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Race Information:
Dodge Power Brokers NHRA U.S. Nationals
Lucas Oil Raceway Park; Indianapolis, Ind.
DOUG KALITTA U.S. NATIONALS MEMORIES INCLUDE GRANDMOTHER’S CHAMPAGNE, UNCLE’S WIN, 2019 WIN
Team Kalitta crew members, from all Kalitta teams, celebrate Kalitta’s 2019 U.S. Nationals victory at the starting line.
2022 NHRA U.S. Nationals Recap: Qualified 12th; defeated Clay Millican and Mike Salinas before losing to Brittany Force in the semifinals.
Career Stats: 580 events, 750 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.
Current Point Standings: Kalitta enters the U.S. Nationals in eighth place in the NHRA Top Fuel point standings. He trails seventh-place Mike Salinas by eight points and leads ninth-place Clay Millican by 37 points.
Team Kalitta crew members, from all Kalitta teams, celebrate Kalitta’s 2019 U.S. Nationals victory at the starting line.
2022 NHRA U.S. Nationals Recap: Qualified 12th; defeated Clay Millican and Mike Salinas before losing to Brittany Force in the semifinals.
Career Stats: 580 events, 750 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.
Current Point Standings: Kalitta enters the U.S. Nationals in eighth place in the NHRA Top Fuel point standings. He trails seventh-place Mike Salinas by eight points and leads ninth-place Clay Millican by 37 points.
YPSILANTI, Mich. (Aug. 29, 2023) – Doug Kalitta’s grandmother, Evelyn, had a bottle of champagne she was saving to drink when her son, Kalitta Motorsports team owner Connie Kalitta, won the U.S. Nationals. Year after year, she’d get the bottle ready to drink, but year after year, she’d put it back. The 2023 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series closes its regular season with this weekend’s Dodge Power Brokers NHRA U.S. Nationals Sept. 1-4 at Lucas Oil Raceway Park in Indianapolis, Ind.
“It was always fun to listen to Connie tell the story of his mother, who watched Connie’s career and knew how badly he wanted to win Indy,” Doug Kalitta said. “Apparently, she had this bottle of champagne she was saving to drink whenever he won this thing. Every year, she’d put it back where she got it after he didn’t win. Finally, one year, she decided the hell with it; she just opened it and drank it. To listen to Connie tell that story about his Mom and him trying to win it, and then she drinks it one night after he didn’t win it, was just a story that always stuck with me. After Connie won the race (in 1994) is probably when he started telling that story.
“I was racing my Silver Crown car over in Springfield, Ill., and the U.S. Nationals was delayed because of rain. So we ended up flying into a little airport right next to the race track - I think it was called Speedway Airport; I don’t think it’s there anymore. We bopped in there, raced over to the track and made it just in time to watch Connie win the U.S. Nationals. It was pretty cool. We just knew, following him over the years, how badly he wanted to win that thing, and to pull it off was super exciting. It was cool.”
U.S. Nationals stories are abundant – especially among those, like Doug Kalitta, who grew up around the biggest and most-prestigious drag race in the world. Like his uncle, Doug Kalitta ran the U.S. Nationals many times before winning it. When he reached his fourth-career final round in 2019, his time finally came. He left the starting line before his opponent, Billy Torrence, and was on a great run when his car smoked the tires. Good thing his opponent did the same.
“It was on my bucket list a long time before we won it,” Kalitta added. “Coasting to the win when we actually did win it was a miracle in itself as far as I was concerned. You’re just sitting there, dead meat, coasting to the finish line expecting the other car to go blowing by you, but it never did. That was a U.S. Nationals moment for sure. The way we won in 2019 makes us want to win it again even more.
“Alan (co-crew chief Alan Johnson) has had incredible success at this event, and with Blaine Johnson dying there – it just seemed like Alan’s cars would always win this race – it’s like he’s had this stranglehold on the place for years. It just makes us just want to go there and kick some ass. I’m just excited to be part of hopefully getting another win there for Alan and obviously for everyone at Kalitta Motorsports, Mac Tools, SealMaster, Mobil 1 and Revchem; it’s just such a cool track to race at with a lot of history.”
