Wed, 29 Oct 2025, 14:36 PM Kalitta Motorsports Preview

Courtesy of Rob Goodman, Kalitta Motorsports

Feeding America: The “Race to End Hunger” Update Following Race Five of Six

Prior to the U.S. Nationals, Kalitta Motorsports launched the 2025 “Race to End Hunger,” a partnership among Kalitta Motorsports, DHL Express, Kalitta Air and nine additional partners: Applied Innovation, Brown & Miller Racing Solutions, Dayco, Fifth Third Bank, Mac Tools, New Image Building Services, PJH/Superior, SoundGear and Toyota are accelerating the fight against food insecurity. For six NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing national events, starting with the U.S. Nationals and ending with the Nevada NHRA Nationals in Las Vegas, every time a Kalitta Motorsports driver turns on a race day win light, Kalitta Motorsports, DHL Express, Kalitta Air and the nine partners will donate 40,000 Feeding America meals.

By scanning the QR code at the tracks, through social media posts or by clicking here, fans can make a personal donation. Every online donation enters the donor into a drawing for a VIP experience for two at the 2026 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series race of the winner’s choice. At the fifth race three weeks ago in Dallas, Kalitta Motorsports turned on six win lights bringing the 2025 Race to End Hunger total to 840,000 meals:

Indianapolis: J.R. Todd (0), Doug Kalitta (1) and Shawn Langdon (0): 40,000 meals generated.
Reading: J.R. Todd (0), Doug Kalitta (3) and Shawn Langdon (1): 160,000 meals generated.
Charlotte: J.R. Todd (0), Doug Kalitta (3) and Shawn Langdon (2): 200,000 meals generated.
St. Louis: J.R. Todd (0), Doug Kalitta (4) and Shawn Langdon (1): 200,000 meals generated.
Dallas: J.R. Todd (0), Doug Kalitta (4) and Shawn Langdon (2): 240,000 meals generated.

Doug Kalitta Image Courtesy: NHRA

Doug Kalitta is Counting No Chickens Entering Las Vegas

YPSILANTI, Mich. – Doug Kalitta and his Mac Tools Toyota team completely understand an applicable cliché: it’s not over ‘til it’s over. The 2025 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Countdown to the Championship NHRA Playoffs continue with the fifth of six playoff races Oct. 31-Nov. 2 at the Dodge NHRA Nevada Nationals in Las Vegas.

After two-straight wins in four-consecutive Playoff final rounds, Kalitta enters the season’s penultimate race with a commanding lead in the NHRA Top Fuel point standings. He leads second-place Justin Ashley by 141 points and leads the third-place driver, his teammate Shawn Langdon, by 159 points. Yet in this sport, anything can happen, and Kalitta is well aware.

“I’ve finished second seven times so for me, you never count your chickens until they’re hatched; I’ve stayed pretty low-key about the situation,” the 2023 Top Fuel champion said. “We still have two races to go. It’s great to have a lead, but would certainly be better if we could get far enough ahead so nobody can catch us – that’s the goal.

“Alan (Crew Chief Alan Johnson) has a good handle on our car; I’ve watched him a lot over the years, and I’m real thankful to be driving the car he’s tuning, that’s for sure. It’s amazing for me to drive a car as consistent as this one. I feel so thankful when this thing is hooked up and going down the track; it’s like, ‘thank goodness it’s another good run.’ Alan definitely has a lot of different conditions figured out; you just need to have something up your sleeve as a crew chief out here to be able to do what he does.”

Two years ago, Kalitta was one of three drivers entering the Las Vegas race separated by 14 points atop the standings, and the championship went down to the final round of the final race of the season. It evolved into a “winner take all” round between Kalitta and Leah Pruett. Kalitta won the round, the race and the title. It’s a very different story this year. “We’re looking forward to getting to Vegas to get as many points as possible,” Kalitta said. “My guys have the car running well so hopefully, we can continue doing what we’re doing at these last two races – that’s the goal. Go there, win the race and let the points add up to whatever they do. It’s definitely a little different scenario than I’ve had in the past. It’s possible for us to come out of Las Vegas with enough points not to have a mathematical issue going onto the last race.” Indeed, it is. Should Kalitta leave Las Vegas leading by 192 points, which means adding 51 points to his current lead, he would clinch the championship.

