FEEDING AMERICA: THE “RACE TO END HUNGER” UPDATE FOLLOWING RACE ONE of SIX
Indianapolis: J.R. Todd (3), Doug Kalitta (2) and Shawn Langdon (1); money raised: $18,000; meals generated: 180,000.
Feeding America established Hunger Action Month in 2008 to create a nationwide push to address the hunger crisis across the United States. Consider:
People in the United States who are food insecure: 34 million
Children in the United States who are food insecure: 9 million (1 in 8 kids)
People who turned to food programs in 2022: 49 million
Counties in the United States with food insecurity: 100 percent
By clicking here, fans can join the fight with a personal donation and be entered into a drawing for a VIP experience for two at the 2024 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing event of their choice – donation not necessary to be entered into the drawing.Children in the United States who are food insecure: 9 million (1 in 8 kids)
People who turned to food programs in 2022: 49 million
Counties in the United States with food insecurity: 100 percent
J.R. TODD’S ROLLER-COASTER RIDE LEADS TO TOP-5 PLAYOFF START
2022 Pep Boys NHRA Nationals Recap: Qualified sixth; defeated Chad Green before losing to John Force in the second round.
J.R. Todd Career Stats: 292 events, 322 round wins, 20 wins, 45 final rounds, 14 No. 1 qualifiers
2023 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series Results To Date:
Gainesville: Qualified No. 6; defeated Blake Alexander, Robert Hight, Chad Green; lost to Matt Hagan in final.
Phoenix: Qualified 15th; lost to Alexis DeJoria in the first round.
Pomona: Qualified No. 5; lost to Alex Laughlin in the first round.
Las Vegas: Did not qualify.
Charlotte: Qualified No. 6; lost to Robert Hight and Mike McIntire in the first round.
Chicago: Qualified No. 3; lost to Bob Tasca in the first round.
Epping: Qualified No. 8; defeated Cruz Pedregon and Matt Hagan before losing to John Force in the semifinals.
Bristol: Qualified No. 7; lost to John Force.
Norwalk: Qualified No. 7; defeated John Force and Ron Capps before losing to Matt Hagan in the semifinals.
Denver: Qualified No. 7; defeated Tim Wilkerson and John Force before losing to Alexis Dejoria in the semifinals.
Seattle: Qualified No. 5; defeated Alex Laughlin, Cruz Pedregon and Chad Green before losing to Tim Wilkerson by .0522 seconds in the final round.
Sonoma: Qualified No. 8; defeated Blake Alexander, Bob Tasca, Matt Hagan and Chad Green earning his first win of the season.
Topeka: Qualified No. 7; defeated Chad Green and Ron Capps before losing to Matt Hagan in the semifinals.
Brainerd: Qualified No. 2; lost to Dale Creasy in the first round.
Indianapolis: Qualified No. 10; defeated Blake Alexander, Bob Tasca and Cruz Pedregon before losing to Ron Capps in the final round.
Current Point Standings: Todd enters Reading in fifth place in the NHRA Funny Car point standings. After the Countdown to the Championship NHRA Playoffs points reset and the addition of points earned through the Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge, he trails first-place Ron Capps by 56 points, trails fourth-place Bob Tasca by eight points and leads sixth-place Alexis DeJoria by 11 points.
2022 Pep Boys NHRA Nationals Recap: Qualified sixth; defeated Chad Green before losing to John Force in the second round.
J.R. Todd Career Stats: 292 events, 322 round wins, 20 wins, 45 final rounds, 14 No. 1 qualifiers
2023 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series Results To Date:
Gainesville: Qualified No. 6; defeated Blake Alexander, Robert Hight, Chad Green; lost to Matt Hagan in final.
Phoenix: Qualified 15th; lost to Alexis DeJoria in the first round.
Pomona: Qualified No. 5; lost to Alex Laughlin in the first round.
Las Vegas: Did not qualify.
Charlotte: Qualified No. 6; lost to Robert Hight and Mike McIntire in the first round.
Chicago: Qualified No. 3; lost to Bob Tasca in the first round.
Epping: Qualified No. 8; defeated Cruz Pedregon and Matt Hagan before losing to John Force in the semifinals.
Bristol: Qualified No. 7; lost to John Force.
Norwalk: Qualified No. 7; defeated John Force and Ron Capps before losing to Matt Hagan in the semifinals.
Denver: Qualified No. 7; defeated Tim Wilkerson and John Force before losing to Alexis Dejoria in the semifinals.
