Wed, 22 Jul 2026, 18:26 PM Kalitta Motorsports Preview

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

Kalitta Motorsports Pre-Race Notes & Quotes
Muckleshoot Casino Resort NHRA Northwest Nationals
NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series Race 12 of 20
Pacific Raceways; Kent, Wash.; July 24-26, 2026

Shawn Langdon, Kalitta Air Careers Top Fuel Dragster

2025 NHRA Northwest Nationals Recap: Qualified No. 2; defeated Cameron Feree, Tony Stewart, Bye and Brittany Force.

Shawn Langdon Career Stats: 380 events, 26 wins, 32 runners-up, 443 round wins, 27 No. 1 qualifiers.

Current Points Position: 1

Pre-Race Notes:
- Shawn Langdon enters the Muckleshoot Casino Resort NHRA Northwest Nationals in first place in the NHRA Top Fuel point standings; he leads his teammate, Doug Kalitta, by 85 points with three races remaining in the regular season. Team Kalitta has been one-two in points since the second race of the season.

- Langdon is the NHRA Northwest Nationals defending champion; he captured his first Seattle win last year after recording his third runner-up finish in 2024. He has one win, three runners up and one No.1 qualifier at this event.

- Langdon has four wins on the season including three-consecutive wins at Valdosta, Ga., Joliet, Ill., and Budds Creek, Md. With Kalitta's wins in Charlotte and Sonoma, Calif., the Team Kalitta dragsters won six of the season's 11 races and competed in 41 of the 43 rounds of racing. Langdon has four wins, three runners-up and two semifinal showings along with five No. 1 qualifiers this season.

- Langdon won his fourth Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge of the season last weekend in Sonoma, Calif. He and Kalitta both have four wins in the Saturday event. The Mission Foods Challenge will be contested only three more times this season, and Langdon trails Kalitta by one point in the battle for the Mission Foods Challenge season championship.

- Langdon owns the two fastest runs in NHRA history. At the Southern Nationals in Georgia in May, he recorded speeds of 345.00 mph and 344.91 mph.

- Langdon is the 2013 NHRA Top Fuel Champion and has 26 wins in his career.

Pre-Race Quotes:
"We felt like we had a good handle on the Kalitta Air Careers car at the end of last season, and we were able to start this season in good form ready to contend. We tried to get the ball rolling from the first race and then keep the momentum going. The goal, at the end of the day, is to have the Kalitta cars one-two in points when the regular season ends so hopefully, we can keep that going.

"At the end of the day, everything counts, and everything matters. Last year, we had a really good car and a great shot at the championship, but what separated our car from Doug's car was that they capitalized a lot on the little points from qualifying sessions and the Mission Foods Challenge. Capitalizing on those little points was a big thing for Brian (Crew Chief Brian Husen) in the off season.

"This sport is so much momentum based. When things are good, you stay focused, keep your head down, work hard and ride the wave. We're on a pretty good run, and the car's been good. The good thing about Team Kalitta is they're never content. They always push to make the cars even better; that's the focus right now because we all know, one day you're on top, but the next day you can be on the bottom. We're just trying to ride the wave, enjoy it and keep trying to progress.

"It would be nice to get to Seattle and get another win. We're just looking forward to the last few races before the countdown starts. You really just show up and do the same things we do each race because the mindset doesn't change because of last year's results. You have the same mindset as always - do everything you can to try to win the race."

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

Doug Kalitta, Mac Tools Top Fuel Dragster

2025 NHRA Northwest Nationals Recap: Qualified No. 1; defeated Bye and Justin Ashley, lost to Brittany Force.

Doug Kalitta Career Stats: 637 events, 61 wins, 70 runners-up, 865 round wins, 69 No. 1 qualifiers.

Current Points Position: 2

Pre-Race Notes:
- Doug Kalitta enters the Muckleshoot Casino Resort NHRA Northwest Nationals in second place in the NHRA Top Fuel point standings; he trails his teammate, Shawn Langdon, by 85 points and leads third-place Leah Pruett by 181 points with three races remaining in the regular season. Team Kalitta has been one-two in points since the second race of the season.

- Kalitta captured his second win of the season in front of sellout crowds last weekend in Sonoma, Calif.; he now has seven wins at Sonoma Raceway - more than any other Top Fuel driver. Only John Force, who won eight Funny Car races there, has more Sonoma wins.

- Kalitta's Sonoma win was the 61st of his career, and with his next victory, he will tie Larry Dixon for third place on NHRA's all-time Top Fuel wins list and 11th place in all categories.

- The two-time and defending NHRA Top Fuel champion has two wins (Charlotte, Sonoma), four runners-up, three semifinals and three No. 1 qualifiers this season. With Kalitta's wins and Langdon's four wins, the Team Kalitta dragsters won six of the season's first 11 races and competed in 41 of the 43 rounds of racing.

