FEEDING AMERICA: THE “RACE TO END HUNGER” ENTERS FINAL EVENT
Indianapolis: J.R. Todd (3), Doug Kalitta (2), Shawn Langdon (1); money generated: $18,000; meals generated 180,000.
Reading: Doug Kalitta (4), Shawn Langdon (1), J.R. Todd (0); money donated: $15,000; meals generated: 150,000.
Charlotte: Doug Kalitta (4), Shawn Langdon (1), J.R. Todd (0); money donated: $15,000; meals generated: 150,000.
St. Louis: Doug Kalitta (1), Shawn Langdon (0), J.R. Todd (1); money donated: $6,000; meals generated: 60,000.
Dallas: Doug Kalitta (1), Shawn Langdon (0), J.R. Todd (2); money donated: $9,000; meals generated: 90,000.
Totals To-Date: Money Donated $63,000; Meals Generated: 630,000.
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.
MAC TOOLS DRIVER DOUG KALITTA: “IT’S ALL ABOUT EXECUTING”
Kalitta Image Courtesy: Gary Nastase
YPSILANTI, Mich. (Oct. 24, 2023) – Doug Kalitta and his Mac Tools Toyota team are in the thick of the battle for the 2023 NHRA Top Fuel title – right where any competitor would want to be. The 2023 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Season resumes this weekend with the Nevada NHRA Nationals on The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, the fifth of six races making up the Countdown to the Championship NHRA Playoffs.Kalitta Image Courtesy: Gary Nastase
The current top-three contenders for the 2023 Top Fuel title are separated by just 14 points. Kalitta trails points leader Leah Pruett by four points and leads third-place Steve Torrence by nine points with two races remaining in the season. Kalitta won the first two playoff races; Pruett won the last race. Torrence has two final rounds and a semifinal so each of the current top-three contenders is in good form.
Two weeks ago, Kalitta and his Mac Tools Toyota team set the Texas Motorplex track speed record reaching 336.73 mph during the opening qualifying session. That run eventually made the Michigan driver the No. 2 qualifier continuing the team’s excellent qualifying efforts this season; Kalitta has 13 top-four qualifying efforts this season including each of the last seven races. The Mac Tools team is running well, and Kalitta is enjoying being in the hunt for the 2023 Top Fuel title.
“It feels good, and I feel confident,” Kalitta said. “We’re looking forward to getting to Las Vegas, starting qualifying and seeing what we can make happen on Sunday. Everybody on the Mac Tools team is super excited. I think we’re in a great spot; we just need to do what we do and go rounds. It’s all about executing.”
Kalitta has been in championship contention before; six times, he finished second in points, but this year feels different with championship tuner Alan Johnson on the team. Johnson has 12 NHRA Top Fuel championships with six different drivers. Could it be Doug Kalitta’s year?
“Having Alan Johnson in my corner, and obviously this team I have, definitely brings a whole new element of confidence for sure. He and (co-crew chief Brian Husen) Brian are doing an awesome job tuning the car. The guys are definitely in their groove putting this thing together, and having this team I have with two races to go is a pretty good spot to be in, I think.
“I’m definitely thinking about it (the championship chase). Whenever I’m driving, it’s on my mind – especially when I’m going back and forth to the race shop to check on the boys to see how they’re doing or when I sit down with Connie to work out when we’re leaving so there’s always something going on throughout my day that involves the race team. I wake up in the morning, and I have a practice tree at home so it’s definitely part of my routine. There’s just a lot of positive energy going on with this Mac Tools team.
“We want it; everybody on the team is hungry – I’m not focused on it every moment of every day or anything like that, but it’s important. We don’t need to get too psyched up about this thing; we just need to keep working hard and keep moving forward.”
2022 NHRA Nevada Nationals Recap: Qualified No. 8; lost to Antron Brown in the first round.
Career Stats: 585 events, 762 round wins, 51 wins, 111 final rounds, 53 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 in the second round.
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 in the second round.
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 in 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.
Reading: Qualified No. 3; defeated Josh Hart, Shawn Langdon, Leah Pruett and Steve Torrence.