Seattle: Qualified No. 5; defeated Alex Laughlin, Cruz Pedregon and Chad Green before losing to Tim Wilkerson by .0522 seconds in the final round.
Sonoma: Qualified No. 8; defeated Blake Alexander, Bob Tasca, Matt Hagan and Chad Green earning his first win of the season.
Topeka: Qualified No. 7; defeated Chad Green and Ron Capps before losing to Matt Hagan in the semifinals.
Brainerd: Qualified No. 2; lost to Dale Creasy in the first round.
Indianapolis: Qualified No. 10; defeated Blake Alexander, Bob Tasca and Cruz Pedregon before losing to Ron Capps in the final round.
Current Point Standings: Todd enters Reading in fifth place in the NHRA Funny Car point standings. After the Countdown to the Championship NHRA Playoffs points reset and the addition of points earned through the Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge, he trails first-place Ron Capps by 56 points, trails fourth-place Bob Tasca by eight points and leads sixth-place Alexis DeJoria by 11 points.
YPSILANTI, Mich. (Sept. 12, 2023) – It was quite a ride. That’s one way to look at J.R. Todd’s regular season, but regardless of the twists and turns in the road, the destination was spot on: Todd and his DHL GR Supra team will start the 2023 NHRA Playoffs as the No. 5 seed. The NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series resumes this weekend with race one of the six-race Countdown to the Championship NHRA Playoffs, the Pep Boys NHRA Nationals Sept. 15-17 in Reading, Pa.
The twists and turns did just that throughout the five-month regular season, but the overall body of work shows a strong start, a dip and then a summer return to form including a winner’s circle stop at Sonoma, Calif., in July. After reaching the 49th final round of his career at the recently-concluded U.S. Nationals, Todd jumped up to fifth place in the NHRA Funny Car point standings and enters the Countdown as the fifth seed.
“That’s kinda the goal I set at the beginning of the year: be in the top five going into the Countdown,” Todd said. “Somehow, we made that happen – it’s definitely been a roller-coaster season up to this point, but I feel like the second half of the season, we turned corner and made some big gains. We still have a lot of work to do, but we’re in the hunt now. For these last six races, you just let it all hang out and make it happen.”
Todd and his relentless DHL team definitely made it happen in the last three months advancing to at least the semifinals at seven of the last nine races including the Sonoma win and three runner-up showings. With the points reset following the regular season and the addition of the Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge bonus points, Todd enters the playoffs trailing first-place Ron Capps by just 56 points. With a strong showing in Pennsylvania this weekend, the DHL team has potential to make a big points move.
“They’re all important,” Todd added. “Other than Indy being the biggest race of the year, these next six are the most-important races of the year. The first one can set the tone for the rest of the season so you definitely want to go to the later rounds. It would be really nice to start off with a win and kind of see where the points shake out after that, but that first one is really important.”
Which is exactly what happened when Todd won the 2018 NHRA Funny Car championship. He entered the Countdown in fifth place in points, won at Reading and went on to take the title after winning three Countdown races and reaching the final round at five of the six, but that’s not the only route to the title.
“I’d rather fly under the radar, and come Pomona, be battling it out for the championship on the final day,” Todd said. “If we go out and win, people know we’re there to compete for the championship, but I’d like to think the top-five cars stand a legit shot right now, and I think we all know that.
“I like racing at Reading. It’s kind of one of those old school tracks with some history and character. In 2018, it was the start of our championship run. We won Indy and went in there and won the first race of the Countdown. I think that kinda set the tone for us that season so it would be nice to relive some of that magic although we didn’t win Indy this year, but with that runner-up finish, I still feel like we can go into Reading and do some good.”
DOUG KALITTA, MAC TOOLS TEAM UP TO CHAMPIONSHIP CHALLENGE
2022 Pep Boys NHRA Nationals Recap: Qualified No. 7; defeated Leah Pruett before losing to Justin Ashley in the second round.
Career Stats: 581 events, 752 round wins, 49 wins, 109 final rounds, 52 No. 1 qualifiers
2023 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series Results To Date:
Gatornationals: Qualified No. 3; defeated Spencer Massey, Antron Brown; lost to Steve Torrence
Phoenix: Qualified No. 1; defeated Rob Passey, lost to Shawn Langdon.
Pomona: Qualified 11th and lost to Antron Brown in the first round.
Las Vegas: Qualified 10th; lost to Steve Torrence and Josh Hart in the first round.
