Top Fuel Runner-Up: Shawn Langdon, Kalitta Air Careers Dragster
Finals
Broadcast Replay (eastern time): 3-6 p.m. Wednesday, March 12 on FS2
Qualifying: Shawn Langdon was
the No. 3 qualifier at the Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals. During the
opening round of qualifying Friday afternoon, Langdon and his teammate, Doug
Kalitta made nearly identical passes with both reaching the finish line in
3.690 seconds. Langdon’s speed was 335.23 mph, seven miles per hour faster than
Kalitta, giving him the No. 3 qualifying position with Kalitta fourth. Rain
canceled Saturday’s qualifying sessions.
Right
Trailers Top Fuel All-Star Callout: Due to persistent Saturday rain showers,
the Right Trailers Top Fuel All-Star Callout was postponed until Saturday,
March 29 in Pomona, Calif. On Friday, Langdon, who is the third seed for the
event, “called out” his opponent for the first round of the event. He will race
reigning Top Fuel champion Antron Brown when the event begins.
Eliminations: Langdon defeated
Justin Ashley, Tony Stewart and Jasmine Salinas before losing to Antron Brown
in a brilliant all-Toyota final round. Brown’s 3.673-second run at 333.99 mph
was good enough to beat Langdon’s 3.684 second-effort at 332.67 mph by .0218
seconds.
When
Langdon advanced to the semifinals, he earned a spot in the Mission
#2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge at the next race near Phoenix. During Saturday’s
qualifying sessions, the drivers who reached the semifinals in Gainesville will
re-run the semifinals and final earning additional purse and championship bonus
points.
Unofficial
Point Standings:
Langdon leaves Gainesville in second place in the NHRA Top Fuel point
standings. He trails points leader Antron Brown by 22 points and leads
third-place Steve Torrence by 24 points.
Langdon
on Gainesville: “The
Kalitta Air Careers team had a great weekend – the car qualified well and ran
well on race day. Obviously, there were a lot of weather delays; it was a tough
weekend, and the track was tough. We got behind with only two qualifying
rounds, but we tested well last month so we were prepared - the car was making
good runs. All in all, we have nothing to hang our heads about; we had a great
final round against Antron – that was a championship-caliber run right there.
I’m never happy to lose, but I can handle losing a good race like that. It was
an awesome race for Kalitta Air, Dayco, Fifth Third Bank, Revchem and all the
great companies that support us. We’re looking forward to going to Phoenix. We
have a great race car right now so all is good.”
Langdon
Photo Caption:
Kalitta Air Careers Crew Chief Brian Husen, right, Car Chief Justin Groat,
middle and Matt Urcan, left, prepare the Kalitta Air Careers dragster for
Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals competition in Gainesville, Fla. (Photo
Courtesy: NHRA)
Doug
Kalitta, Mac Tools Top Fuel Dragster
Finals
Broadcast Replay (eastern time): 3-6 p.m. Wednesday, March 12 on FS2
Qualifying: Doug Kalitta was
the No. 4 qualifier at the Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals. During the
opening round of qualifying Friday afternoon, Kalitta and his teammate, Shawn
Langdon made nearly identical passes with both reaching the finish line in
3.690 seconds. Kalitta’s speed was 328.78 mph, seven miles per hour slower than
Langdon, giving him the No. 4 qualifying position with Langdon third. Rain
canceled Saturday’s qualifying sessions.
Right
Trailers Top Fuel All-Star Callout: Due to persistent Saturday rain showers,
the Right Trailers Top Fuel All-Star Callout was postponed until Saturday,
March 29 in Pomona, Calif. On Friday, Kalitta, who is the second seed for the
event, “called out” his opponent for the first round of the event. He will race
Clay Millican when the event begins.
Eliminations: Kalitta defeated
Ida Zetterstrom in a tire-smoking first-round battle. The 2023 Top Fuel champ
faced Steve Torrence in the second round. Kalitta left the starting line first
and was leading Torrence when a fuel system malfunction caused engine failure allowing
Torrence to drive around Kalitta for the win.
Unofficial
Point Standings: Kalitta
leaves Gainesville in fifth place in the NHRA Top Fuel point standings. He
trails fourth-place Jasmine Salinas by 15 points and leads sixth-place Clay
Millican by four points following the season’s first race.
Kalitta
on Gainesville: “Something
with our fuel system was acting up, and the Mac Tools car just never got the
fuel it needed for that run - it was one of those deals. We’ve had a lot of
good runs, and this is a really good car so I’m pretty excited for Mac Tools,
Fifth Third Bank, SealMaster, Toyota – everyone that helps us out – for where
we are right now. We’ll just have to lick our wounds until we get to the next
race.”
Doug
Kalitta Photo Courtesy: Gary Nastase/Mac Tools
J.R.
Todd, DHL Funny Car
Finals
Broadcast Replay (eastern time): 3-6 p.m. Wednesday, March 12 on FS2
Qualifying: J.R. Todd was the
No. 11 qualifier at the Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals. With qualifying
shortened to only two rounds due to Saturday rain, Todd’s best qualifying
attempt came late Friday when he made a 4.052-second pass at 265.17 mph.
Eliminations: Todd, new Crew
Chief Dickie Venables and the rest of the DHL Toyota team endured a long wait
to officially open the 2025 season making their first pass of the year some
five hours after racing began due to rain showers followed by a power outage
affecting all of Alachua County. When Todd’s time finally came, a battle of two
tire-smoking cars ensued. Todd and Bob Bode both pedaled their respective cars
multiple times before Bode’s regained traction allowing him to win the race.
Unofficial
Point Standings:
Todd leaves Gainesville tied with Terry Haddock for 12th place in in
the NHRA Funny Car point standings. The two trail 11th place Cruz
Pedregon by one point following the season’s opening race.
Todd
on Gainesville: “As
a driver, you hate to lose like that; I need to be a little more patient
letting the DHL car calm down and do a better job rolling back into the
throttle. I’m always mad at myself not coming out on the winning end of those.
Track conditions definitely weren’t ideal, but it was the same for everybody.
We’re still getting our DHL GR Supra dialed in with this new setup, and we all
know it’s gonna take some time - it’s a process. We’ll be ready to take the
next step in a couple weeks in Phoenix. Thanks to DHL, Dayco, Revchem,
SealMaster – all the people who help get this car on the track.”
J.R.
Todd Photo Courtesy:
Kalitta Motorsports
Next
Race:
Team Kalitta will be back in action March 21-23, 2025 at the NHRA Arizona
Nationals in Chandler, Ariz. For additional information, please visit www.nhra.com.
For additional information on Kalitta Motorsports, please visit www.teamkalitta.com.
# # #
Contact:
Rob Goodman, Kalitta
Motorsports
E-mail: rob@3-gsports.com
Copyright © 2025 3-G Sports, LLC,
All rights reserved.
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