YPSILANTI, Mich. (July 16, 2024) – Doug Kalitta and his Mac Tools Toyota team have an impressive streak underway, and they want nothing more than to keep it going. The 2024 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Season resumes July 19-21, 2024 at the NHRA Northwest Nationals in Kent, Wash.
In the last four races, Kalitta has two wins in four final rounds, and on the strength of that recent streak, the reigning Top Fuel champion is back where he was when the 2023 season ended: atop the point standings.
“The guys are all working away –
staying with everything that needs to happen to keep what they’re doing going,”
Kalitta said. “We did a little testing in the off week so we’re staying active
with what we’re doing and trying to stay in the groove with what we need to do.”
One year ago, Kalitta entered this
event mired in ninth place in the NHRA Top Fuel point standings. He was
enduring a long winless streak and was in search of his 50th-career
win – as he had been for multiple seasons. He would get that 50th
win in Reading, Pa., last September and go on to win the 2023 NHRA Top Fuel
title on the strength of three wins in the six Countdown to the Championship
NHRA Playoff races. Fast forward to today, and Kalitta has three wins in six
final rounds in the first 10 races of the season.
“It’s definitely a hell of a team
effort after everything we’ve gone through to get where we are now,” Kalitta
added. “Obviously, our leader, (Crew Chief) Alan Johnson, has been in this
position a number of times with different drivers over the years, and it’s cool
to see it happen on my car. It’s pretty cool, really, but again, he leads the
charge, and all these guys are working on this Mac Tools car making sure it’s
put together correctly, consistently; it’s one of those things that takes
everybody to make it happen. It’s been fun going rounds and collecting these
points trying to get to the end of the regular season. Running really, really
well after Indy (U.S. Nationals, final race of the regular season) is
definitely our goal to put ourselves in position to have a shot at winning
another one of these things. You have to stay in your routine and don’t
overthink it. That’s what I’m trying to do.”
New at Pacific Raceways this weekend
is a schedule change on Friday to accommodate for the sun shining directly in
the drivers’ eyes on the race track that’s oriented east-to-west. Because of
the sun, Friday-night qualifying has never been an option at Pacific Raceways,
but this year, the track will have a long break between the first and second
qualifying sessions. After the first session at 4:15, the schedule takes a
nearly five-hour break to allow the sun to set. After a concert, nitro
qualifying will resume at 9:15 under the lights.
“It sounds like a really long day
because we typically fly in from Detroit that morning, but actually, to be able
to run at night at any of these tracks is worth the wait; it’ll be good,”
Kalitta said. “They’re doing a heck of a job at that facility. Pacific Raceways
is one of the smaller places we go, but with the sweat equity that goes into that
place, you can just tell it’s a special place for the people who own it and
their fans. They’re definitely working to improve it every year. It’s tough
racing towards the sunset so it’s good they’re going to wait it out this
year.”
Race
Information:
NHRA
Northwest Nationals
Pacific
Raceways; Kent, Wash.
TV
Schedule (All times eastern):
- Qualifying Show 1: 10:30
p.m.-Midnight Friday, July 19 on FS1
- Qualifying Show 2: 1-3 p.m. Sunday,
July 21 on FS1
- Finals: 4-7 p.m. Sunday, July 21 on
FOX
2023
NHRA Northwest Nationals Recap: Qualified No. 2;
lost to defeated Ron Smith, had a second-round bye and defeated Clay Millican
before losing to Steve Torrence in the final round.
Doug Kalitta Career Stats: 597 events, 55 wins, 62 runner-up, 789 round wins, 57 No. 1 qualifiers.
2024
NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series Results To Date (wins in italics):
Gatornationals:
Qualified No. 7; defeated Clay Millican; lost to Steve Torrence.
Pomona:
Qualified No. 6; defeated Jasmine Salinas; lost to Billy Torrence.
Phoenix:
Qualified No. 3; defeated Terry Totten; lost to Justin Ashley.
Las
Vegas 4W:
Qualified No. 1; defeated Shawn Langdon in the first round, Brittany Force and
Josh Hart in the semifinals followed by Justin Ashley, Steve Torrence and Tony
Stewart in the final round.
Charlotte
4W: Qualified No. 1; defeated Shawn Reed and Cody Krohn in the first round,
Billy Torrence and Jasmine Salinas in the semifinals before beating Antron
Brown but losing to Justin Ashley and Clay Millican in the final round.
Chicago:
Qualified No. 3; lost to Justin Ashley.
Epping: Qualified No. 1;
defeated Scott Farley, Tony Stewart, Shawn Langdon and Tony Schumacher.
Bristol:
Qualified No. 14; defeated Antron Brown, Steve Torrence, Brittany Force; lost
to Tony Schumacher.
Richmond: Qualified No. 2:
after first-round bye, defeated Josh Hart, Tony Stewart and Shawn Langdon.
Norwalk:
Qualified No. 1; defeated Kyle Wurtzel, Billy Torrence and Steve Torrence; lost
to Antron Brown.
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