POMONA 1 - Kalitta Motorsports Preview

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Wed, 08 Apr 2026, 15:05 PM

Kalitta Motorsports Preview

Courtesy of Rob Goodman, Kalitta Motorsports
Photo Courtesy Kalitta Motorsports

Kalitta Motorsports Pre-Race Notes & Quotes
Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals
NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series Race Three of 20
In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip; Pomona, Calif.; April 10-12, 2026

Doug Kalitta, Mac Tools Top Fuel Dragster

2025 NHRA Lucas Oil Winternationals Recap: Qualified No. 2; beat Scott Palmer, lost to Tony Stewart.

Doug Kalitta Career Stats: 628 events, 59 wins, 68 runners-up, 844 round wins, 66 No. 1 qualifiers.

Current Points Position: 1

Pre-Race Notes:
- Doug Kalitta enters the Lucas Oil Winternationals as the points leader - the same position he occupied when leaving Pomona, Calif., last November as the 2025 NHRA Top Fuel Champion.

- Kalitta reached the final round at the season-opening NHRA Gatornationals in Florida and the semifinals in Phoenix - an extremely solid start to his title defense.

- When Kalitta advanced to the semifinals three weeks ago near Phoenix, he earned a spot in this week's Mission Foods Challenge. During Saturday's qualifying sessions, the drivers who reached the semifinals at the last race will re-run the semifinals and final earning additional purse and championship bonus points.

- Kalitta earned a "double-up" win in the first Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge of the season in Phoenix with his teammate, J.R. Todd. It was the team's second double win in the special Saturday event - Kalitta and Todd accomplished the same at last season's U.S. Nationals.

- One could almost consider In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip Kalitta's personal playground. He has seven wins in 15 final-round appearances along with six No. 1 qualifiers. Kalitta's most significant Pomona win was the 2023 NHRA Finals. With the win, he clinched his first NHRA Top Fuel title in a winner-take-all final round. With four Winternationals wins, Kalitta trails only Don Garlits who has six Top Fuel wins in this event.

- Kalitta's 59 race wins place him fourth all-time in Top Fuel wins and 12th overall. His 66 career No. 1 qualifiers place him tied with Kenny Bernstein for seventh all-time. He is seventh all-time in round wins

- Kalitta is a two-time NHRA Top Fuel Champion (2023, '25) and a member of the Michigan Motorsports Hall of Fame.

Pre-Race Quotes:
"It's nice to be the points leader, for sure. We really had a good shot to win both of the races this season so that's all you can really hope for; I have a very consistent car. We're just trying to get this Mac Tools car to the final at these things and to give us a shot at the win like we had at Gainesville.
"Pomona has been a good track for me over the years, and I'm really looking forward to getting out there and seeing what we have - it should be fun. We'll have a bunch of our friends from Mac Tools and everybody else that has been supporting us over the years with us this weekend. A lot of people come to that track, and it's close to where Alan Johnson lives so it's a hometown race for him; it should be good.
"It's hard to say why Pomona is such a good track for us. Definitely a little bit of luck has to go into that answer, but that's racing. You have a lot of confidence when you show up at these places - that's half of it or more. Pomona is just one of those places that has been around forever. It's kind of where the NHRA started, and that's one of the things I think about when I talk about Pomona.
"As far as the Saturday races, it's hard to say, really, why we've had some success there. It's just the way our car is running; the thing is definitely capable of putting up a good number on every run, really; hats off to Alan and Mac (Crew Chief Alan Johnson and Assistant Crew Chief Mac Savage) and all the guys on the Mac Tools team that are just doing an incredible job. This team is very consistent; that's where it all starts for sure, and you couldn't do it without Alan and all he brings. It's just everybody working together. It's a cool program though; I definitely appreciate what Mission Foods does with the race on Saturday, and I think for the fans, it was a great idea. Hopefully, we can continue to win those things."

For Doug Kalitta's 2026 race-by-race results, please click here.

Shawn Langdon, Kalitta Air Careers Top Fuel Dragster

2025 Lucas Oil Winternationals Recap: Qualified No. 3; defeated Ida Zetterstrom and Josh Hart; lost to Tony Stewart.

Shawn Langdon Career Stats: 371 events, 23 wins, 29 runners-up, 418 round wins, 23 No. 1 qualifiers.

Current Points Position: 3

Pre-Race Notes:
- Shawn Langdon qualified No. 1 and won his third-straight NHRA Arizona Nationals near Phoenix three weeks ago. It was his 23rd win and his 23rd No. 1 qualifier. Langdon is approaching the NHRA mark for consecutive wins at the same event; four drivers won four straight at five different NHRA National Events.

- When Langdon advanced to the semifinals in Phoenix, he earned a spot in this week's Mission Foods Challenge. During Saturday's qualifying sessions, the drivers who reached the semifinals at the last race will re-run the semifinals and final earning additional purse and championship bonus points. Langdon won the Mission Foods Challenge five times last season including the Winternationals.

- Prior to Saturday's third qualifying session, Langdon will be recognized as one of NHRA's top-75 drivers. In recognition of NHRA's 75th anniversary season in 2026, NHRA added 25 drivers to its existing list of top-50 drivers, and Langdon was one of the additional 25 drivers.

