It\u2019s been a pretty good September for Doug Kalitta and his Mac Tools Toyota team. After a nearly three-year win drought, the Michigan driver won the first two Playoff races, his 50th\u00a0and 51st-career wins, and claimed the points lead for the first time since 2020.\u00a0The NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series resumes this weekend at the NHRA Midwest Nationals in Madison, Ill., the third of six races that make up the Countdown to the Championship NHRA Playoffs.<\/p>\n
Life is good for Kalitta right now, and he\u2019s enjoying it \u2013 as he should. This sport can be humbling, as the Mac Tools driver said many times, and Kalitta had plenty of humbling experiences during the regular season. All of that changed in Reading, Pa. After a blown tire following the final qualifying attempt, the Mac Tools team went to its backup car, which unlike the primary car, does not have a canopy over the cockpit, and since that time, Kalitta has eight-consecutive round wins \u2013 the first eight of the Countdown to the Championship NHRA Playoffs. After returning to the winner\u2019s circle two weeks ago, Kalitta and his team are finally enjoying the fruits of their labor \u2013 back-to-back wins for the first time since 2016 and a 63-point lead in the season point standings. Don\u2019t expect a change back to the primary car anytime soon.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re plenty happy with this car; it\u2019s going well,\u201d Kalitta said.\u00a0\u201cThe two cars were built on the same jig so they\u2019re basically the same. We\u2019d been running that car for a long time so it\u2019s one of my good cars that\u2019s now a good backup \u2013 it\u2019s been doing us proud. We\u2019re going to swing by the shop on the way to St. Louis to go pick up the Canopy car (that was damaged in Reading), but I doubt we\u2019re going to run it. I\u2019m good with whatever those guys decide, but the backup car definitely brought some light to our program since we started running that thing.<\/p>\n
\u201cReally, it\u2019s all about (co-crew chiefs Alan Johnson and Brian Husen) Alan and Brian, and the whole team with what they\u2019re doing right now and what NHRA is doing with the track each week. It\u2019s a matter of getting consistent, everybody getting comfortable in their positions and hopefully, we can keep going rounds. It\u2019s taken about a year and three quarters to get this thing in the shape that it\u2019s in, and we hope we can keep it going so we can make a charge at the championship.\u201d<\/p>\n
Entering this weekend\u2019s NHRA Midwest Nationals in the shadow of the St. Louis arch, Kalitta returns to a track on which he has four wins in six final rounds. Perhaps history, coupled with the way this team is running, will allow the Mac Tools team to continue its recent run and solidify Kalitta\u2019s standing as a championship contender.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt would be huge (to win the championship); we just have to keep going rounds,\u201d Kalitta added. \u201cIt\u2019s really about everybody that\u2019s helped me over the years for me, but it would be extra special for sure. I\u2019m a pretty humble guy \u2013 I just want to stay ahead however we have to do that. Everybody\u2019s driving the wheels off these things; we have a bunch of good-running cars (in Top Fuel) as you can tell from the qualifying ladder so it\u2019s tough. You have to take advantage of the opportunities when you get them, and that\u2019s what we\u2019re going to continue to try to do. I\u2019m happy to be here, and it\u2019s a good spot for sure.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s good to keep running when you are on a roll; I\u2019m looking forward to St. Louis. We\u2019ve had some luck there, but I\u2019m sure everybody will be hungry; we\u2019ll have to work our tails off there, too. With Alan Johnson tuning the thing and Brian, it\u2019s a hell of a combination right now. I\u2019m hoping we all settle in, just be comfortable doing what we are doing, keep our heads down, keep going rounds and let it shake out where it does. I\u2019m super proud of these guys.\u201d<\/p>\n
J.R. Todd entered the Countdown to the Championship NHRA Playoffs as the fifth seed looking to make some noise in the battle for the championship, but with two of the six playoff races in the books, his outlook is a bit different.\u00a0The NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series resumes this weekend at the NHRA Midwest Nationals in Madison, Ill., the third of six races that make up the Countdown to the Championship NHRA Playoffs.<\/p>\n
In the last three months of the NHRA regular season, Todd\u2019s DHL GR Supra team advanced to at least the semifinals at seven of the last nine races of the regular season including a win at Sonoma, Calif., and three runner-up showings. The team appeared to be peaking at the perfect time, but things changed at the first Countdown race at Maple Grove Raceway in Pennsylvania. The DHL team qualified 11th\u00a0and lost in the first round, and then last weekend Charlotte, they qualified ninth but again lost in the opening round. With 16 rounds or racing remaining in the season, the time to step up the performance is now.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith four races left, you are almost in a must win situation,\u201d Todd said. \u201cSt. Louis is another three-qualifying session race so you have to hit the ground running in that first qualifying session Friday night. We\u2019re not mathematically out of the running for the championship; we have four races to go \u2013 that\u2019s two thirds of the Countdown so we can still make a run at this thing, but now we don\u2019t have any time to spare. We have four races left, and realistically, you probably have to win two of the four to have any legitimate shot. It won\u2019t be easy, but it\u2019s definitely possible.\u201d<\/p>\n
