is running in parallel a season long consumer and industrial promotion which will culminate with fan and customer trips to the NHRA National event in Las Vegas later this season. Additionally, a number of product testimonial videos have been produced at the team’s Michigan shop and are being rolled out through Osborn and Kalitta social media channels.

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Shawn Langdon Pleased with Return to Racing in DHL Top Fuel

Indianapolis – For Shawn Langdon driver of the DHL Top Fuel dragster getting back to the track this weekend was mainly a difference of horsepower and elapsed times. For the past five weeks Langdon has been campaigning his private sportsman dragster at big money bracket races staying sharp to get back to his day job, winning NHRA National events for Kalitta Motorsports. By Langdon’s count he has logged 132 passes down the track and he added one more important round win today.

Langdon qualified No. 8 after two rounds yesterday saw the 2013 Top Fuel champion step up in the final session to grab a top half position and lane choice over upstart and second generation pro Justin Ashley.

“We just had a long layoff and came out this weekend and made some good, decent conservative runs. That was our game plan. We’ll come back next week and try to get a little more aggressive,” said Langdon.  “It was amazing (on being back in the car after the layoff). I’ve been racing the whole off-season. It’s different out here with limited fans. I’m glad to be back racing, but it’s just different.”

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DHL and J.R. Todd Race to Semifinals in NHRA Return

Indianapolis – The DHL Toyota Camry Funny Car team came out of the gate at the rebooted NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series like a team on a mission to erase a frustrating start over four months ago. Driver J.R. Todd drove his Camry Funny Car to the No. 4 qualifying spot during two hot sessions yesterday and then used all his driving skill and some luck to race to a semifinal finish today. When racing concluded Todd was in the Top Ten in Funny Car points and has momentum heading to next week’s second event at Lucas Oil Raceway.

“I’ve missed being around these guys (DHL teammates),” said Todd. “They are a lot of fun to be around. It’s like old times. February was a long time ago. This made up for all that down time sitting at home. I’m glad to be back out here with these guys and, hopefully, we can keep that going for weeks and months to come.

Heading into the first round against No. 13 qualifier Alex Miladinovich Todd knew he could not take the young driver lightly. He got the jump on the starting line and was pulling away when his tires broke loose from the track forcing him to lift off the throttle. He immediately jumped back on the gas and was able to get the win as Miladinovich lost traction further down track.

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Fourth Final Round In A Row Keeps Points Leader Doug Kalitta and Mac Tools Rolling

Indianapolis – Doug Kalitta and the Mac Tools Top Fuel team continue to dominate and rewrite the record books. Today Kalitta raced to his fourth consecutive final round and picked up his 700th round win on the way to a runner-up finish at the NHRA National event at Indianapolis. It was the first NHRA National event in over four months but Kalitta and his Mac Tools team did not miss a beat. This was the team’s seventh final round in the past ten races going back to Kalitta’s amazing win at the U.S. Nationals last Labor Day.

“I was happy to get to another final obviously,” said Kalitta. “My Mac Tools Toyota dragster was running really good on that run. Smoked the tired right at the very end. I looked over and there he was. It was just one of those deals. That is drag racing for sure. Super happy to get to the final at this first Indy race and hopefully it is a success for everything that is going on to keep us coming back out. That is all I am hoping for. Hats off to (team owner) Connie (Kalitta) for keeping everything together and getting us through these four months. I think we are all just happy to be back out here. I am super proud of my Mac Tools guys.”

With a revised NHRA schedule that featured only one day of qualifying Kalitta took advantage entering race day as the No. 2 qualifier. In the first round he defeated Lex Joon setting up a tough second round match-up with Leah Pruett.

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DHL and Shawn Landgon Head to Indy Focused and Ready for Victory

A four month layoff from NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing has not kept DHL Top Fuel driver Shawn Langdon from staying on track and sharp for the return this weekend to racing action. Since the Arizona Nationals Langdon logged time in his iRacing simulator during the months of March and April and as race tracks began holding sportsman bracket races Langdon was one of the first to hand over a tech card. By his account he has raced 24 days and made 132 passes in his sportsman dragster all with an eye on keeping his competitive edge on the starting line when he straps back into his 11,000 horsepower DHL Top Fuel dragster.

“I think the bracket racing helps,” said Langdon. “It isn’t the same of course but you do get into a racing mindset and I think just having seat time is important. The biggest difference is I am doing everything myself at these bracket races usually. I think that will be a big plus once we get back to racing. I have been pretty hard on myself at some of these past races but I am ready to get back to the track for sure.”

While Langdon has been racing his team has been preparing so they can come out swinging. All the Kalitta Motorsports teams will be testing for two days leading up the NHRA Nationals at Lucas Oil Raceway Park on July 11-12. The races will be televised on FS1 on Saturday and Fox national broadcast on Sunday. The added national exposure to get the season restarted also has Langdon excited.

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J.R. Todd and DHL Camry Eager to Get Season Restarted on High Note

With the NHRA season rebooting this weekend at Lucas Oil Raceway Park outside of Indianapolis J.R. Todd, driver of the DHL Toyota Camry Funny Car is looking for a fresh start to the 2020 season as well. After the first two races of the season did not go as planned Todd and his DHL Funny Car team are geared up to make a move this weekend. The team will use the two days in advance of the NHRA National event to dial in Todd’s Nitro Funny Car with the hopes of racing to their third victory at the famed race track.