- Kalitta has one win in five-career final rounds at Pacific Raceways. He has two No. 1 qualifiers including at last year's race

- Kalitta's 61 race wins place him fourth all-time in Top Fuel wins and 12th overall. His 69 career No. 1 qualifiers 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:
"This time of the year is really fun because we're all battling for points here at the end of the regular season before we get to figure out the Mission Foods Challenge points we earned in the Saturday races and get the points reset for the playoffs. We're still quite aways behind Shawn and the Kalitta Air Careers car. We'd love to catch them, and we still have enough time certainly to do it; we just have to stay ahead of them somehow in these next three races. Anytime you can get to the final or win these things, it definitely builds confidence for all my guys and me. That's probably the biggest thing. We'll just keep the momentum going and just hope that we can keep qualifying first, going rounds and having a shot to win more of these things.

"Alan (Crew Chief Alan Johnson) certainly has his trained assassin over there with Brian (Langdon Crew Chief Brian Husen). Alan and Brian were together for a number of years; they won a lot of championships and a lot of races. It's a hell of an opportunity for our whole team. Alan's super proud of what Brian's got going on over there; he's doing such a good job so it's going to be fun here for the rest of the season. It's an opportunity for me and all my guys to see if we can get another championship this year.

"It's really a dream come true for to be part of the effort we have going on with our two dragsters. We're both trying to go rounds to beat these other guys. It's a fun time for us right now for sure. We don't usually make big changes at the end of a season; it's just kind of a process. Alan builds a lot of the parts with his business, it's nothing different from what everybody else out here runs, but we're real fortunate to have him on our team for sure.

"We had some great runs in some great conditions in Seattle last year; it's a cool place. They've done a lot with that track. It used to be one of those tracks where you weren't sure what you were going to get when you got there, but now the track is good. We ran a 3.62 (3.62-second run) there last year, so it had plenty of grip, and their fans come out. As he continues to improve on that facility, he'll be getting more and more fans. We're looking forward to the weekend."

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

J.R. Todd, DHL GR Supra Funny Car

2025 NHRA Northwest Nationals Recap: Qualified No. 3; defeated Cruz Pedregon, lost to Alexis DeJoria.

J.R. Todd Career Stats: 348 events, 22 wins, 28 runners-up, 379 round wins, 16 No. 1 qualifiers.

Current Points Position: 5

Pre-Race Notes:
- J.R. Todd enters the Muckleshoot Casino Resort NHRA Northwest Nationals in fifth place in the NHRA Funny Car point standings. He trails fourth place Matt Hagan by 23 points and leads sixth-place Chad Green by 54 points with three races remaining in the regular season.

- Todd has one win in four final round appearances along with one No. 1 qualifier at Pacific Raceways.

- Todd advanced to at least the semifinals five times this season. He has one runner-up finish and four semifinal showings in addition to two No. 1 qualifiers this season.

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

Pre-Race Quotes:
"The competition in the Funny Car class is intense. When you have a difficult matchup in the first round, if you can get by that, you have another hard draw the next round. Either way, if you can get some of the points leaders out early, that's the best way to make up some ground on them. We've been a little behind the last few races; we're having the same issues as a lot of teams out here have. It's the bell housing, and we're trying to sort it out before the playoffs start. We're making good runs down the track, but we're a tick behind the front runners.

"This weekend would be a great time to get the ball rolling again; in 2018 when we went onto win the championship, it got rolling about now, and we went on to win Indy. Now's the time - when you get to the halfway point of the season, you need to get your ducks in a row, put your best foot forward and start going to those later rounds and racking up points. With the regular season championship decided at Indy, we need to get back to doing that. Big picture, we want to stay in the top 5 going into the Countdown to the Championship. The goal is to get the ball rolling this weekend and get back to reaching the later rounds and not shoot ourselves in the foot.

"We've been battling some clutch disc issues the last few races so we've kind of stumbled from the beginning of the year when we were really consistent going to the later rounds and led the points for a while. Guys are good on the starting line, and guys are throwing down every time they hit the track starting with Q1 (the first qualifying session) on Friday. It's a crucial run to set you up for the (Friday) night run. If you don't get down the track Q1, you put yourself into conservative mode for Q2. I say it every year - Funny Car gets more and more competitive; there are at least 10 or 12 guys that could win every race we show up to so it's not getting any easier by any means."

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

TV Schedule (All times eastern):
- Qualifying Show 1: 10-11:30 Friday, July 24 on FS1
- Qualifying Show 2: 2:30-4 p.m. Sunday, July 26 on FS1
- Finals: 4-7 p.m. Sunday, July 26 on FOX