| Points Leader Doug Kalitta Ready for
Challenge in St Louis |
|
Doug Kalitta and the Mac Tools Top Fuel dragster will be rolling into World Wide Technology Raceway across the river from downtown St. Louis with the Mello Yello Top Fuel points lead and momentum as they pursue their first Top Fuel world championship. The U.S. Nationals winner and runner-up at the NHRA Reading Nationals two weeks ago knows that continuing to put pressure on the rest of the category is critical but they cannot lose their focus.
“We know we have the points lead but that doesn’t change how we are running this Mac Tools dragster,” said Kalitta. “We have been to back-to-back finals and picked up the win in in Indy by being consistent and taking advantage of every opportunity that was presented to us. We are going to come out of the trailer on Friday ready to make quick runs and hopefully start from pretty high up in the qualifying order.”
Kalitta is the second winningest Top Fuel racer at the NHRA Midwest Nationals with three wins. He is tied with racing legend Gary Scelzi and the pair of surefire Hall of Famers are just two wins behind Antron Brown. The Mac Tools dragster has raced in five final rounds in St Louis most recently two years ago.
“We have won a lot of rounds in St. Louis I would like to get four more on Sunday,” said Kalitta. “The field is so tough. We lost a close race to our teammate Richie Crampton in Reading and he made a big jump in the points. Our goal will be to just race as hard as we can with the conditions that are presented to us. You can’t start thinking about races down the road. We are going to focus on taking care of business in St. Louis.”
This season Kalitta has raced to three final rounds and also picked up a No. 1 qualifier in Bristol. One of the major keys to his success has been the fact he has only suffered four first round losses and none since the beginning of the Western Swing.
“I would say we have done a really good job of maximizing our efforts and performance since the Western Swing. We had an awesome Indy and a great start to the Countdown. Our goal now is to keep moving in a positive direction with this Mac Tools team,” added Kalitta.
2018 NHRA Midwest Nationals Highlights: Qual. No. 10; Lost to Antron Brown
Last Event Recap (2019 NHRA Reading Nationals): Qual. No. 3; RUNNER-UP; Beat Smax Smith, Mike Salinas, Austin Prock; Lost to Richie Crampton
Quotable: Kalitta on heading to St Louis with points lead: “Reading was big for this Mac Tools team. We have the points lead again and we are going to keep pushing. We have had some success in St. Louis and we are ready to get back at it.”
Career Stats: 508 events, 501 starts, 680 round wins, 46 wins, 99 finals, 50 No. 1 qualifiers
|
|
| | Reading Win has Richie Crampton and DHL in Top Fuel Championship Mix |
|
Richie Crampton and the DHL dragster dramatically inserted themselves into the 2019 Top Fuel world championship conversation with a dominant performance at Maple Grove Raceway two weeks ago. In the opening race of the six race playoff Crampton defeated Dan Mercier, Antron Brown, Brittany Force and teammate Doug Kalitta to jump into the No. 5 position in the Mello Yello point standings. The young Australian is less than three rounds out of the points lead and has established his team as a group not to be overlooked.
“The win in Reading was big for this DHL team for sure,” said Crampton. “We have been battling through a tough stretch of first round losses on race day. No one ever gave up which shows the strength of the team Connie (Kalitta) and Kurt (Elliott) have put together.”
It had been fifteen races between wins for Crampton who started 2019 with a great victory at the historic Gatornationals. The ensuing stretch of the season showed flashes of greatness but the team could not get a foothold on the momentum they needed to string together another win. For Crampton that stretch only served to motivate the team and himself as the Countdown approached.
“After every race in the regular season I would look at my personal performance and see where I could have improved,” said Crampton. “I wasn’t being negative I just knew that every hurdle was a chance to get better. In Reading we ran well in qualifying and once we got the first round win I knew we had a really good race car. We had three really tough opponents the rest of the day and got some luck in the semis. You have to be ready to take advantage of those opportunities and we did.”
With five races left Crampton knows that there will be more attention on his DHL team. This is the young driver’s fourth run through the Countdown and he has already equaled his career Countdown win total. The rest of the playoff races have Crampton and his DHL team eager to get back on track.
“I am not going to get ahead of myself,” said Crampton. “We are one race into the Countdown and we are off to a good start. I am going to head into St. Louis looking to keep making quality runs. You need that data and if you can get four good runs on Friday and Saturday you will be set up really well on Sunday. It will be an exciting weekend for sure and I just hope at the end of the day on Sunday this DHL team will still be in the mix for the Mello Yello championship.”
2018 NHRA Midwest Nationals Highlights: Qual. No. 11; Lost to Tony Schumacher
Last Event Recap (2019 NHRA Reading Nationals): Qual. No. 4; WINNER; Beat Dan Mercier, Antron Brown, Brittany Force and Doug Kalitta
Quotable: Crampton on winning first race of Countdown: “We started the Countdown exactly like we wanted to. We got the win in Reading and they really helped us in the points. We have a ways to go but I am ready to make up even more ground in St. Louis. I would love to be heading to the third race of the Countdown with me and Doug (Kalitta) at the top of the points.”
Career Stats: 122 events, 121 starts, 103 round wins, 10 wins, 12 finals, 5 No. 1 qualifiers |
|
| | DHL Camry and J.R. Todd Heading to St. Louis with Victory on Horizon |
|
A strong performance at Maple Grove Raceway two weeks ago moved J.R. Todd and the DHL Toyota Camry up in the Mello Yello point standings and gave the team a big boost with five races left in the Countdown. Back to back semifinal finishes over the past two races has Todd feeling like their next win is right around the corner.
