Indianapolis – Coming back to the race track in Indianapolis just minutes from his home had Shawn Langdon and the DHL Top Fuel dragster team eager to spend a long day at the races. After the second qualifying run on Saturday which Langdon posted the quickest run of the session and collected three valuable bonus points the 2013 Top Fuel champion looked to be in a position to advance.

The unpredictability of the 2020 NHRA season reared its head as the No. 1 qualifier, No. 3 qualifier, the No. 5 qualifier and the No. 7 qualifier all lost in first round upsets. Unfortunately on the strength of his Saturday runs Langdon was the No. 3 qualifier that was ousted by eventual finalist Justin Ashley.

In one of the closest races of the first round Langdon and Ashley left side by side and were both charging down track. The pair were both flying to the finish line with Ashley barely out in front. When the scoreboards lit up it was Ashley with a quicker elapsed time of 3.829 seconds beside Langdon’s 3.891 second pass.
Continue reading →

Indianapolis – The DHL Toyota Camry Funny Car and J.R. Todd rolled off the trailer for the NHRA SummerNationals looking to move up the point standings and go rounds on race day. They immediately made an impact during Saturday’s first qualifying session posting one of the three quickest runs of the first round of qualifying and moving into race day as the No. 5 qualifier.

In the opening session today Todd took on veteran Funny Car racer Jim Campbell. Todd and his Camry Funny Car made their quickest run of the weekend on the way to victory. His 4.030 second run was enough to run away from Campbell who was drifting to the centerline and had to lift off the throttle Todd never trailed in the race after the race cars cleared the starting line Christmas Tree.

The round win moved Todd up to the 6th position in the Mello Yello Funny Car standings just two rounds out of 5th place. He advanced to the quarterfinals and a race with the most recent race winner Matt Hagan.

Continue reading →

Indianapolis – Flying the blue and white of new sponsor Osborn this weekend Doug Kalitta powered his Top Fuel dragster to a quarterfinal finish at the NHRA SummerNationals in Indianapolis. After two solid runs in qualifying yesterday Kalitta started the race day as the No. 6 qualifier. His first round opponent was Doug Foley and the Mello Yello point leader knew he could not take the racer from Mooresville, North Carolina lightly.

The Osborn Top Fuel dragster and Kalitta got the jump off the starting line and they never trailed in the drag race. Kalitta’s winning time of 3.808 seconds outpaced Foley’s respectable 3.968 second run. As Kalitta crossed the finish line he flew through the speed trap at 319.45 mph, which combined with his elapsed time were his quickest and fastest numbers of the weekend. The round win was important when you consider how tough the competition is and how the NHRA is working to maximize events across the country.

Continue reading →

Indianapolis – After a full day of qualifying at the NHRA SummerNationals in Indianapolis all three Kalitta Motorsports entries are qualified in the top half and will have lane choice in the first round tomorrow. Shawn Langdon and the DHL Top Fuel dragster lead the way as the No. 3 qualifier followed by Mello Yello Top Fuel point leader Doug Kalitta who qualified No. 6. In Funny Car J.R. Todd qualified his DHL Toyota Camry Funny Car in the No. 5 position heading into eliminations which will start at 10 a.m. ET tomorrow.
In the first qualifying session Langdon powered his DHL Top Fuel dragster down the track with a solid 3.875 second at 316.30 mph run which slotted him No. 3 at the time.  Just before the finish line Langdon felt his 11,000 horsepower dragster start to mix up cylinders and he lifted as he was approaching the stripe shavings off some elapsed time and speed.

Two pairs after Langdon raced his teammate and the Mello Yello Top Fuel point leader Doug Kalitta hazed the tires at the top end in the first official run behind the wheel of the Osborn Top Fuel dragster 4.258 seconds at 206.95 mph. He was in the last pair in the right lane and wound up No. 13 while Langdon will move into the second session as the No. 4 qualifier.

Continue reading →

Indianapolis – Back to back racing weekends in Indianapolis have DHL Toyota Camry driver J.R. Todd excited to get the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series restarted. After a slow start at the first two events in February Todd and his DHL team came out swinging at the NHRA National event last weekend qualifying No. 4 and racing to a semifinal finish. The strong finish moved Todd into the Funny Car Top Ten and also has him just under two round wins from the Top Five.

“It was good to go some rounds on Sunday for sure,” said Todd. “I know my guys worked hard over the time we had off to look at a few things and we all have a new chassis. We tested on Thursday and Friday leading up to the race but there is really no substitute for the pressure of a race weekend. We did a really good job all things considered.”

The new race format of two qualifying sessions and then a race on Sunday didn’t faze Todd and his DHL Toyota team. They came off the trailer on Saturday and posted one of the quickest times of the first qualifying session. In the second session they held fast and went into race day as one of the four quickest Funny Cars.

Continue reading →

Indianapolis – Getting back into the swing of things was easy for Shawn Langdon, driver of the DHL Top Fuel dragster, during the relaunch of the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season. He was at a hometown race track for the Danville, Indiana resident and he was continuing a streak of drag racing that previously included primarily bracket races but gave him valuable seat time none the less. By his account heading into last weekend’s NHRA national event he had raced 24 days and made 132 passes in his sportsman dragster. After his weekend in Top Fuel he can add a couple days of racing and two more passes.

As the No. 8 qualifier Langdon outran No. 9 qualifier Justin Ashley in the first round and was ousted by No. 1 qualifier Steve Torrence in the quarterfinals. Langdon’s opening round 3.789 second run was a huge performance jump from his qualifying time and gave the 2013 NHRA Top Fuel champion momentum headed to the quarterfinals. In the second round Langdon fell off a little in performance but was overall pleased with his team’s effort.

“We got back in the groove of things pretty well,” said Langdon. “We would have liked to have been qualified a little higher but we were top half and there were quite a few good race cars here. The conditions were pretty tough on Saturday and we stepped it up pretty good on Sunday.”

Continue reading →

Indianapolis – The Mac Tools team keeps rolling and racing to final rounds with Doug Kalitta holding onto a strong Mello Yello points lead in Top Fuel. Last weekend Kalitta qualified No. 2 and raced to his third consecutive final round of the 2020 NHRA season, fourth final in a row going back to last year’s Auto Club finals and seventh final in the last ten races. The consistency and dominance of the Mac Tools Toyota Top Fuel dragster has Kalitta excited to get back to the track this weekend for the NHRA SummerNationals in Indianapolis.

“These Mac Tools guys have been busting their tails,” said Kalitta. “Rob (Flynn) and Troy (Fasching) gave me a great car in qualifying and we got three more round wins on Sunday. I think we are in a great spot and I just want to keep racing.”

This weekend at Lucas Oil Raceway in Indianapolis Kalitta will be sporting a new look, the blue and white of new Kalitta Motorsports sponsor Osborn. The race car was unveiled on Tuesday and was put through the paces last Friday during the NHRA pre-race test session. The brand new look will give Kalitta even more motivation to excel on track this weekend.

Continue reading →

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.

Continue reading →

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.”

Continue reading →

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.

Continue reading →