Kalitta Motorsports Houston SpringNationals Pre-Race Report (1 Viewer)

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Pre-Race Team Kalitta Notes​

Event : 2022 NHRA SpringNationals
Race 5 of 22
Houston Raceway Park
Baytown, Texas.
April 22-24, 2022​

NHRA Arizona Nationals No. 1 qualifier Doug Kalitta and his Mobil1 Toyota Top Fuel dragster will be racing for his fourth SpringNatonals win while J.R. Todd will be chasing his second Funny Car title behind the wheel of the DHL Toyota GR Supra. Shawn Langdon and the DHL Toyota Top Fuel team will be looking to close out the final NHRA national event in Houston with a win as well .

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Doug Kalitta Campaigning New Look Mobil1 Toyota Dragster at SpringNationals

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Doug Kalitta will be looking to secure the all-time Top Fuel career win mark for Houston Raceway Park this weekend at the annual NHRA SpringNationals. The perennial Top Fuel championship contender will be racing a Mobil1/Toyota branded 11,000-horsepowrr race car looking for his fourth Top Fuel SpringNationals win to break a four-way tie at the top of the Top Fuel leaderboard with Hall of Famer Kenny Bernstein, Larry Dixon and Tony Schumacher. The new look for Kalitta this weekend will be a departure from his traditional red, white and black Mac Tools livery and the 49-time Top Fuel winner is looking forward to showing off for what is expected to be a record crowd at Houston Raceway Park as they host their final NHRA national event.
“We have had a lot of good luck in Houston and last year we raced our Mobil1 dragster to the final round,” said Kalitta. “Our partnership with Mobil1 and Toyota has been a big plus for our whole Kalitta Motorsports team. We are going to have a good number of people from both companies in our pits and we want to put on a good show for them.”
Kalitta’s three Top Fuel wins came in 2003, 2015 and 2016. Last year as the No. 9 qualifier Kalitta took out Brittany Force, Antron Brown and his teammate Shawn Langdon on the way to the final round. The success at the Houston track gave him some early season momentum which he is also looking to pick up this year. The addition of new crew chiefs Alan Johnson and Brian Husen have Kalitta moving in the right direction and a solid performance this weekend would be a great way to start a two races in two weekends schedule.
“Having Alan and Brian working on our race car has been amazing,” said Kalitta, who picked up the No. 1 qualifier at the Arizona Nationals earlier this season. “We have always had a solid team over here but having them in our corner now is a big advantage. We are working through a few things, but I have so much confidence in my whole team I can’t wait to get to the track this weekend.:
In addition to Kalitta’s round win success at the NHRA SpringNationals he has grabber three No. 1 qualifiers over his career. In 2002, 2003 and 2013 Kalitta had the quickest hot rod on the property. His performance numbers this season are making a move to position him to add a fourth career No. 1 at the track located fifteen minutes from downtown Houston.
“You look at the performance numbers all the classes have been able to run at Houston Raceway Park and you just get excited to get behind the wheel,” said Kalitta. “This is going to be a good weekend and I know they are going to have a great crowd. You hate to hear about a track leaving the schedule, but we understand the reasons and are just thankful for everything the Angel family has done for NHRA.”
Qualifying will start on Friday at 7 p.m. with two more qualifying session on Saturday before final eliminations start on Sunday at 11 a.m.

2021 NHRA SpringNationals Highlights: Qual. No. 9, RUNNER-UP; Beat Brittany Force, Antron Brown, Shawn Langdon; Lost to Steve Torrence
Last Event Recap (2022 Las Vegas Four-Wide Nationals): Qual 6; Lost to Leah Pruett and Shawn Langdon
Career Stats: 548 events, 541 starts, 725 round wins, 49 wins, 107 finals, 51 No. 1 qualifiers
2022 Results
Winternationals: Qual. 5; Lost to Tony Schumacher
Arizona Nationals: Qual. 1; Lost to Rob Passey
Gatornationals: Qual 5; Beat Alex Laughlin; Lost to Mike Salinas
Las Vegas1: Qual 6; Lost to Leah Pruett and Shawn Langdon​

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Shawn Langdon and DHL Top Fuel Team Focused on Houston Victory

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Shawn Langdon and the DHL Toyota Top Fuel team will be looking to the final NHRA national event at historic Houston Raceway Park as the perfect time to begin building momentum for the 2022 NHRA season. The 2013 Top Fuel world champion who is the only NHRA driver to have won a world championship at every level of the various drag racing series will attempt to grab his first SpringNationals Top Fuel win this weekend. During his world championship season Langdon raced to the final round but came up one win light short of hoisting the Wally. Houston Raceway Park is one of just a handful of national event tracks Langdon has not collected a pro win.
“I definitely would like to get the last Top Fuel win in Houston,” said Langdon. “Our goal every weekend is to get four win lights for this DHL Toyota Top Fuel dragster. We are working towards that goal every race and I am proud of how hard everyone is working on this DHL team.”
During the NHRA Las Vegas Four-Wide Nationals Langdon and his DHL team showed some sparks of improvement when they advanced out of the first round quad as the No. 11 qualifier. He narrowly missed advancing to the final quad in the unique format. The team took the best information from their time in the desert and will work to improve at a track that is basically at sea level.
“We have a lot of experience over here with (crew chiefs) Kurt Elliott and Jason McCulloch and of course Connie Kalitta making all the call on out dragster,” said Langdon. “Last year we were taken out by our teammate Doug Kalitta in the semifinals. This year I would love to get to an all Kalitta Motorsports Top Fuel final round.”

