Sonoma, CA – Doug Kalitta was the No. 2 qualifier at the Denso NHRA Sonoma Nationals. Kalitta’s best qualifying attempt came during the Friday-evening session when the Mac Tools team reached the finish line in 3.661 seconds at 332.84 mph.

Eliminations: Kalitta raced to his first win of the season, his sixth at Sonoma Raceway and the 56th of his career. Kalitta defeated Ron August, Jr., and Josh Hart to reach the semifinals where, with fewer than 16 cars in the field, he had a bye into the final round against reigning Top Fuel champion Antron Brown. In the final, Brown was ahead in the race, but Kalitta was able to drive around him for the win.

With his sixth Sonoma win, Kalitta is now the winningest Top Fuel driver in Sonoma Raceway history. The Michigan Motorsports Hall of Famer captured the first win of his career at Sonoma, and prior to today, his last win at the wine-country track was in 2005 giving him 20 years between Sonoma wins. With Shawn Langdon’s Seattle win last weekend, Team Kalitta swept NHRA’s 2025 Western Swing in Top Fuel. Continue reading →

YPSILANTI, MI – With half the season now in the rear-view mirror, it’s time to get in position for a strong regular-season finish, and the consistency J.R. Todd and his DHL team showed last weekend just might show they’re ready to take the next step. The 2025 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series continues July 25-27 at the Denso NHRA Sonoma Nationals in Somona, Calif.

Todd was the provisional No. 1 qualifier following the Friday night qualifying session last weekend. Unlike most race weekends when Friday-night conditions are the best of the weekend, last Saturday afternoon presented race conditions nearly as good as Friday night, but despite those great conditions, nobody could knock the DHL team out of the top spot. Todd held onto his provisional No. 1 qualifier until the final pair of cars in the final qualifying session. Both cars in that pair made quicker runs, and Todd qualified third.

In Sunday’s opening round of eliminations, Todd made a 3.888-second pass; it was his quickest of the season. The team made another strong run in the second round but failed to get the win. Despite the second-round loss, the DHL GR Supra team made six strong runs and showed the consistency for which the team strives. Continue reading →

YPSILANTI, MI – Doug Kalitta didn’t win last weekend’s race near Seattle, but his Mac Tools dragster was absolutely up to the task he hopes to complete this weekend. The 2025 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series continues July 25-27 at the Denso NHRA Sonoma Nationals in Somona, Calif.

The Mac Tools Toyota team was clearly on a heater last weekend. Kalitta claimed his sixth No. 1 qualifier in the season’s first 11 races, and race day appeared to be more of the same. In the first round, Kalitta’s 3.628-second pass at 341.34 mph was the quickest and fastest of his career, the second quickest run in NHRA history, and at the time, the third fastest speed in NHRA history. His 3.676-second pass in the second round put him into the semifinals against Brittany Force. Kalitta left the starting line first and was leading the race when the Mac Tools car had engine problems giving the win to Force. It was a day that seemed as though it could have become Kalitta’s first win of the season.

“Sunday was another opportunity, and we were hoping to get to the final and have a shot at it,” Kalitta said. “It’s been a while since we went to a final so we were hoping to get it done. I felt really good about the weekend. The car was really good, and we definitely had a good opportunity. You have to take advantage of those opportunities when you have them; we’re hoping to have another opportunity this weekend in Sonoma and give it another shot. With the team I have behind me, I know it’s just a matter of time before we get it done.” Continue reading →

YPSILANTI, MI – Shawn Langdon is the Top Fuel points leader for the first time since mid-May, and his only goal is to stay there. The 2025 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series continues July 25-27 at the Denso NHRA Sonoma Nationals in Somona, Calif.

Langdon and his Kalitta Air 25th Anniversary team won last weekend’s race near Seattle with a brilliant race-day performance. Langdon was the No. 2 qualifier behind his teammate, Doug Kalitta, and marched through eliminations like a man, or a team, on a mission. Langdon’s consistent race-day elapsed times were 3.700, 3.685, 3.651 and 3.662 seconds – four elapsed times within five hundredths of a second put the Kalitta Air team in the winner’s circle for the third time this season.

“Our mentality is ‘put our heads down and work our butts off,’” Langdon said. “If we give it 100 percent, the results will be there, and we’ll have nothing to hang out heads about later. If we can get a couple of wins along the way, that’s icing on the cake. We may have a little target on our backs now, but we embrace that. Our motto is perfection until the end of the year, and these guys were first in Seattle, so it’s a good start.” Continue reading →

Kent, WA – Qualifying: J.R. Todd was the No. 3 qualifier at the Muckleshoot Casino Resort NHRA Northwest Nationals. His best qualifying attempt came during the Friday night session when the DHL GR Supra reached the finish line in 3.901 seconds at 329.26 mph. Todd was the quickest in the session and held the provisional No. 1 qualifier until the final pair of cars ran in the final qualifying session Saturday evening. Both of the cars in that pair made quicker passes than Todd and relegated him to third.

Eliminations: Todd defeated Cruz Pedregon in the first round with a brilliant 3.888-second pass at 336.40 mph. It was Todd’s quickest elapsed time of the season, and the speed equaled the career-best speed he set earlier this season in Chicago. The DHL GR Supra made another excellent run in the second round, a 3.907-second effort, but Alexis Dejoria left the starting line before Todd and won the round by six thousandths of a second although Todd made a quicker pass.

