Wed, 18 Mar 2026, 13:54 PM Kalitta Motorsports FMP NHRA Arizona Nationals Preview

Courtesy of Rob Goodman, Kalitta Motorsports Photo Courtesy- Kalitta Motorsports

Kalitta Motorsports Pre-Race Notes & Quotes
FMP NHRA Arizona Nationals presented by NGK Spark Plugs
NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series Race Two of 20
Firebird Raceway Park; Chandler, Ariz.; March 20-22, 2026

Doug Kalitta, Mac Tools Top Fuel Dragster

2025 NHRA Arizona Nationals Recap: Qualified No. 1.; defeated Travis Shumake, Bye, Jasmine Salinas; lost to Shawn Langdon.

Doug Kalitta Career Stats: 627 events, 59 wins, 68 runners-up, 842 round wins, 66 No. 1 qualifiers.

Current Points Position: 2

Pre-Race Notes:
- Doug Kalitta was the runner up at the NHRA Gatornationals two weeks ago missing the race win when the Mac Tools dragster dropped a cylinder almost immediately. It was Kalitta’s fourth final round in Gainesville, Fla., but the first time he did not win the race after reaching the final.

- When Kalitta advanced to the semifinals two weeks ago in Gainesville, Fla., he earned a spot in the Mission #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge this weekend. During Saturday’s qualifying sessions, the drivers who reached the semifinals in Gainesville will re-run the semifinals and final earning additional purse and championship bonus points.

- Kalitta has one win and five runner up finishes along with seven No. 1 qualifiers at Firebird Motorsports Park. One year ago, he was the No. 1 qualifier and lost to his teammate, Shawn Langdon in the final round.

- With this weekend’s Phoenix weather forecast featuring record-high temperatures, the race weekend schedule moved earlier in anticipation of the extreme dessert heat. Qualifying will begin at 10 a.m. Friday and Saturday, and Sunday’s elimination rounds will also begin at 10 a.m.

- 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:
“We definitely feel confident going into Phoenix after the first race of the year. The Mac Tools car was running really well all day. For some crazy reason, it dropped that cylinder in the final, but that was a good start for us; obviously, any time you can go rounds, it’s a good thing. My guys are looking pretty good; we should be in good shape for Phoenix this weekend.
“It’s nice to be back in the Mission Foods event – it’s fun racing on Saturday; it kind of gets you a little more ready for Sunday. I think it’s something the fans enjoy, and I think the racers do as well. When Mission Foods started this thing, I have to admit, I thought it was a great idea and certainly appreciated by our team and anybody else I’ve ever talked to about it.
“It should be interesting with the heat this weekend; it supposed to be in the 70s in the morning, so it’ll be a big temperature swing during the day. With the new times we’re running, the conditions might not be too bad. Maybe on Sunday, it might be a little different, but everybody will have couple days on the track to see what we need to do to keep the thing hooked up.
“I look forward to it. It’s just another element to what we’re doing. Really, I think, between the guys that work on my car and Alan and Mac (Crew Chief Alan Johnson and Assistant Crew Chief Mac Savage), the guys that tune the thing, are just incredible. I think they’re more than capable of having a very competitive car under any conditions. I’m very fortunate that when I look up, Alan is the guy adjusting my clutch controller – it doesn’t get much better than that.”

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

J.R. Todd, DHL GR Supra Funny Car

2025 NHRA Arizona Nationals Recap: Qualified No. 9; beat Dan Wilkerson; lost to Bob Tasca.

J.R. Todd Career Stats: 338 events, 22 wins, 27 runners-up, 366 round wins, 14 No. 1 qualifiers.

Current Points Position: 3

Pre-Race Notes:
- J.R. Todd enjoyed a strong season debut two weeks ago in Gainesville, Fla. He was No. 2 qualifier and advanced to the semifinals. Following strong pre-season testing, the team was optimistic entering the Gatornationals and backed it up. He enters the season’s second race in third place in the point standings.

- When Todd advanced to the semifinals two weeks ago in Gainesville, he earned a spot in the Mission #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge this weekend. During Saturday’s qualifying sessions, the drivers who reached the semifinals in Gainesville will re-run the semifinals and final earning additional purse and championship bonus points.