Kalitta and his Mac Tools Toyota team enter the U.S. Nationals having been excellent in qualifying all season – he qualified in the top four eight times this season, but the team’s qualifying prowess does not always translate to race day.
“We tested really well last Monday at Brainerd,” the 49-time race winner said. “(co-crew chiefs Alan Johnson and Brian Husen) Alan, Brian – all of us were super excited with how it went, and I think it’ll bleed right on over into Indy. We have a lot of momentum going so we’ll see what we can do there. We’ve been qualifying well which is half the battle for sure - we’re excited to get there and see what happens.”
J.R. TODD LOOKING FOR U.S. NATIONALS HAT TRICK
J.R. Todd and DHL Funny Car team celebrate their 2018 U.S. Nationals win.
2022 NHRA U.S. Nationals Recap: Qualified eighth; defeated Cruz Pedregon before losing to Ron Capps in the second round.
J.R. Todd Career Stats: 291 events, 319 round wins, 20 wins, 44 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.
Current Point Standings: Todd enters the U.S. Nationals in eighth place in the NHRA Funny Car point standings. He trails seventh-place Tim Wilkerson by 30 points and leads ninth-place John Force by 44 points.
J.R. Todd and DHL Funny Car team celebrate their 2018 U.S. Nationals win.
2022 NHRA U.S. Nationals Recap: Qualified eighth; defeated Cruz Pedregon before losing to Ron Capps in the second round.
J.R. Todd Career Stats: 291 events, 319 round wins, 20 wins, 44 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.
Current Point Standings: Todd enters the U.S. Nationals in eighth place in the NHRA Funny Car point standings. He trails seventh-place Tim Wilkerson by 30 points and leads ninth-place John Force by 44 points.
J.R. Todd remembers watching the U.S. Nationals as a child from the top end of the race track and waving at the teams and drivers as they went by. The first time he went to the U.S. Nationals, at age 10, he drove a Junior Dragster in an exhibition race, and the Lawrenceburg, Ind., native was hooked. He knew, one day, he’d race at the U.S. Nationals. The 2023 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series closes its regular season with this weekend’s Dodge Power Brokers NHRA U.S. Nationals Sept. 1-4 at Lucas Oil Raceway Park in Indianapolis, Ind.
The 2018 NHRA Funny Car champion comes home this weekend for the 2023 edition of the largest and most-prestigious drag race in the world – a race he won in 2017 and ’18. His DHL Funny Car enters the race having won three races ago in Sonoma, Calif., and having advanced to at least the semifinals at six of the last eight races. The DHL Toyota team had a good summer, but finishing the regular season with a U.S. Nationals win would give Todd a U.S. Nationals hat trick.
“It’s my home race, and I’ve been going to the U.S. Nationals since I was a kid,” Todd said. “I’ve seen a lot happen there; I got to win it twice and understand how important it is. It’s the one race, all year long, that everybody’s geared up to try to win so it definitely holds more importance than any other race during the season.
“It’s special because of its history – how long it’s been around, the legends that have won the race, and a lot of them still come back to hang out at the race just to be a part of it. Some people even compare it to winning the championship. There’s those who have won the U.S. Nationals and not the championship and vice versa – that’s the kind of importance some people put on winning this race. It’s definitely a really important race – it’s the biggest win of my career, and I’ve been fortunate enough to win it back-to-back in Funny Car which is really hard to do. I wouldn’t trade a championship for it, but it’s definitely my biggest win and my favorite win for sure.
“I’d like to think we have a good shot at the win this weekend. We’ve had a really good car for the last couple of months, and there’s points and a half on the line at this race so it would be really good to go to some later rounds and try to make up some ground on the cars in front of us going into these final six races. That’s where it really counts, and you need to make it happen. If you can win Indy, I feel like that kind of sets the tone for the final six.”
LANGDON STRIVES FOR FOURTH U.S. NATIONALS WIN
Shawn Langdon and his DHL Top Fuel team celebrate their win in the 2020 U.S. Nationals amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
2022 NHRA U.S. Nationals Recap: Qualified 15th; lost to Justin Ashley in the first round.
Shawn Langdon Career Stats: 323 events, 342 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.