2021 NHRA SpringNationals Highlights: Qual. No. 7; Beat Josh Hart, Justin Ashley; Lost to Doug Kalitta
Last Event Recap (2022 Las Vegas Four-Wide Nationals): Qual 11; Beat Doug Kalitta and Rob Passey; Lost to Steve Torrence and Brittany Force
Career Stats: 291 events, 287 starts, 311 round wins, 17 wins, 35 finals, 19 No. 1 qualifiers; in Top Fuel: 243 events, 239 starts, 15 wins, 32 finals, 272 round wins, 19 No. 1 qualifiers
2022 Results
Winternationals: Qual 8; Lost to Josh Hart
Arizona Nationals: Qual 7; Beat Antron Brown; Lost to Mike Salinas
Gatornationals: Qual 21; DNQ
Las Vegas1: Qual 11; Beat Doug Kalitta and Rob Passey; Lost to Steve Torrence and Brittany Force​

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J.R. Todd and DHL Toyota GR Supra Ready To Take on Houston Raceway Park

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The DHL Toyota GR Supra Funny Car will be making its Texas debut this weekend at the NHRA SpringNationals and driver J.R. Todd would like nothing better than to get his first win of 2022 in the lone star state. Houston Raceway Park will be hosting their final NHRA national event this weekend and Todd would like to pick up one more Funny Car title to go with his 2018 win. Todd is one of just three drivers in Houston Raceway Park history to have won in each of the nitro categories. He picked up a Top Fuel win in 2007 and that win combined with his Funny Car victory added his name to a list that includes only Mike Dunn and Del Worsham.
“It is pretty cool to be able to say you have won Top Fuel and Funny Car at the same national event and to be one of just three guys to do it makes it even more special,” said Todd. “I have some good memories from racing in Houston. That 2018 win was one of the early ones in our championship season and that gave us a lot of confidence to really make a run for the title.”
This season rolling out the brand-new DHL Toyota GR Supra Funny Car body Todd has been making steady progress. A quarterfinal finish at the Winternationals to start the season and a good showing two weeks ago at the Las Vegas Four-Wide Nationals have Todd and the DHL Toyota team eager to get back on track.
“Every run we are making adjustments and improvements to this DHL Toyota GR Supra,” said Todd. “So many people contributed to making this new body we want to start turning on more win lights. I know we are right around the corner from a lot of success but that doesn’t make the waiting any easier. There is going to be a packed house in Houston, so we want to put on a show for the Texas fans.”
Todd along with all the Toyota drivers will be participating in the Toyota autograph session on Saturday before the last day of qualifying. In addition to that event Todd will also be spending time with Kalitta Motorsports hospitality guests throughout the weekend. The constant fan interaction fuels Todd’s competitive focus.
“We will have a great group from Mobil1 and Toyota at the race this weekend along with a lot of people from DHL so you want to give them a good show,” said Todd.

2021 NHRA SpringNationals Highlights: Qual. No. 9; Beat Cruz Pedregon and Jonnie Lindberg; Lost to Ron Capps, Bob Tasca III and Robert Hight
Last Event Recap (2022 Las Vegas Four-Wide Nationals): Qual 9; Beat Tim Wilkerson and Jason Rupert; Lost to Ron Capps and Matt Hagan
Career Stats: 259 events, 251 starts, 283 round wins, 19 wins, 40 finals, 14 No. 1 qualifiers; In Funny Car: 107 events, 107 starts, 10 wins, 20 finals, 135 round wins, 5 No. 1 qualifiers
2022 Results
Winternationals: Qual 8; Beat Bobby Bode; Lost to Ron Capps
Arizona Nationals: Qual 8; Lost to Alexis DeJoria
Gatornationals: Qual 11; Lost to Blake Alexander
Las Vegas1: Qual 9; Beat Tim Wilkerson and Jason Rupert; Lost to Ron Capps and Matt Hagan​

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About Kalitta Motorsports​

Based in Ypsilanti, Mich., Kalitta Motorsports is a Top Fuel and Funny Car drag racing team in the NHRA (National Hot Rod Association) Camping World Drag Racing Series. The team was founded and is owned by drag racing icon Connie “the Bounty Hunter” Kalitta. For more than 60 years, Connie has been involved in the sport as a driver, tuner, and an owner. Kalitta Motorsports is one of the most successful teams in the history of auto racing with seven world championships and over 100 national event titles in five different professional drag racing sanctioning bodies since it was established by Connie in 1959.
Kalitta Motorsports fields three full-time entries in the NHRA Camping World nitro classes. Connie Kalitta’s nephew, Doug Kalitta, pilots the Mac Tools Top Fuel dragster while 2013 NHRA Top Fuel world champion Shawn Langdon drives the DHL/Kalitta Air Top Fuel dragster. In Funny Car, 2018 NHRA Funny Car world champion J.R. Todd is the driver of the DHL Toyota GR Supra Funny Car. Connie Kalitta serves as head tuner for all Kalitta Motorsports entries. He is assisted by crew chiefs Todd Smith and Jon Oberhofer on the DHL Toyota GR Supra Funny Car, Kurt Elliott and Jason McCulloch on the DHL Top Fuel dragster and Alan Johnson and Brian Husen with Ronnie Thompson lead the efforts on the Mac Tools Top Fuel dragster.

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