“We didn’t get off to a great start at the first two races but that is ancient history,” said Todd. “This is a whole new season starting this weekend and I feel good about our chances. We have had some success the past three years here so we are hoping to turn our luck around.”

Last Labor Day weekend Todd was racing to become the first Funny Car driver to win three U.S. Nationals in a row and he almost succeeded. Following his wins in 2017 and 2018 last season he raced to a semifinal appearance. His success behind the wheel of a Funny Car at this track does give Todd some confidence coming into this weekend.

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Points Leader Doug Kalitta Looks for More Mac Tools Success in Indy 

After two races Doug Kalitta and the Mac Tools Top Fuel team were riding a wave off dominant performances with two final round appearances including a third consecutive win at the historic Winternationals. The consistent world championship favorite had the Mello Yello points lead and momentum heading to the Gatornationals in March. When the season went on hiatus Kalitta and his team went to work getting ready for the season relaunch.

“Man, we were rolling to start the season,” said Kalitta. “I think we can pick up right where we left off this weekend. (Crew chief) Rob (Flynn) and the Mac Tools boys have stayed sharp and we have some good data for Indy. I am excited to get back there after our success last year.”

Last Labor Day weekend Kalitta broke through for his first U.S. Nationals win and used that win to propel his team to a runner-up finish in the Mello Yello Top Fuel point standings. This year Kalitta will get back into the Mac Tools Top Fuel dragster on Saturday looking to keep his Indianapolis win streak alive.

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Kalitta Motorsports to Use Clean Harbors to Protect Trailers and Teams from Coronavirus

YPSILANTI, MI – As the 2020 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series restarts the weekend of July 11-12 at Lucas Oil Raceway Park in Indianapolis multi-time NHRA world championship team Kalitta Motorsports will be partnering with Clean Harbors, (NYSE: CLH), North America’s leading provider of environmental and industrial services, for all its infectious disease prevention and decontamination needs.  The team will have Clean Harbors disinfecting and decontaminating its haulers prior to the race beginning in two weeks.

“Our goal is to keep all our team and especially team owner Connie Kalitta as safe as possible,” said Chad Head, Kalitta Motorsports General Manager. “We talked with Clean Harbors about what they were doing with other sanctioning bodies and it gave us a lot of confidence. We want to be able to focus 100 percent on racing when we are at the track and having Clean Harbors in our corner lets us do that. These guys are North America’s top emergency response company and we want to ensure all our guys are as protected as possible.”

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Kalitta Motorsports Ready for Busy Weekend at Gatornationals

Ypsilanti, MI – As the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series moves to the east coast for the historic 51st annual NHRA Gatornationals Kalitta Motorsports will have a busy schedule off the track as they pursue their third consecutive Top Fuel victory at the event. All three Kalitta drivers, Top Fuel points leader Doug Kalitta, 2013 Top Fuel world champion Shawn Langdon and 2018 Funny Car world champion J.R. Todd, will be participating in a number of sponsor and fan events throughout the weekend and it will all be captured by the production crew for the Mobil 1 The Grid television show.

Throughout the weekend Kalitta Motorsports will be hosting a variety of guests including representatives from MAC Tools, DHL, Toyota, SealMaster, MAHLE and Coca-Cola in their VIP hospitality area. Additionally, on Friday the team will participate in a free autograph session for car manufacturer Toyota at 1 p.m. in the Toyota activation zone. This will be the first chance in 2020 for NHRA fans to see the interactive area highlighting Toyota cars and trucks. Between rounds the drivers will spend time for photos and autographs with sponsor WIX Filter in the Kalitta Motorsports VIP hospitality area.

 

“We want the fans to know we are excited to spend time with them and we appreciate their support,” said Chad Head, Kalitta Motorsports general manager. “We have a lot of sponsor activities and we want to make sure we are supporting the people that allow us to race year-round and pursue the Mello Yello world championship. Having the folks from Mobil 1 The Grid at the race is an added bonus since they will be producing a number of segments for their show to highlight the excitement of NHRA drag racing.”

Saturday will also feature another Toyota autograph session at 11 a.m. and a second WIX Filters meet and greet between the qualifying sessions. On Sunday morning before eliminations all three Kalitta drivers will be supporting NHRA legend Darrell Gwynn and his annual “Track Walk for Those Who Can’t” event. NHRA professional drivers agree to walk the track with Darrell and fans who have registered for the walk by donating $20.00 to the fundraiser. Each donation helps Darrell’s charity give the gift of mobility through a wheelchair donation to an individual that was denied by their health insurance the proper wheelchair they need.

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DHL and Shawn Landgon Head to Gainesville Focused on Getting Top Fuel Win

Gainesville, FL – Shawn Langdon will be looking to add his name to the list of Kalitta Motorsports drivers who have captured a Gatornationals title with his first victory at Gainesville Raceway this weekend. For the 2013 Top Fuel world champion this will be his third race back behind the wheel of the DHL Kalitta Air Top Fuel dragster and he is eager to grab his first win of the 2020 Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season.

“I am getting more comfortable in the DHL Top Fuel dragster every run,” said Langdon. “This race car has a ton of power and we just need to pull it all together this weekend. The past two seasons this DHL dragster has won the Gatornationals and I would like to keep that streak alive.”

Over twenty five years ago Langdon’s crew chief and drag racing legend Connie Kalitta won the Gatornationals in the first father versus son final round. Connie took the win over his son Scott to win his only Gatornationals Wally. Overall Kalitta Motorsports has six Gatornationals titles with Doug Kalitta claiming three titles and Richie Crampton owning two.

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