Fri, 06 Nov 2026, 12:00 PM Kalitta Motorsports Wrap Up

Courtesy of Rob Goodman, Kalitta Motorsports Photo Courtesy Kalitta Motorsports

Mopar NHRA Las Vegas Nationals Powered by Dodge
NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series
Countdown to the Championship Race Five of Six
The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Post-Event Wrap-Up

TOP FUEL WINNER: Doug Kalitta, Mac Tools Top Fuel Dragster

Qualifying: Doug Kalitta was the No.5 qualifier at the Mopar NHRA Las Vegas Nationals. His best qualifying attempt came in the Friday-night session when he reached the finish line in 3.695 seconds at 332.59 mph.

Eliminations: Kalitta defeated Will Smith, Justin Ashley, Shawn Langdon and Leah Pruett on the way to his fifth win of the season and the 64th of his career. It is the 15th Kalitta Motorsports win in the season's 19 races to date (Langdon 8, Kalitta 5 and Todd 2), and Team Kalitta now has a win in each of the last nine NHRA national events. Kalitta's final round 3.658-second run at 338.60 mph was the quickest run of the weekend among all competitors. Kalitta made four runs, all in the 3.60s and all within .024 seconds.

Unofficial Point Standings: Kalitta leaves Las Vegas in second place in the NHRA Top Fuel point standings. He trails his teammate, Shawn Langdon, by 107 points and leads third-place Antron Brown by 129 points with one race remaining in the season.

Kalitta on Las Vegas:
"You never can tell what could happen at that last race; we've been there before. We're definitely still behind those guys, and Shawn's obviously a great driver; the Kalitta Air guys are doing a hell of a job, but so are my Mac Tools guys. Alan Johnson and Mac Savage (Crew Chiefs Alan Johnson and Mac Savage) - all my guys - everybody's real hungry. Pomona's been good to me over the years so we'll see what happens.

"It was definitely a sigh of relief to see that win light come on against Shawn (in the semifinals), to finally to get by those guys. That was what I was hoping for, to get a shot at Shawn in the third round and hopefully beat him, and so it worked out well. I have to admit, (the championship) feels like a long shot, but anything can happen with points and a half at Pomona. Pomona is really one of my favorite places to race.

"I have to hand it to my guys; they really had my car on a rail today with 60s all day and that 65 in the final. They definitely had her hopped up, and the track is incredible out here even with these (cool) conditions. I guess that's the kind of conditions that my car likes, obviously, Alan and Mac, what can I say about them? They're just really incredible with tuning these things. It's a great privilege, I must admit, to be in the spot I am driving this thing for those guys, and Connie (Team Owner Connie Kalitta), obviously. He's always got my back, and I appreciate everything he does for Shawn, J.R. and me. We've got a great three-car effort going here, and it's just a real fortunate day to win here."

Shawn Langdon, Kalitta Air Careers Dragster

Qualifying: Shawn Langdon was the No. 1 qualifier at the Mopar NHRA Las Vegas Nationals. Langdon made his best run of the weekend in the Friday night qualifying session when the Top Fuel points leaders made a 3.672-second pass at 332.59 mph. It was his ninth No. 1 qualifier of the season, his third straight and the 31st of his career.

Eliminations: Langdon defeated Cameron Ferre and Billy Torrence to advance to an all-Team Kalitta semifinal matchup against Doug Kalitta. Langdon was off the starting line first but smoked the tires and could only watch as Kalitta cruised to the round win.

Unofficial Point Standings: Langdon leaves Las Vegas in first place in the NHRA Top Fuel point standings. He leads Kalitta by 107 points entering the season's final race in two weeks.

Langdon on Las Vegas:
"We just got caught up in the semis and smoked the tires for some reason. The Kalitta Air Careers car was good all weekend - we qualified No. 1 and made two good runs today, but then we were just trying to make a good run in the semis and smoked tires. We're big Doug Kalitta fans over here; Doug Kalitta, Mac Tools, Alan Johnson - that whole team is the cream of the crop; they have the No. 1 on their car for a reason.

"We're still in a really good spot. We'll just keep doing what we're doing and go to Pomona to see what we can do. We know where the points are and the challenges we face. We also know what our goals are and what the Kalitta Air team can do."

J.R. Todd, DHL Funny Car

Qualifying: J.R. Todd was the No. 7 qualifier at the Mopar NHRA Las Vegas Nationals. During the Friday night qualifying session, Todd needed only 3.889 seconds to reach the finish line at 336.62 mph.

Eliminations: Todd defeated Chad Green in the first round setting up a massive matchup with points leader Matt Hagan in the second round. Todd was off the starting line first and never trailed as he took out the points leader to give the DHL team an opportunity to make a huge move in the point standings. Todd raced second-place Jordan Vandergriff in the semifinals, but his day would end in the third round. The DHL GR Supra lost traction; Todd pedaled but was unable to catch Vandergriff.

Unofficial Point Standings: Todd leaves Las Vegas in third place in in the NHRA Funny Car point standings. He trails second-place Jordan Vandergriff by 65 points and leads fourth-place Austin Prock by 37 points. Todd trails points leader Matt Hagan by 104 points with one race remaining in the season.

Todd on Las Vegas:
"I had hoped to go into Pomona with a good shot at the championship, but now we're a long shot. Pressure is a privilege, and that (second-round race against Matt Hagan) was a high-pressure situation. That's a great team over there, but I have a great team behind me, as well. It's not over yet, but going out in the semis didn't really make up enough ground to overcome that deficit. So now we need a miracle in Pomona."

Next Race: Team Kalitta will complete the 2026 season Nov. 13-15 at the In-N-Out Burger NHRA Finals. For additional information, please visit www.NHRA.com. For additional information on Kalitta Motorsports, please visit www.teamkalitta.com.

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