Charlotte: Qualified No. 3; defeated Steve Torrence, Shawn Langdon, Leah Pruett, Mike Salinas.
St. Louis: Qualified No. 1; defeated Lex Joon, lost to Leah Pruett in the second round.
Dallas: Qualified No. 2; defeated Josh Hart before losing to Leah Pruett in the second round.
Current Point Standings: Kalitta enters Las Vegas in second place in the NHRA Top Fuel point standings. He trails first-place Leah Pruett by four points and leads third-place Steve Torrence by nine points. The top-three drivers are separated by just 13 points with two races remaining in the season.
THREE-TIME LAS VEGAS WINNER J.R. TODD LOOKS FOR FOUR OF A KIND WITH DHL BREAST CANCER AWARENESS LIVERY
Todd Image Courtesy: Kalitta Motorsports
Coming off one of his best races of the 2023 season, J.R. Todd hopes his DHL team’s “new combination” will combine with healthy desire to finish the season on a high note. The 2023 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Season resumes this weekend with the Nevada NHRA Nationals on The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, the fifth of six races making up the Countdown to the Championship NHRA Playoffs.Todd Image Courtesy: Kalitta Motorsports
One race ago in Texas, Todd qualified No. 6 and reached the semifinals for his best Countdown showing to date. With three good qualifying runs and a strong performance on race day, Todd and team have high hopes for the season’s remaining races, in which it will compete with the DHL #AsOneAgainstCancer livery.
“Our Dallas race was definitely the best race we’ve had in a long time,” Todd said. “We qualified really well and made our best run there in Q4 (fourth qualifying session - 3.857 secs. at 330.32 mph) – it was the best run we’d made in a really long time. That’s definitely showing some promise going into the last two races of the year.”
Todd enters Las Vegas in sixth place in the NHRA Funny Car point standings. He trails fifth place by just 14 points but is nearly 100 points out of fourth. Regardless of where the points shake out, what matters most is competing in Las Vegas.
“I sure hope we can keep that going this week – we’ve run well in Vegas in the past,” Todd continued. “We kind of have a new combination compared to what we’ve run most of this season. I think it showed some signs of progress late in the weekend in Dallas so I’m hoping that carries over to Vegas. To me, fifth in points was a realistic goal, and we would have gotten there if we’d made the final in Dallas. That’s kind of where I have my sights set for now, and then with points and a half in Pomona, that always seems to shake things up. If guys go out early, and you have a good day, who knows where we could end up. A top-five finish is definitely my goal.
“Finishing the season on a positive not is definitely key looking at the season we’ve had. That win (in Sonoma) was definitely good and much needed, but overall, it hasn’t been the season we wanted so we’re hoping to finish with a trophy or two to close it out.”
2022 NHRA Nevada Nationals Recap: Qualified No. 4; defeated Cruz Pedregon and John Force before losing to Robert Hight in the semifinals.
J.R. Todd Career Stats: 296 events, 325 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.
Reading: Qualified No. 11; lost to Matt Hagan in the first round.
Charlotte: Qualified No. 8; lost to Paul Lee in the first round.
St. Louis: Qualified No. 11; defeated Bob Bode, lost to Blake Alexander in the second round.
Dallas: Qualified No. 6; defeated Blake Alexander and Terry Haddock before losing to John Force in the semifinals.
Current Point Standings: Todd enters Las Vegas in sixth place in the NHRA Funny Car point standings. He trails fifth-place John Force by 14 points and leads seventh-place Chad Green by nine points with two races remaining in the season.
