FEEDING AMERICA: THE “RACE TO END HUNGER” UPDATE
Following Race Two of Six
Indianapolis: J.R. Todd (3), Doug Kalitta (2), Shawn Langdon (1); money donated: $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
Totals To-Date: Money Donated $33,000; Meals Generated: 330,000
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
WIN NO. 50: 
NEXT ON THE TO-DO LIST: MORE ROUND WINS
Celebrating Doug Kalitta’s 50th-career win at Maple Grove Raceway are Team Kalitta general manager Chad Head, Kalitta, co-crew chiefs Alan Johnson and Brian Husen along with team owner Connie Kalitta(seated). (Photo Courtesy: Kalitta Motorsports)
Career Stats: 582 events, 756 round wins, 50 wins, 110 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.
Reading: Qualified No. 3; defeated Josh Hart, Shawn Langdon, Leah Pruett and Steve Torrence.
Current Point Standings: Kalitta jumped three spots in points in Reading and enters Charlotte in third place in the NHRA Top Fuel point standings. He trails points leader Steve Torrence by 26 points and second-place Justin Ashley by 19 points; he leads fourth-place Leah Pruett by 28 points.
YPSILANTI, Mich. (Sept. 20, 2023) – Doug Kalitta’s long and winding road to win No. 50 finally reached its destination at Maple Grove Raceway in Pennsylvania last weekend, and the win pushed him up to third in points and into the championship conversation. Now, it’s time make that 50th win mean even more. The NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series resumes this weekend at the Betway NHRA Carolina Nationals in Concord, N.C., the second of six races that make up the Countdown to the Championship NHRA Playoffs. NEXT ON THE TO-DO LIST: MORE ROUND WINSCelebrating Doug Kalitta’s 50th-career win at Maple Grove Raceway are Team Kalitta general manager Chad Head, Kalitta, co-crew chiefs Alan Johnson and Brian Husen along with team owner Connie Kalitta(seated). (Photo Courtesy: Kalitta Motorsports)
Career Stats: 582 events, 756 round wins, 50 wins, 110 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.
Reading: Qualified No. 3; defeated Josh Hart, Shawn Langdon, Leah Pruett and Steve Torrence.
Current Point Standings: Kalitta jumped three spots in points in Reading and enters Charlotte in third place in the NHRA Top Fuel point standings. He trails points leader Steve Torrence by 26 points and second-place Justin Ashley by 19 points; he leads fourth-place Leah Pruett by 28 points.
With No. 50 in the rear-view mirror, the focus shifts to a potential championship run. With five races remaining, Kalitta trails points leader Steve Torrence by 26 points and second-place Justin Ashley by 19 points. The veteran Michigan driver knows, at this point in the season, it’s all about the old sports cliché, ‘one game/round/race at a time.’
“You just go up there for each round; it’s all about collecting round wins at this point,” the Reading winner said. “Each time you go up to the starting line, it’s a new opportunity. We want to stay towards the front. Qualifying is huge, and we’ve been qualifying up towards the front so it can give you a little better opportunity to let things settle in on race day. Hopefully we can keep that up, but it’s drag racing – you never know what’s going to happen. I obviously have a great group of guys and great people behind me like Mac Tools, Toyota, Revchem, SealMaster and Future Energy Solutions, and getting that win was huge for all of us. Hopefully we can all just settle in and keep doing our jobs. There’s a lot of rounds left so I just hope we can keep going rounds and be there at the end.”
The Mac Tools team has been excellent in qualifying this season qualifying in the top-four positions 10 times. And it was during the final round of qualifying last weekend when Kalitta’s Mac Tools dragster shredded a tire damaging the rear wing and the chassis forcing the team to race its backup car, which does not have a canopy like the primary car, during eliminations. Team and car performed brilliantly posting four-straight elapsed time in the 3.60s to win the race.
“The canopy car we have – we kind of tore that thing up so we’re gonna stick with this (backup) car, which is definitely not going to hurt by feelings,” Kalitta said. “Even if that thing wasn’t hurt, we’d probably still run this car. We’ll keep our heads down and obviously keep trying to hit the 60s and hit the tree as hard as we can. We’re definitely hoping to have a good run at the championship this year, and it looks like we have a pretty good opportunity for sure.
