Information By: ROB GOODMAN / KALITTA MOTORSPORTS – DINWIDDIE, VA
PlayNHRA Virginia NHRA Nationals
NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series
Virginia Motorsports Park; Dinwiddie, Va.
Post-Event Wrap-Up
TOP FUEL WINNER Doug Kalitta, Mac Tools Top Fuel Dragster
Qualifying: Doug Kalitta was the No. 2 qualifier at the PlayNHRA Virginia NHRA Nationals. Kalitta’s elapsed time was a little better each time the Mac Tools dragster took to the track for one of Saturday’s three qualifying sessions. In the final session, right after his teammate, Shawn Langdon, moved into first in the battle for the No.1 qualifier, Kalitta posted a 3.883-second elapsed time at 318.69 mph to take the No. 2 spot.
Eliminations: Kalitta had a bye in the first round and then defeated Josh Hart in the second before a line of thunderstorms moved through. After the rain delay, in conditions far cooler than the scorching temperatures of the weekend, Kalitta defeated Tony Stewart to reach the final round against his teammate, Shawn Langdon. In the cooler conditions, Kalitta made a brilliant final-round run with a 3.752-second effort at 333.41 mph to take his third win in the season’s first nine races. It was the quickest and fastest run of the race weekend. It was Kalitta’s 55th-career win and his first at Virginia Motorsports Park since 2007. The win was also the sixth for Kalitta Motorsports in the season’s first nine races.
Unofficial Point Standings: Kalitta leaves Virginia in first place in the NHRA Top Fuel point standings. He leads his teammate, second-place Shawn Langdon, by 67 points.
Kalitta on Virginia: “It was good; Brian (Langdon Crew Chief Brian Husen) is obviously doing a great job with Shawn on the Kalitta Air Careers car. I was saying before the final round that it’s so nice that we’ve finally given Shawn a car to run and be competitive with. He’s one of the best drivers out here, and I’m just super proud of Connie (Team Owner Connie Kalitta), Chad (General Manager Chad Head) and everybody that’s helped us get where we are. We’ve been able to step up, not only Shawn’s program but also with what I have going on and also with J.R.’s team. I’m pretty sure Connie’s happy with how it went today. I’m sure he’s proud of what we accomplished. Shawn and his guys are always tough. It’s kind of like the rivalry at the shop because both cars use the same area so it’s a little bit of bragging rights there. Hats off to all my guys on this Mac Tools, Toyota, Revchem car. It was a great weekend for all of us!”
Shawn Langdon, Kalitta Air Careers Top Fuel Dragster
Qualifying: Shawn Langdon was the No. 1 qualifier at the PlayNHRA Virginia NHRA Nationals. It was his second No. 1 qualifier of the season and the 21st of his career. Like Kalitta, his best qualifying effort came in the third and final qualifying round when he made a 3.872-second pass at 319.82 mph. Langdon’s other No. 1 qualifier came at the season-opening NHRA Gatornationals, which Langdon won along with his teammate, Funny Car driver J.R. Todd.
Eliminations: Langdon defeated Lex Joon, Steve Torrence and Antron Brown to reach the final round against his teammate, Doug Kalitta. It was Langdon’s fourth final round of the season. Langdon and Kalitta were side-by-side when the Kalitta Air Careers car smoked the tires giving Kalitta an easy with the quickest and fastest pass of the weekend.
Unofficial Point Standings: Langdon leaves Virginia in second place in the NHRA Top Fuel point standings. He trails his teammate, Doug Kalitta, by 67 points and leads third-place Justin Ashley by 41 points.
Langdon on Virginia: “The Kalitta Air Careers Toyota team had a great weekend; we just came up one short. Great job by Brian (Crew Chief Brian Husen), all the guys, everybody at Kalitta Air, Revchem and SealMaster. They’ve been giving me a great race car all season so we just have to keep at it and keep working hard. I couldn’t be happier for this whole Kalitta bunch. We had two Kalitta cars in the final and that’s the most-important thing.”
J.R. Todd, DHL Funny Car
Qualifying: J.R. Todd was the No. 7 qualifier at the PlayNHRA Virginia NHRA Nationals. His best qualifying effort came during the first of three qualifying sessions Saturday afternoon when the DHL GR Supra needed just 4.069 seconds to reach the finish line at 312.13 mph.
Eliminations: Todd and the DHL Toyota team raced Matt Hagan in the first round. Todd and Hagan were the second pair to race after John Force’s accident which caused a delay of more than an hour. After the long wait, Todd left the starting line first, but both cars spun the tires at about the same point. Hagan’s car hooked up faster than Todd’s allowing him to win the round with a 4.33-second elapsed time over Todd’s 4.395-second effort. It was Todd’s second first-round loss of the season.
Unofficial Point Standings: Todd leaves Virginia in fourth place in the NHRA Funny Car point standings. He trails third-place Matt Hagan by 31 points and leads fifth-place Bob Tasca by 12 points.
Todd on Virginia: “First and most important, we’re all thinking about John (Force) and hope he’s doing ok. We’re definitely disappointed for the DHL GR Supra team, Revchem, SealMaster and everyone else who supports us. It was a tough weekend for everyone with the heat and a really hot race track. We smoked the tires at about the same time and both pedaled, but Hagan beat us to the finish. It’s too bad for this DHL team, but we’ll regroup and be ready to go next week in Ohio.”
Next Race: Team Kalitta will be back in action June 28-30, 2024 at the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals in Norwalk, Ohio.