SONOMA, Calif. (July 18, 2026) – – Team Kalitta’s Top Fuel prowess extended into the first race of the second half of the season when Doug Kalitta took his third No. 1 qualifier, and Shawn Langdon won his fourth Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge of the season. The Denso Sonoma NHRA Nationals presented by PowerEdge is set for Sunday; the race broadcast is scheduled for 10 p.m. eastern time on FSI.
Kalitta made strong runs in two of the three Top Fuel qualifying sessions; an on-track incident forced cancellation of the Friday-night session. Kalitta’s best effort came in the first session Friday afternoon when he reached the finish line in 3.714 seconds at 337.07 mph. His teammate, Shawn Langdon, was in the other lane and ran an identical elapsed time. Kalitta’s faster speed earned the No. 1 qualifier on the tiebreaker, and Langdon qualified second. In the final qualifying session Saturday afternoon, the Aflac Top Fuel dragster made the quickest run of the session, a 3.774-second run at 335.15 mph.
“That was a great run for us,” Kalitta said. “It stayed straight, didn’t smoke ‘em. It’s tricky out there right now so I hope my Aflac guys have a handle on the track for tomorrow. We’ll do our thing, keep our heads down, try to get to the final and see if we can have shot at this thing. Today is similar to what tomorrow’s conditions will be so hopefully, we have enough data. When you have Alan, Mac (Crew Chiefs Alan Johnson and mac Savage) and my whole team looking at everything, I’m in a good spot. It’s a good opportunity. Race day is never easy, but we’re up to the challenge.
“This place is really special for me, and I really hope we can get something going for tomorrow,” the six-time Sonoma winner added. “The environment and atmosphere around here are just incredible. I got my first win here back in the day so that was a big deal. Ever since then, when we come here, we have good luck, go rounds and win races. We had a little dry spell there for a few years, but I was really happy to get my sixth win here last year. Years ago, they put me on their wall of fame so that was really special. We just have to keep the tradition going.”
Langdon won his fourth Mission Foods Challenge of the season equaling Kalitta’s season total to date. He defeated Maddie Gordon in the first round setting up a final-round meeting with Clay Millican who defeated Antron Brown to make the final. Langdon was off the starting line first, but both cars smoked the tires. Millican lifted off the throttle, but Langdon pedaled and won the race.
“The car felt good early but then smoked the tires so you’re in a little of a predicament there,” Langdon said. “Do you risk it on Saturday and pedal the car? I was committed to lifting, but I heard Clay, and my foot went down on the throttle like just a natural instinct. It broke a fuel line, and all of a sudden, I couldn’t see. I saw all white and the fuel was coming in (the car) so I just grabbed the brake and got it stopped. It’s obviously not the way we wanted to do it, but we got it done. At the end of the day, that’s what matters.”
With 14 Top Fuel cars in Sonoma, Kalitta will race No. 14 qualifier Clay Millican in the first-round, and should he win, he would have a bye into the semifinals. Langdon is the No. 2 qualifier and will race No. 13 qualifier Will Smith. In Funny Car, J.R. Todd is the No. 9 qualifier and will race No. 8 qualifier Matt Hagan in Sunday’s opening round.
Photos Courtesy: Kalitta Motorsports
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Kalitta made strong runs in two of the three Top Fuel qualifying sessions; an on-track incident forced cancellation of the Friday-night session. Kalitta’s best effort came in the first session Friday afternoon when he reached the finish line in 3.714 seconds at 337.07 mph. His teammate, Shawn Langdon, was in the other lane and ran an identical elapsed time. Kalitta’s faster speed earned the No. 1 qualifier on the tiebreaker, and Langdon qualified second. In the final qualifying session Saturday afternoon, the Aflac Top Fuel dragster made the quickest run of the session, a 3.774-second run at 335.15 mph.
“That was a great run for us,” Kalitta said. “It stayed straight, didn’t smoke ‘em. It’s tricky out there right now so I hope my Aflac guys have a handle on the track for tomorrow. We’ll do our thing, keep our heads down, try to get to the final and see if we can have shot at this thing. Today is similar to what tomorrow’s conditions will be so hopefully, we have enough data. When you have Alan, Mac (Crew Chiefs Alan Johnson and mac Savage) and my whole team looking at everything, I’m in a good spot. It’s a good opportunity. Race day is never easy, but we’re up to the challenge.
“This place is really special for me, and I really hope we can get something going for tomorrow,” the six-time Sonoma winner added. “The environment and atmosphere around here are just incredible. I got my first win here back in the day so that was a big deal. Ever since then, when we come here, we have good luck, go rounds and win races. We had a little dry spell there for a few years, but I was really happy to get my sixth win here last year. Years ago, they put me on their wall of fame so that was really special. We just have to keep the tradition going.”
Langdon won his fourth Mission Foods Challenge of the season equaling Kalitta’s season total to date. He defeated Maddie Gordon in the first round setting up a final-round meeting with Clay Millican who defeated Antron Brown to make the final. Langdon was off the starting line first, but both cars smoked the tires. Millican lifted off the throttle, but Langdon pedaled and won the race.
“The car felt good early but then smoked the tires so you’re in a little of a predicament there,” Langdon said. “Do you risk it on Saturday and pedal the car? I was committed to lifting, but I heard Clay, and my foot went down on the throttle like just a natural instinct. It broke a fuel line, and all of a sudden, I couldn’t see. I saw all white and the fuel was coming in (the car) so I just grabbed the brake and got it stopped. It’s obviously not the way we wanted to do it, but we got it done. At the end of the day, that’s what matters.”
With 14 Top Fuel cars in Sonoma, Kalitta will race No. 14 qualifier Clay Millican in the first-round, and should he win, he would have a bye into the semifinals. Langdon is the No. 2 qualifier and will race No. 13 qualifier Will Smith. In Funny Car, J.R. Todd is the No. 9 qualifier and will race No. 8 qualifier Matt Hagan in Sunday’s opening round.
Photos Courtesy: Kalitta Motorsports
The post DOUG KALITTA TAKES SONOMA NO. 1 QUALIFIER; SHAWN LANGDON WINS MISSION FOODS CHALLENGE first appeared on Team Kalitta Motorsports.
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