Charlotte: Qualified No. 6, lost to Leah Pritchett and Pat Dakin in the first round.
Chicago: Qualified No. 3; defeated Kyle Wurtzel, lost to Clay Millican.
Epping: Qualified 12th; lost to Leah Pruett.
Bristol: Qualified No. 6; defeated Clay Millican and Steve Torrence before lost to Antron Brown.
Norwalk: Qualified No. 4; lost to Dan Mercier in the first round.
Denver: Qualified No. 2; defeated Terry Totten, Josh Hart and Steve Torrence before losing to Clay Millican in the final round.
Seattle: Qualified No. 2; defeated Ron Smith, had a second-round bye and defeated Clay Millican before losing to Steve Torrence when the Mac Tools Toyota dragster smoked the tires during the final-round run.
Sonoma: Qualified No. 8; lost to Justin Ashley in the first round.
Topeka: Qualified No. 3; lost to Austin Prock in the first round.
Brainerd: Qualified No. 2; lost to Clay Millican in the first round.
Indianapolis: Qualified No. 4; defeated Spencer Massey and Mike Salinas before losing to Steve Torrence in the semifinals.
Current Point Standings: Kalitta enters Reading in sixth place in the NHRA Top Fuel point standings. After the Countdown to the Championship NHRA Playoffs points reset and the addition of points earned through the Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge, he trails first-place Justin Ashley by 75 points, trails fifth-place Brittany Force by seven points and leads seventh-place Mike Salinas by 33 points
2022 Pep Boys NHRA Nationals Recap: Qualified No. 7; defeated Leah Pruett before losing to Justin Ashley in the second round.
Career Stats: 581 events, 752 round wins, 49 wins, 109 final rounds, 52 No. 1 qualifiers
2023 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series Results To Date:
Gatornationals: Qualified No. 3; defeated Spencer Massey, Antron Brown; lost to Steve Torrence
Phoenix: Qualified No. 1; defeated Rob Passey, lost to Shawn Langdon.
Pomona: Qualified 11th and lost to Antron Brown in the first round.
Las Vegas: Qualified 10th; lost to Steve Torrence and Josh Hart in the first round.
Charlotte: Qualified No. 6, lost to Leah Pritchett and Pat Dakin in the first round.
Chicago: Qualified No. 3; defeated Kyle Wurtzel, lost to Clay Millican.
Epping: Qualified 12th; lost to Leah Pruett.
Bristol: Qualified No. 6; defeated Clay Millican and Steve Torrence before lost to Antron Brown.
Norwalk: Qualified No. 4; lost to Dan Mercier in the first round.
Denver: Qualified No. 2; defeated Terry Totten, Josh Hart and Steve Torrence before losing to Clay Millican in the final round.
Seattle: Qualified No. 2; defeated Ron Smith, had a second-round bye and defeated Clay Millican before losing to Steve Torrence when the Mac Tools Toyota dragster smoked the tires during the final-round run.
Sonoma: Qualified No. 8; lost to Justin Ashley in the first round.
Topeka: Qualified No. 3; lost to Austin Prock in the first round.
Brainerd: Qualified No. 2; lost to Clay Millican in the first round.
Indianapolis: Qualified No. 4; defeated Spencer Massey and Mike Salinas before losing to Steve Torrence in the semifinals.
Current Point Standings: Kalitta enters Reading in sixth place in the NHRA Top Fuel point standings. After the Countdown to the Championship NHRA Playoffs points reset and the addition of points earned through the Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge, he trails first-place Justin Ashley by 75 points, trails fifth-place Brittany Force by seven points and leads seventh-place Mike Salinas by 33 points
Doug Kalitta’s title hopes enjoyed a nice bump two weeks ago when the Mac Tools Toyota team jumped two spots to sixth place in the season standings putting Kalitta within striking distance of the points lead entering the first playoff race. The NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series resumes this weekend with race one of the six-race Countdown to the Championship NHRA Playoffs, the Pep Boys NHRA Nationals Sept. 15-17 in Reading, Pa.
One year ago, Kalitta started the Countdown in ninth place in points – this year, he starts sixth. Two weeks ago, Kalitta’s up-and-down season continued with a semifinal showing at the U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis. In his first-round win over Spencer Massey, Kalitta posted the quickest and fastest run of the entire event with a 3.692-second run at 336.49 mph. He qualified in the top four at nine races this season including six of the last seven. The momentum from some terrific performance, the Indianapolis semifinal and two West coast final-round appearances have this team poised for a strong start in the first of six races that make up the Countdown to the Championship.