- Todd has never won in Phoenix, but he has one final-round appearance.

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

Pre-Race Quotes:
“It’s nice knowing we have a car that can go out there and respond to the changes Dickie and Todd (Crew Chiefs Dickie Venables and Todd Smith) are making. The DHL GR Supra is putting up good numbers, and it’s definitely competitive. That gives me confidence as a driver, and I think the rest of the team definitely has some pep in their step after Gainesville.
“I’m not out there to lose. When you get a taste of winning and competing for a championship, and you know you have a car capable of that, when the results don’t come, I would say that sometimes I can get into a bad mood. It’s nice to have a car that’s competitive and capable of turning on win lights every week. That changes the mentality for everybody on the team.
“One of the benefits of going to the later rounds is being in the Mission Foods Challenge on Saturday, but we still have to approach it as qualifying even though we’re racing. What I do on Saturday and Sunday is definitely not the same. We’re racing, but at the end of the day, we’re still qualifying and trying to get data towards the big picture on Sunday. It’s nice to be involved in those bonus races to earn as much as we can in bonus points and money. “We’ve all seen the forecasts for record high temperatures this weekend. The qualifying runs will be pretty similar to first and second rounds on Sunday so hopefully, we can get runs under our belt in qualifying to build on our notebook for Sunday. Once the later rounds come around on Sunday, if we’re fortunate enough to get there, I’d say it’ll be tricky with some super high track temps, but at the end of the day, it’s the same for all of us so we have to figure it out and make it happen.”

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

Shawn Langdon, Kalitta Air Careers Top Fuel Dragster

2025 NHRA Arizona Nationals Recap: Qualified No. 3; defeated Scott Palmer, Justin Ashley, Brittany Force and Doug Kalitta.

Shawn Langdon Career Stats: 370 events, 22 wins, 29 runners-up, 414 round wins, 22 No. 1 qualifiers.

Current Points Position: 9

Pre-Race Notes:
- After qualifying No. 2 at the season-opening race two weeks ago, Shawn Langdon went out in the first round after the Kalitta Air Careers dragster smoked the tires while leading Langdon’s opening round of the season. Despite the disappointing result, Langdon, Crew Chief Brian Husen and his Kalitta Air Careers team are poised for excellence in the new season following a runner-up showing last year and excellent pre-season testing including two runs that are the unofficial quickest (3.621 seconds) and fastest (345.62 mph) runs ever recorded.

- Langdon is a final round fixture at Phoenix having reached it in four of the last five years including the last three. The Mira Loma, Calif., native also has three No. 1 qualifiers at the suburban Phoenix track.

- Langdon owns 22-career race wins and is the 2013 NHRA Top Fuel Champion.

Pre-Race Quotes:
“We definitely wanted a different outcome in Gainesville two weeks ago, but one run doesn’t change anything about this Kalitta Air Careers team. We have a great group of guys and a great team. The past is the past; we put that race behind us, and we’re 100 percent focused on this weekend’s race.
“We’ve had success in Phoenix the last few years, so we definitely want to keep the trend going. It just seems like we get good results at some tracks, and fortunately, Phoenix has been one of those tracks lately. We’re just gonna keep trying to make good runs, and then hopefully we can get another win there. Sometimes, there’s really no particular reason - things just go your way.
“It’s gonna be miserable with the heat this weekend, but NHRA moved the sessions up so that will help out a lot. With track temperatures like we’ll have this weekend, sometimes, there’s not enough prayers to be able to get down some of the racetracks at that temperature. We will try to do what we can, and we know heading into it that it’s gonna be a ‘tiptoe-down-the-track’ kind of scenario. We’ll just have to wait and see how the track looks and how it responds to the heat. The 10 a.m. runs will be our best opportunity to lay down a good run, but outside of that, it’s just a matter of what mother nature gives us.”

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

TV Schedule (All times eastern):
- Qualifying Show 1: 10 p.m.-Midnight Friday, March 20 on FS1
- Qualifying Show 2: Noon-1:30 Sunday, March 22 on FS1
- Finals: 6:30-9:30 Sunday, March 22 on FS1