KALITTA WINS CAROLINA NATIONALS TITLE IN ALL-TOYOTA FINAL
PLANO, TX – Doug Kalitta defeated teammate Richie Crampton in an all-Toyota Top Fuel final to win the NHRA 
Carolina Nationals at zMAX Dragway Sunday. With the victory Kalitta takes over the Top Fuel point lead after the first round of the Countdown to the Championship playoffs with five races remaining.
The win culminated a weekend that saw Kalitta earn his second number one qualifier of the season on Saturday and then defeat Chris Karamesines, Tony Schumacher and Clay Millican before matching up with Crampton. In the finals, Kalitta had a .010 advantage at the tree and then pulled away for the win, 3.775-3.876. The race marked the second consecutive Countdown event that featured an all-Kalitta Motorsports Top Fuel final after Kalitta closed out the 2016 season with a win over J.R. Todd at Pomona.
“Getting this win gives us great momentum with only five races to go,” said Kalitta after registering his first win of the season. “With the team I have with me, I’m full of confidence. It’s huge for me to get my first win at this great facility, because we have been coming here for a lot of years and I couldn’t be happier with how it turned out.”
While not taking home the Wally, it was quite a weekend for Crampton, who reached the finals in just his second race in the SealMaster Toyota after taking over the ride prior to the U.S. Nationals. He eliminated Scott Palmer, regular season point leader Steve Torrence and Brittany Force.
“It was huge to be able to go to the final round in just our second race,” relayed Crampton. “Most importantly, it was a big day for the SealMaster team and Toyota. Everyone on this team works hard and they’ve had a bit of a rough year, so it is a lot of fun to go rounds with this team. What a day. And in the big picture it was a great day for Kalitta Motorsports. Now, let’s see what we can do the rest of the year.”
Two-time defending Top Fuel champion Antron Brown won his opening round match-up against Terry McMillen before falling in round two to Millican, while Shawn Langdon lost in his opening run to Schumacher.
In Funny Car, both Kalitta Motorsports Camrys advanced to the semi-finals as J.R. Todd continued his hot late-season run. After qualifying second, Todd drove his DHL Toyota to wins over Jeff Diehl and Ron Capps before falling in a close semi-final match-up against Robert Hight. With the strong weekend, Todd has climbed up into a fifth-place tie in the point standings in his rookie season in a Funny Car.
Alexis DeJoria defeated Jonnie Lindberg and Jim Campbell on the way to her second semi-final appearance in the last three races after earlier winning at Brainerd. She was eventually eliminated by Courtney Force, but not before the Tequila Patrón Toyota Camry registered seven straight passes in the 3.9s in the Carolina heat – the only driver to accomplish that feat on the weekend.
Cruz Pedregon rounded out the Toyota Funny Car contingent with a first-round defeat at the hands of John Force.
Round two of the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series Countdown to the Championship Playoffs takes place next weekend at Maple Grove Raceway in Mohnton, Pennsylvania, September 22-24.