“The coolest thing is that a lot of people have won the championship twice, like my cousin, Scott. It would be cool to be part of that group. That’s the goal. We just get on Alan’s shirt tail and ride that baby! No, but we all have our jobs so it’s all about everybody doing their jobs the best they can, consistency in putting the car together and going down the track. It’s a crazy sport; that’s why we love it. So many different things can happen that could derail our momentum so we’re just trying to keep it going.”

And hold off on the chicken counting.

Race Information:
Dodge NHRA Nevada Nationals
The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway

TV Schedule (All times eastern):
- Qualifying Show: 3-5 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 2 on FS1
- Finals: 5-8 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 2 on FS1

2024 Dodge NHRA Nevada Nationals Recap: Qualified No. 3; defeated Ida Zetterstrom, Jasmine Salinas and Tony Stewart, lost to Brittany Force.

Doug Kalitta Career Stats: 625 events, 59 wins, 67 runners-up, 837 round wins, 66 No. 1 qualifiers.

2025 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series Results to Date (Wins in Italics):
Gainesville: Qualified No. 4; defeated Ida Zetterstrom; lost to Steve Torence.
Phoenix: Qualified No. 1; defeated Travis Shumake, Bye and Jasmine Salinas; lost to Shawn Langdon.
Pomona: Qualified No. 2: defeated Scott Palmer before losing to Tony Stewart.
Las Vegas: Qualified No. 1: defeated Clay Millican, Bye, lost to Tony Stewart and Justin Ashley.
Charlotte: Qualified No. 1; Lost to Tony Stewart, Clay Millican and Lex Joon.
Chicago: Qualified No. 1; defeated Lex Joon and Josh Hart, lost to Justin Ashley.
Epping: Qualified No. 1; defeated Bye and Ida Zetterstrom; lost to Brittany Force.
Bristol: Qualified No. 9; lost to Josh Hart.
Richmond: Qualified No. 7; defeated Antron Brown and Clay Millican; lost to Justin Ashley
Norwalk: Qualified No. 15; defeated Antron Brown; lost to Clay Millican.
Seattle: Qualified No. 1; defeated Bye and Justin Ashley; lost to Brittany Force.
Sonoma: Qualified No. 2; defeated Ron August, Jr., Josh Hart, Bye and Antron Brown.
Brainerd: Qualified No. 1; defeated Terry Totten, Bye, Billy Torrence and Clay Millican.
Indianapolis: Qualified No. 4; Defeated Tony Schumacher, lost to Justin Ashley.
Reading: Qualified No. 3; defeated Antron Brown, Tony Stewart and Steve Torrence; lost to Shawn Reed.
Charlotte: Qualified No. 2; defeated Josh Hart & Bye, Antron Brown & Steve Torrence; lost to Justin Ashley.
St. Louis: Qualified No. 1; defeated Will Smith, Steve Torrence, Justin Ashley and Ida Zetterstrom.
Dallas: Qualified No. 5; defeated Jasmine Salinas, Ida Zetterstrom, Shawn Langdon and Steve Torrence.

Shawn Langdon Image Courtesy: NHRA

Shawn Langdon Faces a Tall Task

YPSILANTI, Mich. – Shawn Langdon knows exactly what he needs to do to have a shot at the Top Fuel title, and it’s a tall task. The 2025 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Countdown to the Championship NHRA Playoffs continue with the fifth of six playoff races Oct. 31-Nov. 2 at the Dodge NHRA Nevada Nationals in Las Vegas.

Langdon enters Las Vegas in third place in the NHRA Top Fuel point standings. He trails second-place Justin Ashley by 18 points but trails the points leader, his teammate Doug Kalitta, by 159 points with two races remaining in the season. He needs to win the last two races and get some help from Kalitta.

“For us to have a shot, Doug will have to kind of fall pretty badly at the last couple of races, but at the end of the day, we’re definitely not wishing anything bad on Doug,” the 2013 Top Fuel champion said. “We’re just gonna go to Las Vegas to do the best we can and try to have an opportunity in Pomona.