- Langdon has four wins in seven final-round appearances at In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip including season sweeps in 2013 and '15. He has two No. 1 qualifiers at the Pomona, Calif., racetrack, which is less than 30 miles from his hometown, Mira Loma, Calif.

- Langdon is the 2013 NHRA Top Fuel Champion.

Pre-Race Quotes:
"We have a lot of confidence going into Pomona, and we have a lot of confidence about this season. I've been fortunate to have some success at Pomona; it's my home track, and I always look forward to racing there. We're motivated to win races, and winning at Pomona is always special. Connie (Team Owner Connie Kalitta) gives us everything we need to race for a championship, and that's what we want to do this season.
"A main focus for us this year is making good runs when it's hot and having a car that will let us gain the small bonus points in qualifying. By the end of the year, you can make up a couple of rounds (of racing in points) by qualifying well and getting bonus points throughout the season. That's a big focus for us, and being able to race in Phoenix under some of the hottest conditions we've ever seen, we stuck to the game plan. With the heat, it wasn't ideal, but we all dealt with it. Conditions will be very different this weekend, but we're up to the challenge. "The Kalitta Air Careers team is so good. When I'm inside the race car, I demand perfection of myself; this is what I love to do and what I dream of doing. The thing I love about Brian (Crew Chief Brian Husen) is that he demands perfection from himself, he demands perfection from the team. I think a lot of the guys on our team are taking that same approach.
"We have a fantastic group, and they just don't make mistakes. They work well together, they double check each other even triple each other. We have a car that we feel, every time we go to the line, is one of the fastest, one of the safest on property, it gives you all the confidence in the world.
"Being on NHRA's top-75 drivers list is kinda weird for me; it's humbling, and I appreciate it. Good on NHRA for recognizing the drivers and a lot of the history of the sport because that's what got us all into it. When I was a kid, I watched all those guys. A lot of those people I looked up to as a kid and got autographs from as a kid are heroes of mine."

For Shawn Langdon's 2026 race-by-race results, please click here.

J.R. Todd, DHL GR Supra Funny Car

2025 Lucas Oil Winternationals Recap: Qualified No. 7; lost to Daniel Wilkerson.

J.R. Todd Career Stats: 339 events, 22 wins, 27 runners-up, 367 round wins, 14 No. 1 qualifiers.

Current Points Position: 4

Pre-Race Notes:
- J.R. Todd's 2026 season is off to a good start following excellent pre-season testing. He reached the semifinals at the season-opening race in Florida, and although he went out in the second round in Phoenix three weeks ago, he merely ended up on the wrong end of a great drag race with Spencer Hyde and missed the semifinals by .0106 seconds.

- Todd earned a "double-up" win in the first Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge of the season in Phoenix with his teammate, Doug Kalitta. It was the team's second double win in the special Saturday event - Todd and Kalitta accomplished the same at last season's U.S. Nationals. Todd is not competing in the event this weekend.

- Todd has two wins in four final-round appearances along with one No. 1 qualifier at In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip.

- This week's race is the 1,000th Funny Car race in NHRA history. Last season, Todd's teammate, Shawn Langdon, won the 1,000th Top Fuel race so Todd is looking for a Kalitta Motorsports sweep of the 1,000th races in the nitro classes.

- Todd is the 2018 NHRA Funny Car Champion and owns 22 race wins in his career.

Pre-Race Quotes:
"After the different conditions we had in pre-season testing and at the first two races, I know we have a car that can compete with these guys. Gainesville gets tricky when the track gets sun on it, and it was tricky on race day; the sun came out and the temperatures went up. It was nothing like the cool conditions we had when we tested there. In Gainesville, you had to tiptoe off the starting line and then get after it. In Phoenix, with the hottest conditions we've raced in, you had to get all of it early and then put it on cruise control once you got to the asphalt at halftrack. They were similar but different. It's nice to have the combination of Dickie and Todd (Crew Chief Dickie Venables and Todd Smith) that can work in different conditions like that; it definitely gives you confidence as the driver.
"Success is a matter of the car going down the track or it not going down the track; our success rate wasn't very good for the last handful years so it's been a 180-degree change so far. Hopefully, we continue on that path because, once again, conditions are gonna be different this weekend from what they were the first two races. I think it gives the whole team confidence.
"Last season definitely didn't go the way we anticipated, but we made a bunch of changes going into 2026 - bringing Todd Smith back helps Dickie with two very smart-minded individuals bouncing ideas off each other. We have two brand new cars that are different from what we were running in the past and some different parts and pieces from what we ran last year so it's kind of just a whole new combination. So far, I think it's showing promise. "The 1,000th Funny Car race is pretty cool, but I really don't want to put the cart before the horse. I'm focused on our DHL team making the kind of runs we're capable of making. If we do that, then I guess we'll get another trophy to go along with the 75th anniversary Wally. I really don't want to go into the weekend thinking about that or putting pressure on us. We just want to make strong runs, hopefully win the race and gain as many points as possible. If we do that, trophy will come with it."

For J.R. Todd's 2026 race-by-race results, please click here.

TV Schedule (All times eastern):
- Qualifying Show: 11-12:30 Sunday, April 12 on FS1
- Finals: 6:30-9:30 Sunday, April 12 on FS1