“Alan (co-crew chief Alan Johnson) was going to make the other car run just as well as this backup car. It’s just a crazy coincidence we drug that thing out of the trailer, and it’s doing what it’s doing. This car is probably about 30 pounds lighter (without the canopy) so I’m sure that doesn’t hurt anything. I’m just glad Alan’s happy, (co-crew chief Brian Husen) Brian’s happy and my guys are happy. This will be a big momentum opportunity for us going into the next five (races), and we’ll definitely carry it as far as we can.”
Some people say a championship run sometimes starts when a team capitalizes on a problem that forces it to work more closely together. If so, could the Mac Tools team’s Saturday-night effort, with help from the other Kalitta teams, be that story that propels Kalitta to the title?
“It never hurts to have a thrash; that’s what I always say,” Kalitta added. “You’re about ready to roll up for the finals but have to do some crazy engine change or something like that. That’s what going to our backup car kind of reminded me of; it really just shows the talent and the fortitude of my guys being able to bounce back like that. They had that thing ready, and I’m super proud of my guys. That’s probably the biggest thing. A good ole thrash every now and then, and that’s what we had.”
J.R. TODD: CHAMPIONSHIP RUN STILL “DEFINITELY DOABLE”
2022 Betway NHRA Carolina Nationals Recap: Qualified sixth; lost to Alexis DeJoria 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.
Reading: Qualified No. 11; lost to Matt Hagan in the first round.
Current Point Standings: Todd enters Charlotte in seventh place in the NHRA Funny Car point standings. He trails sixth-place Alexia DeJoria by 10 points and leads eighth-place Tim Wilkerson by 14 points.
2022 Betway NHRA Carolina Nationals Recap: Qualified sixth; lost to Alexis DeJoria 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.
Reading: Qualified No. 11; lost to Matt Hagan in the first round.
Current Point Standings: Todd enters Charlotte in seventh place in the NHRA Funny Car point standings. He trails sixth-place Alexia DeJoria by 10 points and leads eighth-place Tim Wilkerson by 14 points.
J.R. Todd entered the Countdown to the Championship NHRA Playoffs as the fifth seed on the strength of reaching at least the semifinals at seven of the previous nine races including a win and three runner-up showings. The DHL team was optimistic about its chances in the Countdown, but that optimism may be a bit tempered after last weekend’s race in Pennsylvania. The NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series resumes this weekend at the Betway NHRA Carolina Nationals in Concord, N.C., the second of six races that make up the Countdown to the Championship NHRA Playoffs.
Todd’s Reading, Pa., weekend started with a solid qualifying attempt that had him sixth after one round. He ran quicker in the Friday evening session but slipped to 10th. In the final qualifying attempt, the DHL GR Supra was on a very good run before mechanical issues slowed him to a 3.926-second effort. That relegated him to the No. 11 spot and an opening-round matchup with Matt Hagan which Hagan won with a 3.871-second effort to Todd’s 3.930-second run.
“We backed ourselves into a corner starting with where we qualified, and getting a first-round draw like Matt Hagan, one of the favorites to win the championship, is definitely not ideal,” Todd said. “We have to qualify better (in Charlotte) to start with so we need to go out there and go hard from the start. It’s a three qualifying-round event, which I’m not a big fan of in the Countdown, but everyone’s in the same boat. We have to hit the ground running Friday and make that run count. Then we just go from there, and I’d say run as hard as we can and try to win the race. That’s kind of the situation we’re in right now.”
With the first-round loss, Todd dropped two spots to seventh place in the NHRA Funny Car point standings, but he trails points leader Robert Hight by only 107 points with five races remaining in the season. That’s certainly a manageable margin. Winning his second NHRA Funny Car championship definitely remains well within reach, but the task is now taller.
“Unless we can help ourselves out in qualifying, we just have to go all out every time we pull up to the starting line,” Todd added. “There are no easy draws in Funny Car, it’s just the situation you’re in. When you get a draw like Matt Hagan and those guys first round, you’ll have to make one of your best runs against them.
