Norwalk, OH – Qualifying: J.R. Todd was the No. 12 qualifier at the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals. His best qualifying attempt was his first of the weekend when the DHL GR Supra reached the finish line in 4.061 seconds at 322.50 mph

Eliminations: Todd raced Matt Hagan in the first round, but the DHL GR Supra smoked the tires almost immediately allowing Hagan to cruise to the win light.

Unofficial Point Standings: Todd leaves Norwalk tied with Dan Wilkerson for sixth place in the NHRA Funny Car point standings. They trail fifth-place Matt Hagan by 86 points and lead eighth-place Cruz Pedregon by 62 points. Continue reading →

Norwalk, OH – Qualifying: Doug Kalitta was the No. 15 qualifier at the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals. Kalitta was not qualified entering the final qualifying session Saturday afternoon, which was also the final round of the Mission Foods Challenge in which Kalitta raced Tony Stewart. The 2023 NHRA Top Fuel champion made a 3.952-second run at 294.37 mph to defeat Stewart for his fourth Mission Foods Challenge of the season and sneak into the field at No. 15.

Eliminations: Kalitta defeated reigning Top Fuel champion Antron Brown for the second time in as many races in the first round. In the second round, Kalitta’s Applied Innovation dragster made a 3.900-second run at 324.36 mph, but Clay Millican left the starting line first and beat Kalitta by .0072 seconds despite recording a slightly slower elapsed time.

Unofficial Point Standings: Kalitta leaves Norwalk in fourth place in the NHRA Top Fuel point standings. He trails third-place Justin Ashley by 110 points and leads fifth-place Antron Brown by 31 points. Continue reading →

Norwalk, OH – Qualifying: Shawn Langdon was the No. 5 qualifier at the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals. His quickest qualifying attempt was his first of the weekend when he made a 3.789-second pass at 324.59 mph in the Friday evening session.

Eliminations: Langdon defeated Doug Foley and Brittany Force before losing to Justin Ashley in the semifinals. The drivers left the starting line together and were in a dead heat when the Kalitta Air 25th Anniversary dragster dropped a cylinder allowing Ashley to take the win light by .0737 seconds and advance to the final round.

When Langdon advanced to the semifinals, he earned a spot in the Mission #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge next month in Seattle. During Saturday’s qualifying sessions, the drivers who reached the semifinals in Norwalk will re-run the semifinals and final earning additional purse and championship bonus points. Continue reading →

YPSILANTI, MI – Twenty-five years ago, when people around the country were watching Survivor, ER, Friends, NYPD Blue and The West Wing on television and seeing movies like Cast Away, The Perfect Storm, Men of Honor and Meet the Parents in theaters, Connie Kalitta was busy building an airline. The 2025 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series resumes this weekend with the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals in Norwalk, Ohio.

A quarter century later, the NHRA legend leads one of the largest cargo airlines in the world with a fleet of Boeing 747 and 777 aircraft. With its first 25 years as a sound foundation, Kalitta Air’s potential is unlimited. In celebration of its 25th anniversary, Shawn Langdon’s Top Fuel dragster will sport special 25th anniversary livery for the remainder of the 2025 season starting this weekend.

“I could not be happier for everyone at Kalitta Air to celebrate 25 years of what we have built together,” Kalitta said. “It makes me very happy to see both the aviation and racing businesses embrace one another and continue to build a strong relationship that benefits both businesses tremendously. It’s the people that make both businesses successful whether that be in the air, or on the track.” Continue reading →

YPSILANTI, MI – At the end of a busy stretch of NHRA Drag Racing, Shawn Langdon knows this part of the season is pivotal. The 2025 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series continues June 27-29 at the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals in Norwalk, Ohio.

Four races in five weeks is a lot, but it’s the perfect time for a team to establish its rhythm for the next part of the season. This weekend’s race marks the season’s halfway point, but after Norwalk, only four races remain in the regular season with Seattle, Sonoma, Calif., Brainerd, Minn., and the U.S. Nationals remaining before the Countdown to the Championship NHRA Playoffs. After racing in New Hampshire, Bristol, Tenn., Richmond, Va., and this weekend in Norwalk, Ohio in the last five weeks, some competitors may want a break, but not the 2013 Top Fuel champion.

“I don’t really like taking a couple weeks off between races,” Langdon said. “I like racing every weekend so I like it when its hectic and back-to-back-to-back. I know it’s hard on the teams, but I think racing on consecutive weekends keeps you sharp.” Continue reading →

YPSILANTI, MI – The margin of victory was .0202 seconds. That’s how close Doug Kalitta was to winning last year’s “Team Kalitta home race.” The 2025 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series continues June 27-29 at the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals in Norwalk, Ohio.

If any race on the circuit is a home game for Kalitta, it’s this weekend’s event. At some 120 miles from the Kalitta Motorsports shop, it’s a popular event for non-traveling employees as well as friends and family of those who travel to the races. In addition, Michigan-based Applied Innovation is on Kalitta’s car this weekend adding another layer of local flavor.

“We all like racing at Norwalk,” Kalitta. “It’s close to Ypsilanti where our home base is so we’ll get a few extra people there from the local area down there so it’ll be fun, and the Bader family does a great job with that facility. We’re real happy to have Applied Innovation on the car this weekend- they do so much for our race team and the airline. It would be cool to thank them for all they do with a race win this weekend.” Continue reading →

YPSILANTI, MI – The positives are starting to pile up for J.R. Todd and his DHL team, and things just might be coming together at the perfect time. The 2025 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series continues June 27-29 at the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals in Norwalk, Ohio.

Todd was the No. 3 qualifier at last week’s race near Richmond, Va.; he made three strong qualifying runs in very hot conditions and advanced to the semifinals; Todd is now sixth in points. The DHL GR Supra team’s last four qualifying positions are fourth, 10th, sixth and third. When Todd qualified 10th in New Hampshire, he won the race. Then six days later in Bristol, Tenn., he won his first Mission Foods Challenge of the season.

“I knew with the changes we made after bringing Dickie on board that it was gonna take some time,” Todd said. “I told myself not to get frustrated. We’re not there yet, but that light at the end of the tunnel may be getting a little brighter. Continue reading →

North Dinwiddie, VA – Kalitta Motorsports regrets to announce that following Shawn Langdon’s apparent race win at Virginia Motorsports Park yesterday, Langdon’s final-round run was disqualified. A post-race safety inspection discovered some of the bolts were missing on the bell housing inspection cover after the run.

“Some of the bolts rattled loose during the run and fell into the belly pan,” Team Kalitta General Manager Chad Head said. “The bolts were in place before the run, but some were not in place after because they came loose and fell into the belly pan. That’s on us.

“We respect NHRA as the sanctioning body and understand that safety is always the most-important thing. We certainly apologize to our corporate partners, the race fans and our fellow competitors. We did not win yesterday’s race, but we’re moving on and are now focused on the next race.

“On behalf of our entire organization, this statement will be the only Kalitta Motorsports comment on this issue.”