“We were going for three wins in a row at Indy and almost made the final,” said Todd. “Two weeks ago we had a great car on Sunday and just missed another final. I think these Yella Fellas on the DHL team have a great handle on this Camry and I am excited to get back on the track. We tightened up our position in the points and I think with four win lights on Sunday we can make a good move.”
This season has seen Todd defend his Funny Car championship with another win in Las Vegas and runner-up finishes in Phoenix and most recently Richmond. The summer was a tough battle for the DHL team but the past two races have put a lot of the frustration behind the Toyota Camry Funny Car team.
“It is tough to maintain peak performance for a long stretch,” said Todd. “We got hot right about this time last year. We won Reading and had a semifinal in St. Louis. If we can get a win this weekend we will be on track to do some more damage the rest of the Countdown. We have been working really well as a team and I don’t see any reason why we can’t get the job done in St. Louis.”
Last season Todd went on a championship clinching tear after the race at World Wide Technology Raceway. He grabbed runner-up finishes in Dallas and Charlotte before winning out in Las Vegas and Pomona. Five final rounds over the last six races is still an achievable result for Todd who is trying to become the first back-to-back Funny Car champion in over a decade.
“I am not focusing on winning another championship right now,” said Todd. “I am focused on winning in St. Louis and then we will take on the next race. Round wins put you in position for championships this time of the year. We need to get some bonus points in St. Louis and then take care of our business on Sunday. I like our chances because we have been in this position before. I wouldn’t want to be chasing this championship with any other guys than my teammates on this DHL Toyota Funny Car team.”
2018 NHRA Midwest Nationals Highlights: Qual. No. 7; Beat Shawn Langdon, Cruz Pedregon; Lost to Tim Wilkerson
Last Event Recap (2019 NHRA Reading Nationals): Qual. No. 10; Beat Tommy Johnson Jr., John Smith; Lost to Jack Beckman
Quotable: J.R. Todd on move up in points: “We made a good move two weeks ago and we are right in the mix for this Funny Car championship. We need to keep going rounds and try and knock some of the cars in front of us out early in St. Louis.”
Career Stats: 219 events, 211 starts, 232 round wins, 18 wins, 32 finals, 12 No. 1 qualifiers; in Funny Car: 67 events, 67 starts, 9 wins, 12 finals, 82 round wins, 3 No. 1 qualifiers
|
|
| | Langdon and Global Electronic Technology Eager to Get Back in Championship Form |
|
The NHRA Midwest Nationals this weekend outside St. Louis will be the chance for Shawn Langdon and the Global Electronic Technology Toyota Camry Funny Car to make history on a variety of levels. The second year Funny Car driver is coming off a tough start to the 2019 Countdown two weeks ago but the team is by no means out of the championship conversation. In the opening race of the playoffs every No. 1 seed fell out of their points lead and the field tightened up giving every team the opportunity to stay in the hunt for the Mello Yello championship.
“The Countdown definitely didn’t start the way we wanted it to,” said Langdon. “We hadn’t had a first round loss since I don’t know when and we struggled in qualifying for the first time in a long time. We finally got a handle on the tune-up and took a first round loss. You can’t afford those in the Countdown but luckily some of the top teams also lost in the first round so we are very much still in the fight.”
Langdon is once again looking to bolster his racing resume by becoming just the second racer to win a Top Fuel title and a Funny Car title at the NHRA Midwest Nationals. Langdon has a Top Fuel win from 2016, when he took out Tony Schumacher in the final. The only other two class winner is legendary racer Gary Scelzi who is also a multi-nitro class world champion. Scelzi has three Top Fuel wins in St. Louis and one Funny Car win. If Langdon can join him on the double winner list it will go a long way in moving him closer to his first Funny Car world championship.
“It is great to come to tracks where I have won in Top Fuel and look at doubling up,” said Langdon. “You look at the list of guys that have won in both Top Fuel and Funny Car and it is a Who’s Who of drag racing legends. They are all Hall of Famers so just to be included in the conversation is great. Our goal this weekend will be to park this Global Electronic Technology Funny Car in the winner’s circle regardless of history. We want to get more wins this season and I think we have the Camry race car to get that done.”
In addition to Langdon’s win in 2016 he also has a Top Fuel runner-up finish in 2014 and a No. 1 qualifier in 2013. The second race of the Countdown will be a strong test for Langdon and his Toyota backed team to bounce back into the championship hunt. Their consistency throughout the back half of the regular season has the Charlotte winner confident they will get back on track.
“We have a really consistent and fast race car,” said Langdon. “You look at how we finished the regular season with round wins on Sunday and top half qualifying efforts. That is the race car we will be looking for over the last five races of the Countdown. Del (Worsham) and Nicky (Boninfante) got a good handle on the tune-up on Sunday in Reading we just had a tough first round. We all want to qualify high up in the top half and then do some damage on race day. I am confident we can get that rolling in St. Louis.”
2018 NHRA Midwest Nationals Highlights: Qualified No. 10; Lost to J.R. Todd
Last Event Recap (2019 NHRA Reading Nationals): Qual. No. 8; Lost to Matt Hagan
Quotable: Langdon on heading to St. Louis: “We need to go rounds in St. Louis. No doubt about it. I think you can have one mistake in the Countdown. We put Reading behind us and we have five races between us and the Funny Car championship. Everyone on this Global Electronic Technology team is focused.”
Career Stats: 251 events, 248 starts, 281 round wins, 15 wins, 32 finals, 18 No. 1 qualifiers in Funny Car 43 events, 43 starts, 31 round wins, 1 wins, 2 finals, 0 No. 1 qualifiers |
|
|