“If we’re not gonna win the championship, we want Doug to win. It’s a little bit out of our control at this point because Doug has a pretty good lead. Ideally, we want to have a shot at the championship. If we don’t have that, then finishing one-two is the next-best thing. That would be a really good feat for the team, but at this point, we just go out there and do what we do, and it’s gonna fall the way it falls.”

Langdon has three wins in five final rounds this season. One of his wins was the 1,000th Top Fuel race in NHRA history making one of his 22-career wins a piece of NHRA history. That said, the season goal is always winning the championship, and Langdon understands the difficult task ahead of his Kalitta Air 25th Anniversary Toyota team.

“For us, we have to win the last two races,” Langdon said. “Doug’s been on a pretty good run; when Doug and AJ (Kalitta Crew Chief Alan Johnson) get in the zone, they’re very tough to beat. Justin (Ashley) is a great driver, and when his team gets their car going down the track, they’re very tough to beat. We just need to win. We’ll go to Las Vegas, and we have to keep going rounds and hopefully get a couple wins.

“I always seem to drive better when my back’s up against the wall, I feel like I have something to prove, and I’m chasing someone down and driving aggressively. I seem like I’m more in my element when I’m out there driving aggressively and knowing exactly what I have to do to win. I feel like sometimes, when I got in the lead in the past, I got a little bit conservative and more of ‘don’t want to make mistakes and just keep status quo.’ I drive better when I drive with intent and aggression.”

Exactly what the Kalitta Air team needs this weekend.

Race Information:
Dodge NHRA Nevada Nationals
The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway

TV Schedule (All times eastern):
- Qualifying Show: 3-5 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 2 on FS1
- Finals: 5-8 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 2 on FS1

2024 Dodge NHRA Nevada Nationals Recap: Qualified No. 2; defeated Jasmine Salinas and Justin Ashley, lost to Doug Kalitta.

Shawn Langdon Career Stats: 368 events, 22 wins, 28 runners-up, 411 round wins, 22 No. 1 qualifiers.

2025 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series Results to Date (Wins in Italics):
Gainesville: Qualified No. 11; defeated Justin Ashley, Tony Stewart and Jasmine Salinas; lost to Antron Brown.
Phoenix: Qualified No. 3; defeated Scott Palmer, Justin Ashley, Brittany Force and Doug Kalitta.
Pomona: Qualified No. 3; defeated Ida Zetterstrom and Josh Hart; lost to Tony Stewart.
Las Vegas: Qualified No. 11: lost to Antron Brown, Mike Salinas.
Charlotte: Qualified No. 2; defeated Ida Zetterstrom and Scott Farley, Brittany Force and Josh Hart, Justin Ashley, Tony Stewart and Antron Brown.
Chicago: Qualified No. 3; defeated Kyle Wurtzel, lost to Steve Torrence.
Epping: Qualified No. 6; lost to Dan Mercier.
Bristol: Qualified No. 3; defeated Cody Krohn and Josh Hart; lost to Justin Ashley.
Richmond: Qualified No. 5; defeated Cameron Ferre, Dan Mercier and Tony Stewart; lost to Justin Ashley.
Norwalk: Qualified No. 5; defeated Doug Foley and Brittany Force; Lost to Justin Ashley.
Seattle: Qualified No. 2; defeated Cameron Ferre, Tony Stewart, Bye, Brittany Force.
Sonoma: Qualified No. 10; defeated Brittany Force, Bye; lost to Antron Brown.
Brainerd: Qualified No. 8; defeated Antron Brown; lost to Brittany Force.
Indianapolis: Qualified No. 6; lost to Clay Millican.
Reading: Qualified No. 5; defeated Doug Foley; lost to Shawn Reed.
Charlotte: Qualified No. 4; defeated Tony Schumacher & Doug Foley, Tony Stewart & Brittany Force; lost to Justin Ashley & Doug Kalitta.
St. Louis: Qualified No. 13; defeated Shawn Reed; lost to Justin Ashley.
Dallas: Qualified No. 1; defeated Mitch King, Clay Millican; lost to Doug Kalitta.

