Story By: ROB GOODMAN / KALITTA MOTORSPORTS – YPSILANTI, MI – Applied Innovation, a longtime Kalitta Motorsports partner, will be the primary partner for 2023 NHRA Top Fuel champion Doug Kalitta’s Kalitta Motorsports Toyota entry at this weekend’s PRO Superstar Shootout Feb. 8-10 in Bradenton, Fla., the team announced today. The 2024 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series begins March 8-10, 2024 at the Amalie Oil NHRA Gatornationals in Gainesville, Fla.
Applied Innovation’s theme for 2024 is “The Power of One.” The company strives to harness the power of one moment in a positive, replicable way, which seems eerily similar to Kalitta’s 2023 NHRA Top Fuel championship season. The team worked to replicate its successful runs down the racetrack in drag racing’s never-ending search for consistency. The more consistent the team became, the more successful it was. The power of one successful run started a championship drive that ended with Kalitta’s first-career NHRA Top Fuel championship and the No. 1 on the car this season.
“It’s the power of one great driver, the power of one great crew and the power of one great partner,” Applied Innovation owner John Lowery said. “Everything has to start somewhere. What Kalitta Motorsports accomplished last year replicating its on-track success time and time again is exactly what ‘The Power of One’ is all about, and now Doug Kalitta has the power of the No. 1 on his car. We are thrilled to bring our 2024 theme to Team Kalitta and hope we can celebrate together in the winner’s circle this weekend.”
Applied Innovation serves customers in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana and Florida, with managed and co-managed IT and Help Desk services. With its Florida headquarters in Tampa a short 50-minute drive from Bradenton Motorsports Park, site of the inaugural SCAG Power equipment PRO Superstar Shootout, Applied expanded its Team Kalitta partnership to include this first-time event. Applied was founded as a printer, copier and fax company in 1987. Today, the company is a full-fledged, office-technology provider. Applied’s technology services and solutions are designed not only to improve its clients’ business but also the lives of the people working within them.
Kalitta captured his first NHRA Top Fuel title last year winning three of the six races that comprise the Countdown to the Championship NHRA Playoffs. It came after an amazing string of 25-consecutive top-10 season points finishes including six runner-up showings in the final season standings. Before he begins his title defense next month in Gainesville, Fla., he and his teammates, 2018 NHRA Funny Car champion J.R. Todd and 2013 NHRA Top Fuel champion Shawn Langdon, will participate in pre-season testing followed by the PRO Superstar Shootout Feb. 8-10, 2024 at Bradenton Motorsports Park.