Point Standings: Langdon enters the U.S. Nationals in 11th place in the NHRA Top Fuel point standings. He trails 10th place Josh Hart by 63 points and leads 12th place Tony Schumacher by 99 points.
The number is three. That’s how many times Shawn Langdon has hoisted the U.S. Nationals “Wally” after winning the most prestigious race in all of drag racing. A team looking for the right combination, like the Kalitta Air Careers team, winning the season’s biggest race would definitely become one of the season’s biggest surprises, but that’s why they run the race. It’s the U.S. Nationals – anything can happen. The 2023 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series closes its regular season with this weekend’s Dodge Power Brokers NHRA U.S. Nationals Sept. 1-4 at Lucas Oil Raceway Park in Indianapolis, Ind.Shawn Langdon and his DHL Top Fuel team celebrate their win in the 2020 U.S. Nationals amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
2022 NHRA U.S. Nationals Recap: Qualified 15th; lost to Justin Ashley in the first round.
Shawn Langdon Career Stats: 323 events, 342 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.
Point Standings: Langdon enters the U.S. Nationals in 11th place in the NHRA Top Fuel point standings. He trails 10th place Josh Hart by 63 points and leads 12th place Tony Schumacher by 99 points.
Langdon’s three wins all came with very different circumstances. He won the 2010 Super Gas title. Three years later, he took the Top Fuel title at the U.S. Nationals and went on to win the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series championship while driving for Alan Johnson Racing. His most-recent win came in 2020 during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic – a race in which nothing was normal.
“The prestige of winning the U.S. Nationals and being able to put your name alongside some of the biggest names in the sport is very rewarding,” Langdon said. “In 2013, it was pretty special because we had a career year and were able to double up after winning the Traxxas Shootout. In 2020, it was a little bit odd because we were racing in a pandemic. It was my first win driving (team owner Connie Kalitta) Connie’s dragster so it was pretty special to be able to share the winner’s circle with him even though, at that time, we didn’t get to do winner’s circle. It was ‘pull the car out of your pit and stand with it for a picture.’”
Fast forward to 2023 when, despite non-stop effort, the Kalitta Air Careers team has yet to reach its potential or meet its own expectations. With a runner-up finish and two recent semifinal showings, the team shows its capable of running with anyone and winning, but it has yet to do so on any consistent level.
“It’s difficult going to the races when you’ve been struggling, but you know, at some point, it’s going to turn around,” Langdon added. “We have very talented people on this team. We have very good, smart, intelligent crew chiefs, we have very good crew guys, we have a great group of guys and great partners like Kalitta Air, Revchem and Toyota. We have a team capable of winning, but for some reason, our car has struggled. We don’t know why, but we’re working through those things right now.
“It’s frustrating to know the capabilities we have with our team, but it’s not showing yet. We all understand we have to stay patient, block out the negative and focus on doing our jobs. That’s how we continue to approach this season, and that’s how we’re going to get where we need to be.”
TV Schedule:
Qualifying Show No. 1: 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. eastern Sunday, Sept. 3, 2023 on FS1.
Pep Boys Funny Car All-Star Callout: 4-5:30 p.m. eastern Sunday, Sept. 3, 2023 on FOX
Qualifying Show No. 2: 5:30-7:30 p.m. eastern Sunday, Sept. 3, 2023 on FS1.
Finals: Noon-2 p.m. eastern Monday, Sept. 4, 2023 on FS1.
Finals: 2-5 p.m. eastern Monday, Sept. 4, 2023 on FOX.
Photos Courtesy: Gary Nastase
Qualifying Show No. 1: 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. eastern Sunday, Sept. 3, 2023 on FS1.
Pep Boys Funny Car All-Star Callout: 4-5:30 p.m. eastern Sunday, Sept. 3, 2023 on FOX
Qualifying Show No. 2: 5:30-7:30 p.m. eastern Sunday, Sept. 3, 2023 on FS1.
Finals: Noon-2 p.m. eastern Monday, Sept. 4, 2023 on FS1.
Finals: 2-5 p.m. eastern Monday, Sept. 4, 2023 on FOX.
Photos Courtesy: Gary Nastase
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