After winning his long-awaited first NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series world championship, there\u2019s been no slowing down Top Fuel fan-favorite Doug Kalitta during the 2024 season.<\/p>\n
The longtime standout is the points leader with a commanding advantage this year and he is set to make more history at this weekend\u2019s 42nd annual Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals at festive Brainerd International Raceway, becoming the first Top Fuel driver in NHRA history to make his 600th career appearance.<\/p>\n
Kalitta\u2019s storied career began in 1998 and race No. 600 will come this weekend in Brainerd in his 11,000-horsepower Mac Tools Toyota dragster. All these years later, Kalitta is still going strong, winning three races, advancing to five finals rounds and qualifying No. 1 five times in 2024 heading into the penultimate race of the regular season.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been an interesting ride and I didn\u2019t realize nobody else has made it to 600 (in Top Fuel). It\u2019s been a cool ride and a great opportunity for me, competing for as long as I have,\u201d Kalitta said. \u201cI still enjoy driving the cars and surrounding myself with great teams and great people. It\u2019s been amazing driving for Connie (Kalitta, team owner) and I\u2019ve been very fortunate to have so many great people around me. I\u2019m still enjoying it and as long as we can continue to drive up front, that\u2019s what drives me to keep going.\u201d<\/p>\n
Last season, Antron Brown (Top Fuel), Ron Capps (Funny Car) and Dallas Glenn (Pro Stock) powered to the winner\u2019s circle at the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals. This year, the event will again be broadcast on FS1 and FOX, including eliminations action on FOX on Sunday, Aug. 18 at 3 p.m. ET. It is the 14th of 20 races during the 2024 season and Kalitta will attempt to pick up his third career win in Brainerd and first since the 2005 campaign.<\/p>\n
The weekend also includes the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge on Saturday in the three pro categories, though it will mark a rare occasion that Kalitta won\u2019t appear in the bonus race this year. He suffered a surprising first-round loss in Sonoma and will look to get back on track as the Countdown to the Championship playoffs get closer.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s where Kalitta got hot a year ago, winning three playoff races to pick up his first world championship, including a winner-take-all final round in Pomona. The team\u2019s momentum is stronger than ever with what has been a brilliant 2024 thus far, but Kalitta knows the challenges will only get more different in the stretch run while facing off against a star-studded lineup that includes Kalitta Motorsports teammate Shawn Langdon, Brown, four-time champ Steve Torrence, Tony Schumacher, Clay Millican, Brittany Force and Top Fuel newcomer Tony Stewart.<\/p>\n
Kalitta, though, has weathered those challenges this year, proving to be a dynamic duo with standout crew chief Alan Johnson and the rest of his Kalitta Motorsports team. They\u2019ve made a strong impression at nearly every race this year, only losing in the first round on two occasions, but Kalitta hopes there\u2019s no slowing down with this team as he makes his 600th Top Fuel appearance this weekend in Brainerd.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s definitely a dogfight right now,\u201d Kalitta said. \u201cBrainerd is always a great place to go and I look forward to it every year. It\u2019s always entertaining and the place is always packed. It\u2019s just one of those very entertaining races to go. It\u2019s just a special place to race. Our car has been running well and hopefully we can have another great weekend. It\u2019s been fun to be a part of this and we\u2019re just keeping our heads down, trying to make it happen. When you catch a wave like this, you want to stay on it as long as you can.\u201d<\/p>\n
In Funny Car, Capps is certainly no stranger to the Brainerd winner\u2019s circle in Funny Car, picking up seven wins in his career. The Funny Car field is loaded with competition this season thanks to the efforts of points leader Austin Prock, Sonoma winner Bob Tasca III, reigning champ Matt Hagan, Gainesville winner J.R. Todd, rookie Daniel Wilkerson, Alexis DeJoria and Chad Green.<\/p>\n
Glenn currently leads the Pro Stock class, but Elite Motorsports has been dominant as of late, winning six straight races. That\u2019s a group that includes Jeg Coughlin Jr., Sonoma winner Aaron Stanfield, Troy Coughlin Jr. and Erica Enders, while other top names include five-time champ and area native Greg Anderson, Deric Kramer and Eric Latino.<\/p>\n
The event also will feature thrilling competition in the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series, as well Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown, Pingel Top Fuel Motorcycle and Johnson\u2019s Horsepowered Garage Mountain Motor Pro Stock.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Fans will be invited all weekend long to the Nitro Alley Stage, which is the main entertainment hub in the pits, hosting Nitro School, meet and greets, music and much more. Race fans at Brainerd International Raceway can enjoy the special pre-race ceremonies that introduce and celebrate each of the drivers racing for the prestigious Wally on Sunday and includes the fan favorite SealMaster Track Walk. The final can\u2019t-miss experience of any NHRA event is the winner\u2019s circle celebration on Sunday after racing concludes, where fans are invited to congratulate the event winners.<\/p>\n
As always, fans get an exclusive pit pass to the most powerful and sensory-filled motorsports attraction on the planet in Brainerd. Fans get a unique chance to see teams in action and service their hot rods between rounds, get autographs from their favorite NHRA drivers, and more. They can also visit NHRA\u2019s popular Nitro Alley and Manufacturers Midway, an exciting atmosphere that includes interactive displays, merchandise, food and fun for the entire family.<\/p>\n
NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series qualifying will feature two rounds at 4 and 6:15 p.m. CT on Friday, Aug. 16 and the final two rounds of qualifying on Saturday, Aug. 17 at 12 and 2:30 p.m. Final eliminations are scheduled for 10:30 a.m. CT on Sunday, Aug. 18. Television coverage includes qualifying action on FS1 at 8 p.m. ET on Friday, as well as coverage of the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge on Saturday at 6 p.m. ET on FS1, qualifying action at 1 p.m. ET on Sunday and eliminations on FOX at 3 p.m. ET Sunday.<\/p>\n
To purchase tickets to the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals at Brainerd International Raceway, fans can call 866-444-4455. For more information on the NHRA, please visit\u00a0www.nhra.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n This story was originally published on August 14, 2024. <\/p>\n The post Top Fuel Points Leader Doug Kalitta Set for 600th Career Race at Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals in Brainerd<\/a> first appeared on Drag Illustrated<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" After winning his long-awaited first NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series world championship, there\u2019s been no slowing down Top Fuel fan-favorite Doug Kalitta during the 2024 season. The longtime standout is the points leader with a commanding advantage this year and he is set to make more history at this weekend\u2019s 42nd annual Lucas Oil […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-95419","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95419","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=95419"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95419\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=95419"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=95419"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=95419"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}