Randy Meyer Racing is honored to officially announce that Mitch Kalitta, son of two-time NHRA Top Fuel champion Doug Kalitta, will make his Top Alcohol Dragster debut with the championship-winning team, beginning at the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals in Brainerd, Minnesota, before continuing his rookie campaign for the remainder of the 2026 NHRA season.
For Mitch, drag racing has never just been a hobby; “I have been involved in drag racing my entire life,” said Kalitta. “My dad has been driving Top Fuel since 1998, and I was born in 2001, so it is absolutely in my blood.”
Growing up at Kalitta Motorsports, Mitch began helping on the race cars around 2015 by assembling short blocks and washing parts, and today he continues to work on the team’s championship-caliber Top Fuel operation. While spending years learning the sport behind the scenes, he officially began his driving career last season in Shawn Langdon’s Super Comp dragster at the NHRA U.S. Nationals. Since then, he has competed in several NHRA divisional events, and won the 2026 World Series of Pro Mod bracket race, building valuable experience before taking the next step into Top Alcohol Dragster.
“I really enjoyed learning how to compete in the index classes because they taught me a lot about how to drag race,” Kalitta explained. “I’m excited for this new challenge because Top Alcohol Dragster is much more like the racing I grew up watching and being a part of. The class is incredibly competitive, the race format is identical to Top Fuel, and the driving procedures are very similar. I’ve been fortunate to learn from my dad, Shawn Langdon, and J.R. Todd, who have all shared advice along the way.”
Randy Meyer Racing recently completed a successful licensing process at multiple tracks with Kalitta, beginning with several introductory laps before progressing to full passes.
“I was very fortunate that Randy allowed me to make several laps at Dragway 42 with pretty much nobody there so I could get all the dumb mistakes out of the way before we went to Norwalk,” Kalitta said. “The first day we started running, Randy just let me go out there to see what it was like, and as the day went on I started making my way farther down the racetrack. By the end of testing, I felt very comfortable making full runs and pulling the chutes on time. It was honestly a dream come true.”
For Randy Meyer, helping develop the next generation of one of drag racing’s most recognizable families is an opportunity the team is proud to be part of.
“We’re excited to welcome Mitch to the team,” said Randy Meyer. “He’s grown up around one of the best racing organizations in our sport, and you can see that in how he is preparing himself as a driver. He’s put in the work and was one of the most coachable drivers we’ve been able to license, and we’re looking forward to helping him continue his development.”
Kalitta will make his competition debut in Brainerd before heading to the NHRA U.S. Nationals, an event that carries special meaning for the young driver.
“I’ve probably been to the U.S. Nationals 20 times in my life, so the opportunity to race there is unbelievable,” Kalitta said. “It’s the crown jewel of drag racing. I’m also really looking forward to the Dodge Power Brokers NHRA Great Lakes Nationals because it’s my hometown race and I’ll have a lot of family and friends there cheering me on.”
Kalitta credited his family and both organizations for making the opportunity possible.
“I want to thank Connie Kalitta, Chad Head, and my dad for providing this opportunity to run this car. They’re ultimately the ones who made this happen, and their support has been incredible. It’s also been a pleasure working with Randy, Mary, JJ, and the entire Randy Meyer Racing team. I’m very excited to get to Brainerd.”
With one of drag racing’s most accomplished families behind him and one of the sport’s premier Top Alcohol Dragster teams guiding his development, Mitch Kalitta now begins the next chapter in a racing journey that has been decades in the making.
The post Mitch Kalitta Joins Randy Meyer Racing for Top Alcohol Dragster Debut first appeared on Drag Illustrated.