LANGDON, FUTURE ENERGY SOLUTIONS TEAM ENTER LAS VEGAS LOOKING FOR LUCK AND ROUND WINS
Langdon Image Courtesy: Kalitta Motorsports
Shawn Langdon is sporting a new look this weekend – the 2013 Top Fuel champ is flying the Future Energy Solutions (FES) colors as he races into the season’s penultimate event in search of a positive ending to a challenging season. The 2023 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Season resumes this weekend with the Nevada NHRA Nationals on The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, the fifth of six races making up the Countdown to the Championship NHRA Playoffs.Langdon Image Courtesy: Kalitta Motorsports
After a season of ups and downs, none of which resulted in a win, just what recipe could make that positive ending? Langdon and his FES Toyota team made some excellent runs in qualifying at the last race, including posting Landgon’s career-best speed, 335.87 mph, but that performance to did not translate to race day. The most obvious ingredients needed for late-season success are round wins and a race win – that would fix a lot, and it would put Langdon and team in excellent position to not only finish the season in the top 10, but also possibly take out some championship contenders to assist teammate Doug Kalitta in his battle to win his first Top Fuel title.
“We’d love to be a really good blocker for Doug,” Langdon said. “It would be incredible to see Doug win this championship, and if we can help, even a little bit, that would be great! We tested between St. Louis and Dallas and made some good progress with some really nice runs at the last race, but we weren’t able to carry that over to race day in Dallas. For us to finish strong, we have to get this Future Energy Solutions Toyota team qualified in the top half of the field and then make the same strong runs we made in qualifying on race day. If we can do that, the rest will take care of itself.”
Shawn Langdon is sporting a new look this weekend – the 2013 Top Fuel champ is flying the Future Energy Solutions (FES) colors as he races into the season’s penultimate event in search of a positive ending to a challenging season. The 2023 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Season resumes this weekend with the Nevada NHRA Nationals on The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, the fifth of six races making up the Countdown to the Championship NHRA Playoffs.
After a season of ups and downs, none of which resulted in a win, just what recipe could make that positive ending? Langdon and his FES Toyota team made some excellent runs in qualifying at the last race, including posting Landgon’s career-best speed, 335.87 mph, but that performance to did not translate to race day. The most obvious ingredients needed for late-season success are round wins and a race win – that would fix a lot, and it would put Langdon and team in excellent position to not only finish the season in the top 10, but also possibly take out some championship contenders to assist teammate Doug Kalitta in his battle to win his first Top Fuel title.
“We’d love to be a really good blocker for Doug,” Langdon said. “It would be incredible to see Doug win this championship, and if we can help, even a little bit, that would be great! We tested between St. Louis and Dallas and made some good progress with some really nice runs at the last race, but we weren’t able to carry that over to race day in Dallas. For us to finish strong, we have to get this Future Energy Solutions Toyota team qualified in the top half of the field and then make the same strong runs we made in qualifying on race day. If we can do that, the rest will take care of itself.”
2022 NHRA Nevada Nationals Recap: Qualified No. 5; defeated Krista Baldwin before losing to Tony Schumacher in the second round.
Shawn Langdon Career Stats: 328 events, 345 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.
Reading: Qualified No. 6; defeated Dan Mercier before losing to race winner Doug Kalitta in the second round.
Charlotte: Qualified No. 9; defeated Tony Schumacher before losing to Doug Kalitta in the second round.
St. Louis: Qualified No. 9; lost to Leah Pruett in the first round.
Dallas: Qualified No. 10; lost to Leah Pruett in the first round.
Point Standings: Langdon enters Las Vegas in 11th place in the NHRA Top Fuel point standings. He trails the drivers tied for ninth place, Austin Prock and Tony Schumacher, by 29 points and leads 12th-place Josh Hart by 37 points.
Race Information:
NHRA Nevada Nationals
The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway
TV Schedule:
Qualifying Show No. 1: 7-8 p.m. eastern Friday, Oct. 27, 2023 on FS1.
Qualifying Show No. 2: 3-5 p.m. eastern Sunday, Oct. 29, 2023 on FS1.
Finals: 5-8 p.m. eastern Sunday, Oct. 29, 2023 on FS1.
NHRA Nevada Nationals
The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway
TV Schedule:
Qualifying Show No. 1: 7-8 p.m. eastern Friday, Oct. 27, 2023 on FS1.
Qualifying Show No. 2: 3-5 p.m. eastern Sunday, Oct. 29, 2023 on FS1.
Finals: 5-8 p.m. eastern Sunday, Oct. 29, 2023 on FS1.