Unofficial Point Standings: Todd leaves Seattle in sixth place in the NHRA Funny Car point standings. He trails fifth-place Paul Lee by 90 points and leads seventh-place Dan Wilkerson by five points. Continue reading →

Kent, WA – Qualifying: Doug Kalitta was the No. 1 qualifier at the Muckleshoot Casino Resort NHRA Northwest Nationals. The Mac Tools Toyota team made excellent runs in three of the four qualifying sessions. Kalitta’s best qualifying attempt came during the Friday-night session when the Mac Tools dragster reached the finish line in 3.671 seconds at 335.90 mph – it was just one thousandth of a second off the track record Kalitta set at this event last year. It was Kalitta’s sixth No. 1 qualifier in the season’s first 11 races and the 64th of his career.

Eliminations: Kalitta didn’t win the race, but he had an incredible weekend. With less than 16 cars in the field, Kalitta had a first-round bye and made the most of it. His 3.628-second elapsed time was the second quickest in NHRA history, and his 341.24 mph speed was then the third-fastest speed in NHRA history. Both were also Kalitta’s career best. He defeated Justin Ashley in the second round and advanced to the semifinals where he raced Brittany Force. Kalitta was off the starting line first and leading the race when the Mac Tools car dropped a cylinder, and Force was able to get the win by .0924 seconds. Kalitta made a 3.752-second semifinal pass at 325.22 mph on seven cylinders.

Unofficial Point Standings: Kalitta leaves Seattle in fourth place in the NHRA Top Fuel point standings. He trails third-place Justin Ashley by 78 points and leads fifth-place Brittany Force by 56 points. Continue reading →

Kent, WA – Qualifying: Shawn Langdon was the No. 2 qualifier at the Muckleshoot Casino Resort NHRA Northwest Nationals equaling his best qualifying effort of the season. His best attempt came during the Friday night qualifying session when the Kalitta Air 25th Anniversary dragster reached the finish line in 3.689 seconds at 332.92 mph.

Eliminations: Langdon defeated Cameron Ferre and then points leader Tony Stewart to advance to the semifinals; his second-round win was the 400th round win of his career. Because fewer than 16 cars were in the field, Langdon had a bye in the semifinals; his 3.651-second semifinal run gave him lane choice over Brittany Force in the final round and reset his career-best elapsed time. In the final round, Langdon was off the starting line first and never trailed. His 3.662-second final round effort at 337.09 mph gave him his third win of the season and the 22nd nitro win of his career (20 Top Fuel, 2 Funny Car).

Unofficial Point Standings: Langdon leaves Seattle in first place in the NHRA Top Fuel point standings. He leads second-place Tony Stewart by 12 points with three races remaining in the regular season. Continue reading →

YPSILANTI, MI – Racing in the later rounds is a sign of success, and it’s something J.R. Todd and his DHL team want to do more often. The 2025 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series continues July 18-20 at the Muckleshoot Casino Resort NHRA Northwest Nationals near Seattle.

In a rebuilding year, success can come slowly, but it’s been a steady climb for Todd and his DHL GR Supra team. A race win in New Hampshire in early June is the highlight so far, but you “can’t win ‘em all” as the saying goes. That race win and a semifinal run two weeks later near Richmond, Va., indicate this team did what it was supposed to do in the season’s opening half.

“It’s definitely an improvement from where we started, which means we’re doing what we’re trying to do,” Todd said. “That’s make more runs and learn as we go, which we’re still doing. I hate that we stumbled like we did in Norwalk, but this DHL team is focused. We put that behind us, and now it’s time to start making a move.”

Indeed, it is, and Todd enters the season’s second half in sixth place in points 86 points behind fifth place but only 116 behind third place. Just four races remain in the regular season, and the next two, near Seattle and in Sonoma, Calif., on consecutive weekends, represent the perfect time to make a run of consistency. Winning races is great, but just going down the track with good, consistent runs and advancing to the semifinals and finals can be almost as impactful. Continue reading →

YPSILANTI, MI – One year ago, Doug Kalitta won the regular season and earned the top seed in the Countdown to the Championship NHRA Playoffs. The driver who wins the regular season this year will also earn a $150,000 bonus for the first time. The 2025 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series continues July 18-20 at the Muckleshoot Casino Resort NHRA Northwest Nationals near Seattle.

After winning the regular season last year, Kalitta went on to finish second in the final point standings – a solid follow-up to his first series title but not the title defense for which he’d hoped. Now, an extra $150,000 is on the line. Kalitta enters the second half of the season and the final four races in the regular season fourth in points, but the top three have separated themselves somewhat. Kalitta is now 110 markers out of third place and 187 behind points leader Tony Stewart, but don’t count out the 2023 Top Fuel champion; that regular season title is still within reach.

“I would definitely say so totally,” Kalitta said. “We just have to take it one-by-one on Sunday and see if we can start accumulating enough points to catch back up. I feel really confident that our Mac Tools team can. We’re trying our best so it’s just a matter of hopefully turning the corner and start making it to the final round. All the pieces are there, and my car is really good so we’ll see what happens.” Continue reading →

YPSILANTI, MI – Shawn Langdon’s done a lot in his racing career, but he has a shot at milestone round win this weekend. The 2025 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series continues July 18-20 at the Muckleshoot Casino Resort NHRA Northwest Nationals near Seattle.

Langdon has NHRA national series championships in the Misson Foods Series, the Lucas Oil Series and Junior Dragster, but this weekend, should the Kalitta Air 25th Anniversary team be fortunate enough to reach the semifinals, he’ll claim his 400th-career round win.

“That’s pretty cool,” Langdon said. “Right now, I just go race, and that’s just where I am with round wins. I wouldn’t look at my career any differently if I had only 300 round wins or if I had 500 round wins at this point. It’s a cool accomplishment, and I’m sure at some point in my career, when I kinda get done with everything, I’ll look back on this type of accomplishment, and it will really sink in. In the meantime, we have a job to do, and the job is not complete.”

One year ago, Langdon reached the Seattle final round but lost to Steve Torrence. Could the great Northwest be the place Langdon claims his 400th round win and then his third win of the season? Continue reading →