THREE-TIME BRISTOL WINNER WANTS FOUR OF A KIND AT THUNDER VALLEY

YPSILANTI, MI – After an incredibly frustrating weekend trying to wait out the New England weather, 49-time race winner Doug Kalitta turns his attention to grabbing not only his fourth Thunder Valley win but also his 50th-career win, and while he’s at it, why not go for 51 in the same weekend? The NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series resumes this weekend with the NHRA New England Nationals and the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals June 9-11, 2023 at Thunder Valley Dragway in Bristol, Tenn.

After a weekend of horrendous weather in Epping, N.H., rain forced eliminations for that race to move to this weekend during Bristol qualifying. With three wins in six Bristol final rounds, Kalitta knows his way around Thunder Valley quite well. Throw in his 2019 No. 1 qualifier, and he’s done everything he can do at Bristol, but a win, or two, this weekend would be a special way to get the Mac Tools Toyota team moving up the point standings.

“We’d definitely like to get two wins this weekend, but we don’t want to be greedy,” Kalitta said in jest. “With the way this season’s gone, I’m know we’d all be super excited to get that 50th win no matter where it happens, but after what everyone went through in Epping this past weekend, it sure would be nice to have a great weekend in Bristol and get us headed back in the right direction.”

This weekend is literally two races in one:

Qualifying Session No. 1 Friday: Bristol Qualifying Session One.
Qualifying Session No. 2 Friday: Bristol Qualifying Session Two and Epping Eliminations Round 1.
Qualifying Session No. 3 Saturday: Bristol Qualifying Session Three and Epping Eliminations Round 2.
Between Qualifying Sessions 3 and 4: Epping Semifinals (does not count for Bristol qualifying).
Qualifying Session No. 4 Saturday: Bristol Qualifying Session 4 and Epping Finals.

This weekend will force teams to take a race-day approach during qualifying making the opening qualifying session perhaps the key to the entire weekend. A good run in the opening round, which is not part of Epping eliminations, means the team is in the race and that it can focus on trying to win the Epping race during the remaining qualifying sessions.

“It’s definitely something we haven’t done very much so nobody has a lot of experience with a weekend like we’ll have in Bristol, but it’s the same for everyone who was in Epping,” Kalitta added. “Alan, Brian (co-crew chiefs Alan Johnson and Brian Husen) and the rest of my guys are putting us in position to succeed. We just need everything to come together. Everyone on this Mac Tools Toyota team is working as hard as they can, and I believe in our team. We’re hoping for a big weekend in Bristol.”

Race Information:
NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals and NHRA New England Nationals
Bristol Dragway, Bristol, Tenn.
TV Schedule:

Qualifying 1: 7-8 p.m. Friday, June 9 on FS1
Epping Eliminations Round 1: 8-9:30 Friday, June 9 on FS1
Epping Eliminations: 10:30-Midnight Saturday, June 10 on FS1
Qualifying 2: 12:30-2 p.m. Sunday, June 11 on FS1
Finals: 7-10 p.m. Sunday, June 11 on FS1

2022 Thunder Valley Nationals Recap: Qualified 12th and lost to Brittany Force in the first round.

Doug Kalitta Career Stats: 571 events, 741 round wins, 49 wins, 107 final rounds, 52 No. 1 qualifiers

2023 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series Results To Date:
Gatornationals: Qualified third; defeated Spencer Massey, Antron Brown; lost to Steve Torrence
Phoenix: Qualified No. 1; defeated Rob Passey, lost to Shawn Langdon.
Pomona: Qualified 11th and lost to Antron Brown in the first round.
Las Vegas: Qualified 10th; lost to Steve Torrence and Josh Hart in the first round.
Charlotte: Qualified No. 6; lost to Leah Pritchett and Pat Dakin in the first round.
Chicago: Qualified No. 3; defeated Kyle Wurtzel, lost to Clay Millican.
Epping: Qualified No. 12; eliminations TBD.

Current Point Standings: Kalitta enters Bristol in 10th place in the NHRA Top Fuel point standings. He trails his teammate, ninth-place Shawn Langdon, by 3 points and leads today’s race winner, 11th place Clay Millican, by 20 points.