Doug Kalitta's journey at the In 'n Out NHRA Finals was nothing short of extraordinary. With rain forcing the cancellation of Friday qualifying sessions, the Mac Tools Toyota team showed their mettle with two excellent runs. Kalitta started strong, being second after his first pass on Saturday afternoon. His second and final qualifying attempt was a masterpiece, achieving a 3.650-second pass at 335.98 mph to claim the No. 3 starting position. This remarkable feat not only put him in a prime position for the finals but also made him just the second driver in NHRA history to reach 300.53 mph at the eighth mile. Mike Salinas had achieved this earlier, and Kalitta's accomplishment earned him the $13,000 Phillips Connect 300 at the 1/8 Bonus.Championship Contention and the Final Round
Kalitta defeated Ida Zetterstrom, Jasmine Salinas, and Tony Stewart on his way to the final round. However, Antron Brown's victory over Brittany Force in the other semifinal eliminated Kalitta from championship contention. In the final round, Kalitta raced Brown in a battle between the outgoing and incoming champion. The Mac Tools Toyota team put up an excellent fight, but Brown's 3.687-second pass proved just enough to beat Kalitta's 3.710-second effort. This final round marked Kalitta's 15th at the In 'n Out Burger Pomina Drag Strip. Despite finishing the season in second place in the NHRA Mission Foods Top Fuel point standings, falling just short of defending his 2023 title, it was still a remarkable achievement for Kalitta, who had seven career runner-up finishes in the season standings.Kalitta's Thoughts on the Achievement
"Mike Salinas led the charge being the first guy, but we're pretty proud to be the second. The Mac Tools car was really running – I tell you it was a cool ride, and it was pretty exciting for me," said Kalitta. "Alan, Mac (Crew Chief Alan Johnson and Assistant Crew Chief Mac Savage) and the whole Mac Tools Toyota team worked super hard on this car – everything about what we do is a team effort so I'm real proud of my guys. I didn't realize there was some money behind the deal but really appreciate Phillips Connect for putting the bonus out there."Team Effort and Future Plans
"It all came down to the wire, which is all you can hope for – having a shot at it at the last race of the year. We struggled a little bit throughout the countdown, so we saved it pretty well, I thought. Antron had a really good day; his car's running well, and they pulled it off so hats off to those guys. This Mac Tools Toyota team will kind of regroup here and see what see what we have. Making it to the final at these last two races in the countdown was really good – it's all about those last six races. It's a crazy format, but it's what we do. Winning the three races earlier this year was good, but everybody's gelling really well on this team so I hope everybody's gonna stick around and stay with it. I'm really proud of all my guys," added Kalitta.Shawn Langdon's Quest for the NHRA Top Fuel ChampionshipShawn Langdon's path to the NHRA Top Fuel Championship was filled with challenges and excitement. Entering the season's final race 45 points behind first-place Justin Ashley, Langdon hoped to earn at least 16 points in qualifying to move within one round of Ashley entering Sunday. Rain caused the cancellation of both Friday sessions, leaving only Saturday's two sessions to set the field. Langdon smoked the tires in the first session and was not in the field entering the final qualifying session. But the Kalitta Air Careers team didn't give up. Langdon made the quickest run of his career with a 3.653-second pass at 331.45 mph, putting him atop the field. However, three drivers made quicker runs, moving him to the No. 4 position. Despite losing the first two sessions, Langdon picked up 12 points on Ashley, moved to second in points, and entered eliminations 33 points out of first place.Elimination Rounds and the Championship Victory
Langdon defeated Josh Hart in the first round and set up a second-round matchup with Antron Brown, who had defeated points leader Justin Ashley in the first round and entered race day trailing Langdon by three points. Langdon's Kalitta Air Careers dragster smoked the tires almost immediately when the run began, but Brown also had a similar issue. Langdon pedaled the car, but Brown's car hooked up first and won the round, advanced to the semifinals, took the points lead, and went on to win the 2024 NHRA Top Fuel Championship.Langdon's Perspective on the Season
"I had a good car and a good shot to win the championship. We just came up a little short," said Langdon. "Brian did such a great job in his first year as a crew chief. I'm very proud of Brian and very proud of the team for what they did this year. Brian's a championship-caliber crew chief. We've known it for years, and after he got the opportunity, he almost won a championship in his first season."Team Support and Brotherhood
"I'm so thankful (Team Owner) Connie Kalitta believed in me and gave me an opportunity to drive his race car. Then they gave Brian Husen a chance to be a crew chief and gave everybody on this Kalitta Air Careers team an opportunity to be a part of the team. After these last couple of weeks, we're more than a team, we're a band of brothers. We may have finished fourth this season, but in my mind, Brian and this Kalitta Air Careers team are champions. We came up a little bit short, but this team is a great group of guys. We had a good year – a lot of hard work went into it, but we'll come back next year and fight for a championship," added Langdon.J.R. Todd's Journey in the Funny Car ClassJ.R. Todd's performance in the Funny Car class at the In 'n Out Burger NHRA Finals was a tale of near-misses and determination. The Funny Car class was able to complete one qualifying session Friday afternoon before rain washed out the second session. Todd made his best qualifying attempt in the first session Saturday afternoon, with his DHL GR Supra reaching the finish line in 3.878 seconds at 331.45 mph. Todd then raced Cruz Pedregon in the first round for the third consecutive race and emerged victorious, advancing to the second round with an excellent 3.858-second effort at 330.07 mph. However, his luck ran out in the second round when he raced newly crowned NHRA Funny Car champion Austin Prock. Todd left the starting line first but couldn't maintain the lead, running 3.900 secs. at 332.84 to Prock's 3.850-second effort.Final Standings and Future Goals
Todd finished the season in eighth place in the NHRA Mission Foods Funny Car point standings. Despite the setbacks, Todd remained positive.Todd's Reflection on the Season
"It was refreshing to see a 3.85 come on the board in the first round; that was a great run for this DHL GR Supra team – I don't know if we'd run that well all year," said Todd. "We definitely felt like we had a chance second round, but we were lined up against (Austin) Prock and slowed down. If we run 3.85 again (against Prock), we win that round, but that's kind of the way our season's gone this year. At the end of the day, we just wanted to be able to reward the DHL guys for how hard they work. They deserve it; and DHL, Revchem, SealMaster, Dayco and everyone else that supports us deserve it, too. They've been supporting us all season long. We'll use all of it as motivation going into 2025."Looking Ahead to the Next Season
Team Kalitta will be back in action March 7-9, 2025, at the NHRA Gatornationals in Gainesville, Fla., the opening race of the 2025 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series. This gives the team a chance to build on their experiences and strive for greater success in the coming year.For additional information, please visit www.nhra.com. For additional information on Kalitta Motorsports, please visit www.teamkalitta.com.This story was originally published on November 18, 2024.