Shawn Landgon, Kalitta Air Careers Team Not Giving Up\u00a0<\/p>\n
Shawn Langdon\u2019s Kalitta Air Careers Toyota team is running better but not yet well enough to challenge for a championship making this weekend\u2019s third of six playoff races a pivotal event. The NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series resumes this weekend at the NHRA Midwest Nationals in Madison, Ill., the third of six races that make up the Countdown to the Championship NHRA Playoffs.<\/p>\n
Langdon\u2019s season has not lived up to expectations, but a recent uptick in performance is reason for optimism. The Kalitta Air Careers team made six consistent runs in Reading, Pa., two weeks ago and appeared ready to step up its performance. With a second-consecutive quarterfinal appearance last weekend in Charlotte, Langdon, who has two wins in three St. Louis final rounds, did move up to 10th\u00a0in points, but if the team is to have any shot at contending, a strong performance this weekend reaching deep into the eliminations ladder is vital.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe go into St. Louis with the same game plan we had for Charlotte \u2013 try to get our Kalitta Air Careers car running as well as it can so we can continue getting better,\u201d Langdon said. \u201cWe made six really good runs in Reading, but we weren\u2019t able to keep that going in Charlotte (last weekend) so we\u2019ll give it another shot this weekend. Mathematically, we can still win a championship, but realistically, it\u2019s a long shot. We\u2019d probably need to win at least two of the four races we have left so our goal is to continue improving our performance and hope we can keep moving up in points. St. Louis has a nice race track, and the weather looks good so we\u2019ll go in there and keep working as hard as we can to keep getting better for Kalitta Air, Revchem, Toyota, Future Energy Solutions and everyone else who supports our team.\u201d<\/p>\n
Prior to the Dodge Power Brokers U.S. Nationals, Kalitta Motorsports introduced the 2023 \u201cRace to End Hunger,\u201d a partnership among Kalitta Motorsports, DHL Express and Kalitta Air to accelerate the fight against food insecurity. For six NHRA Camping World Drag Racing national events, starting with the U.S. Nationals and ending with the Nevada NHRA Nationals in Las Vegas, every time a Kalitta Motorsports driver turns on a race day win light, Kalitta Motorsports will donate $1,000 to Feeding America, and both DHL and Kalitta Air will match the donation. The team turned on 16 win lights during the first half of the program:\u00a0<\/p>\n
Indianapolis:\u00a0J.R. Todd (3), Doug Kalitta (2), Shawn Langdon (1); money generated: $18,000; meals generated 180,000.<\/p>\n
Reading:\u00a0Doug Kalitta (4), Shawn Langdon (1), J.R. Todd (0); money donated: $15,000; meals generated: 150,000<\/p>\n
Charlotte:\u00a0Doug Kalitta (4), Shawn Langdon (1), J.R. Todd (0); money donated: $15,000; meals generated: 150,000<\/p>\n
Totals To-Date:\u00a0Money Donated $48,000; Meals Generated: 480,000\u00a0<\/p>\n
Feeding America established Hunger Action Month in 2008 to create a nationwide push to address the hunger crisis across the United States. Consider:\u00a0<\/p>\n
People in the United States who are food insecure: 34 million
\nChildren in the United States who are food insecure: 9 million (1 in 8 kids)
\nPeople who turned to food programs in 2022: 49 million
\nCounties in the United States with food insecurity: 100 percent\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
By clicking here<\/a>\u00a0fans can join the fight with a personal donation.<\/p>\n The post Doug Kalitta Looks for Third-Straight Win; Langdon, Todd Still Battling<\/a> first appeared on Drag Illustrated | Drag Racing News, Opinion, Interviews, Photos, Videos and More<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" It\u2019s been a pretty good September for Doug Kalitta and his Mac Tools Toyota team. After a nearly three-year win drought, the Michigan driver won the first two Playoff races, his 50th\u00a0and 51st-career wins, and claimed the points lead for the first time since 2020.\u00a0The NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series resumes this weekend at […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-89776","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89776","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=89776"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89776\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=89776"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=89776"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=89776"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}