I’m not saying it’s over for us – it’s definitely doable. We just made it harder on ourselves, but we’re definitely capable of winning – we did it before; we can do it again. I feel like we can win every time we show up at the track.”
LANGDON MORE CONFIDENT NOW THAN ANY OTHER TIME THIS SEASON
2022 Betway NHRA Carolina Nationals Recap: Qualified 12th; lost to Doug Kalitta in the first round.
Shawn Langdon Career Stats: 325 events, 344 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.
Point Standings: Langdon enters Charlotte in 11th place in the NHRA Top Fuel point standings. He trails 10th-place Clay Millican by two points and leads 12th-place Josh Hart by 17 points.
2022 Betway NHRA Carolina Nationals Recap: Qualified 12th; lost to Doug Kalitta in the first round.
Shawn Langdon Career Stats: 325 events, 344 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.
Point Standings: Langdon enters Charlotte in 11th place in the NHRA Top Fuel point standings. He trails 10th-place Clay Millican by two points and leads 12th-place Josh Hart by 17 points.
Shawn Langdon started the Countdown to the Championship NHRA Playoffs knowing he had a chance to win a second NHRA Top Fuel Championship after a difficult season thanks to the Countdown to the Championship NHRA Playoffs points reset. After the opening playoff race at Maple Grove Raceway in Pennsylvania, the 2013 champion has even more reason to be optimistic. The NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series resumes this weekend at the Betway NHRA Carolina Nationals in Concord, N.C., the second of six races that make up the Countdown to the Championship NHRA Playoffs.
Langdon and his Kalitta Air Careers team advanced to the second round of eliminations before losing to his teammate, Doug Kalitta, but despite the second-round loss, the Kalitta Air Careers Toyota team made six strong runs in qualifying and the first two rounds of eliminations without hurting parts along the way. All six of those runs came with elapsed times within .046 seconds – that’s consistency this team had not enjoyed this season.
“After what our Kalitta Air Careers team did in Reading last weekend, I have a confident feeling I haven’t felt in a long time,” Langdon said. “I feel good; I feel good about having a good car and knowing we have a shot to win the race. My mindset is different because I feel like we have a chance. Before, we were just making laps. We were just a part of the show, but when you feel like you have a chance, it gives you a different mentality and a different spark. I feel good about our team. The guys have done a great job so as much as we’ve struggled this year, it would mean everything to have a car that starts winning some races in the Countdown.”
And that’s exactly what Langdon, who has one Top Fuel win in three zMAX Dragway final rounds, and his team have to do to move up in the standings and perhaps get into the championship conversation. He trails points leader Steve Torrence by 141 points with five races remaining. That’s a lot of ground to make up, but a lot can change in five races.
“All we have to do is win the last five, and we have the championship,” Langdon added. “It’s the same thing as it was coming into Reading. Do your job, and win your races. Everything else will fall into place. I do look at the points, but you can’t really control anything if you have a car that’s not capable of contending. Now I feel like we have a shot. We’re less than 150 points out of the lead, but it’s the same mentality. Win the last five, and it’ll be what it’ll be.”
Race Information:
Betway NHRA Carolina Nationals
zMAX Dragway; Concord, N.C.
TV Schedule:
Qualifying Show No. 1: 9:30-11 a.m. eastern Saturday, Sept. 23, 2023 on FS1.
Qualifying Show No. 2: 11-12:30 p.m. eastern Sunday, Sept. 24, 2023 on FS1.
Finals: 2-5 p.m. eastern Sunday, Sept. 24, 2023 on FS1.
Betway NHRA Carolina Nationals
zMAX Dragway; Concord, N.C.
TV Schedule:
Qualifying Show No. 1: 9:30-11 a.m. eastern Saturday, Sept. 23, 2023 on FS1.
Qualifying Show No. 2: 11-12:30 p.m. eastern Sunday, Sept. 24, 2023 on FS1.
Finals: 2-5 p.m. eastern Sunday, Sept. 24, 2023 on FS1.