“It's been pretty exciting for sure, and Alan’s super stoked, too,” Kalitta said. “All my guys and (co-crew chiefs Alan Johnson and Brian Husen) Alan and Brian, we all feel very positive that we can get this done if we keep doing what we’re doing. The timing is good with a lot of the positive energy and things that are hopefully coming to play here. We just gotta get out there on a Sunday and go rounds – that’s what we have to focus on, and hopefully a win or two will happen along the way – that’ll be great for Mac Tools, Toyota, Revchem, SealMaster and everyone else that helps us get it done.”
Following the points reset at the end of the regular season and the addition of the Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge bonus points, Kalitta trails points leader Justin Ashley by only 75 points, but this team needs consistent efforts that go deep into eliminations to take advantage of the points reset.
“There’s a lot of good-running cars in Top Fuel and a lot of close competition,” the 49-time race winner said. “We definitely need to have more points at the end of race day than most of the other teams as we work through these last six races. It’s very doable. The cool conditions work for our setup; we saw some of that at Indy with our night qualifying and that first round on Monday, and the cool weather is another thing Alan commented on, too.
“Winning this first race (of the Countdown) would be a good motivator, but at the end of the day, we have six races to get there so they’re all gonna require you to go rounds. Going out first round is something we’ll definitely try to avoid. It’s gonna be good - as long as we work together and have fun, it should all come together.”
LANGDON: “SO YOU’RE TELLING ME THERE’S A CHANCE”
2022 Pep Boys NHRA Nationals Recap: Qualified 12th; lost to Steve Torrence in the first round.
Shawn Langdon Career Stats: 324 events, 343 round wins, 17 wins, 38 final rounds, 19 No. 1 qualifiers
2023 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series Results To Date:
Gainesville: Qualified 11th and lost to Antron Brown by two 10 thousandths of a second.
Phoenix: Qualified No. 8; defeated Antron Brown, Doug Kalitta and Leah Pruett; lost to Justin Ashley
Pomona: Qualified No. 7; defeated Tony Schumacher, lost to Brittany Force.
Las Vegas: Qualified No. 6; defeated Krista Baldwin and Clay Millican before losing to Steve Torrence and
Josh Hart in the semifinals.
Charlotte: Qualified 11th, lost to Leah Pritchett and Pat Dakin in the first round.
Chicago: Qualified No. 6; lost to Clay Millican in the first round.
Epping: Qualified No. 2; lost to Tony Schumacher in the first round.
Bristol: Qualified 14th; lost to Steve Torrence.
Norwalk: Qualified 14th; lost to Brittany Force.
Denver: Qualified No. 9; defeated Greg Carrillo and Rob Passey before losing to Clay Millican in the
semifinals.
Seattle: Qualified No. 8; defeated Antron Brown and Mike Salinas before losing to Steve Torrence by .0609 seconds in the semifinals.
Sonoma: Qualified No. 5; defeated Leah Pruett before losing to Josh Hart in the second round.
Topeka: Qualified No. 9; lost to Brittany Force in the first round.
Brainerd: Qualified No. 9; lost to Antron Brown in the first round.
Indianapolis: Qualified No. 9; defeated Josh Hart before losing to Steve Torrence in the second round.
Point Standings: Langdon enters Reading in 11th place in the NHRA Top Fuel point standings.
After the Countdown to the Championship NHRA Playoffs points reset and the addition of points earned through the Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge.
He trails first-place Justin Ashley by 129 points, trails 10th place Josh Hart by eight points and leads 12th place Tony Schumacher by 10 points.
For 51 drivers competing in the four professional classes of NHRA Camping World Drag Racing, it’s playoff time. The top-10 finishers from each class and the drivers who competed at every regular-season event make the cut - Shawn Langdon and his Kalitta Air Careers Toyota team have a chance to turn around a challenging season. The NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series resumes this weekend with race one of the six-race Countdown to the Championship NHRA Playoffs, the Pep Boys NHRA Nationals Sept. 15-17 in Reading, Pa.2022 Pep Boys NHRA Nationals Recap: Qualified 12th; lost to Steve Torrence in the first round.
Shawn Langdon Career Stats: 324 events, 343 round wins, 17 wins, 38 final rounds, 19 No. 1 qualifiers
2023 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series Results To Date:
Gainesville: Qualified 11th and lost to Antron Brown by two 10 thousandths of a second.