J.R. Todd Image Courtesy: Kalitta Motorsports

J.R. Todd, DHL Team Still Searching for Performance

YPSILANTI, Mich. – Even without a shot at the championship this year, J.R. Todd and his DHL GR Supra team remain focused on the tasks at hand: enhancing performance and finishing the season on a positive note. The 2025 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Countdown to the Championship NHRA Playoffs continue with the fifth of six playoff races Oct. 31-Nov. 2 at the Dodge NHRA Nevada Nationals in Las Vegas.

Todd entered the 2025 season with great optimism with four-time championship Crew Chief Dickie Venables joining the team in the off season. From the beginning, the 2018 Funny Car champion said implementing a new program for the car would take time although no one could know how long. Flashes of brilliance, including a win in New Hampshire and a final round in Minnesota, showed the team was progressing, but progress can be fleeting. Now out of championship contention, the DHL team strives for victory in the season’s final two races.

“I show up to every race with the attitude that I’m there to win,” Todd said. “Otherwise, there’s no sense in going out there and competing. Nobody shows up to the track with the mentality that they’re gonna lose first round or else so they would just stay home and find something else to do. We never give up on the car performing like we all know it can. It’ll come to life – it always does.”

The last several races have not been kind to this team, yet the “Yella Fellas” strive to improve each day and continue implementing the program the team embarked upon in January. With two races and a post-Las Vegas test session still to come, additional opportunities for flashes of brilliance remain.

“We’re all focused on doing whatever we can do to get this DHL GR Supra running like we know it can. We hope to get a win at one of these last two races and get a head start on next season. Another thing we can work on is building up our notebook to get ready for next year, and we’re testing after Las Vegas.

“Finishing the season on a positive note is definitely key looking at the season we’ve had. That win (in New Hampshire) was definitely good and much needed, but overall, it hasn’t been the season we wanted so we’re hoping to finish with a trophy or two to close it out.”

Race Information:
Dodge NHRA Nevada Nationals
The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway

TV Schedule (All times eastern):
- Qualifying Show: 3-5 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 2 on FS1
- Finals: 5-8 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 2 on FS1

2024 Dodge NHRA Nevada Nationals Recap: Qualified No. 8; lost to Cruz Pedregon.

J.R. Todd Career Stats: 336 events, 22 wins, 27 runners-up, 363 round wins, 14 No. 1 qualifiers.

2025 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series Results to Date:
Gainesville: Qualified No. 11; lost to Bobby Bode.
Phoenix: Qualified No. 9; defeated Daniel Wilkerson before losing to Bob Tasca.
Pomona: Qualified No. 7; lost to Daniel Wilkerson.
Las Vegas: Qualified No. 4: defeated Bobby Bode, Jack Beckman, lost to Matt Hagan, Paul Lee.
Charlotte: Qualified No. 11; defeated Dan Wilkerson, Bob Tasca; lost to Austin Prock, Ron Capps.
Chicago: Qualified No. 4; lost to Cruz Pedregon.
Epping: Qualified No. 10; defeated Cruz Pedregon, Phil Burkart, Alexis DeJoria and Spencer Hyde.
Bristol: Qualified No. 6; defeated Spencer Hyde; lost to Ron Capps
Richmond: Qualified No. 3; defeated Buddy Hull and Hunter Green; lost to Austin Prock.
Norwalk: Qualified No. 12; lost to Matt Hagan.
Seattle: Qualified No. 3; defeated Cruz Pedregon; lost to Alexis Dejoria.
Sonoma: Qualified No. 11; lost to Hunter Green.
Brainerd: Qualified No. 5; defeated Paul Lee, Ron Capps and Jack Beckman; lost to Austin Prock.
Indianapolis: Qualified No. 7; lost to Bob Tasca.
Reading: Qualified No. 5; lost to Ron Capps.
Charlotte: Qualified No. 8; defeated John Smith; lost to Matt Hagan & Jack Beckman.
St. Louis: Qualified No. 10; lost to Cruz Pedregon.
Dallas: Qualified No. 10; lost to Cruz Pedregon.