Phoenix: Qualified No. 8; defeated Antron Brown, Doug Kalitta and Leah Pruett; lost to Justin Ashley
Pomona: Qualified No. 7; defeated Tony Schumacher, lost to Brittany Force.
Las Vegas: Qualified No. 6; defeated Krista Baldwin and Clay Millican before losing to Steve Torrence and
Josh Hart in the semifinals.
Charlotte: Qualified 11th, lost to Leah Pritchett and Pat Dakin in the first round.
Chicago: Qualified No. 6; lost to Clay Millican in the first round.
Epping: Qualified No. 2; lost to Tony Schumacher in the first round.
Bristol: Qualified 14th; lost to Steve Torrence.
Norwalk: Qualified 14th; lost to Brittany Force.
Denver: Qualified No. 9; defeated Greg Carrillo and Rob Passey before losing to Clay Millican in the
semifinals.
Seattle: Qualified No. 8; defeated Antron Brown and Mike Salinas before losing to Steve Torrence by .0609 seconds in the semifinals.
Sonoma: Qualified No. 5; defeated Leah Pruett before losing to Josh Hart in the second round.
Topeka: Qualified No. 9; lost to Brittany Force in the first round.
Brainerd: Qualified No. 9; lost to Antron Brown in the first round.
Indianapolis: Qualified No. 9; defeated Josh Hart before losing to Steve Torrence in the second round.
Point Standings: Langdon enters Reading in 11th place in the NHRA Top Fuel point standings.
After the Countdown to the Championship NHRA Playoffs points reset and the addition of points earned through the Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge.
He trails first-place Justin Ashley by 129 points, trails 10th place Josh Hart by eight points and leads 12th place Tony Schumacher by 10 points.
Like Jim Carey said in the 1994 movie, “Dumb and Dumber,” “so you’re telling me there’s a chance.” While the regular season definitely did not go as planned, the Kalitta Air Careers team now has clean slate…and a chance. Following the points reset after the regular season, Langdon and team trail points leader Justin Ashley by 129 points, but the time for action is now.
“I love this part of the season – every reaction time means more, every run is more important, and a race win, especially this weekend and especially for us, can give you a huge jump in points,” Langdon said. “After all we’ve been through this season, the Countdown resets the points so even though we’re 11th, we’re only 129 points out of first place – that’s a lot, but it’s doable. We have to do our jobs this weekend and take advantage of the opportunity. This weekend isn’t a must-win race, but it’s pretty close. We need to go deep in eliminations to make a move up the ladder to put Kalitta Air, Revchem, Toyota and Future Energy Solutions in position for a run at the title.”
That all sounds great, but challenges don’t just disappear because of a new stage of the season or a points reset. The season-long body of work shows bright spots sprinkled throughout, but this weekend, the team needs multiple bright spots.
“It’s trying to be patient, blocking out the negative and focusing on doing my job,” the 2013 Top Fuel champion added. “I’m going to give 100 percent every time I sit in the car because, at some point, the car will turn around, and I don’t want to be the weak link so I just try to treat it as, ‘I’m going to be ready when the car decides to turn around, and we’ll keep working at it until that happens.’ It’s kind of like I told the guys; ‘we haven’t won a race, we’ve struggled a lot, but all you have to do is win the last six races, and you’re a champion.’ That’s our focus.”
Race Information:
Pep Boys NHRA Nationals
Maple Grove Raceway; Mohnton, Pa.
TV Schedule:
Qualifying Show No. 1: 10:30 p.m.–Midnight eastern Friday, Sept. 15, 2023 on FS1.
Qualifying Show No. 2: 12:30-2 p.m. eastern Sunday, Sept. 17, 2023 on FS1.
Finals: 2-4 p.m. or 4:30-6:30 p.m. eastern Sunday, Sept. 17, 2023 on FOX.
Note: NFL-adjacent broadcast; please check local listings.
Pep Boys NHRA Nationals
Maple Grove Raceway; Mohnton, Pa.
TV Schedule:
Qualifying Show No. 1: 10:30 p.m.–Midnight eastern Friday, Sept. 15, 2023 on FS1.
Qualifying Show No. 2: 12:30-2 p.m. eastern Sunday, Sept. 17, 2023 on FS1.
Finals: 2-4 p.m. or 4:30-6:30 p.m. eastern Sunday, Sept. 17, 2023 on FOX.
Note: NFL-adjacent broadcast; please check local listings.
