Thu, 17 Sep 2026, 21:37 PM Kalitta Motorsports Preview |
Courtesy of Rob Goodman, Kalitta Motorsports |
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Dodge NHRA Great Lakes Nationals Presented by Mopar
NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series Race 15 of 20
Countdown to the Championship NHRA Playoffs Race One of Six
U.S. 131 Motorsports Park, Martin, Mich.; Sept. 18-20, 2026
Partnership News: Doug Kalitta will race the Applied Innovation Top Fuel dragster in this weekend's opening round of the Countdown to the Championship NHRA Playoffs. A longtime Team Kalitta partner, Applied Innovation serves customers in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana and Florida with managed and co-managed IT and Help Desk services. Applied was founded as a printer, copier and fax company in 1987 and is now a full-fledged office technology provider.
"We're proud of our partnership with Kalitta Motorsports and especially excited to serve as Doug Kalitta's primary partner for the inaugural Great Lakes Nationals, right here in our home state of Michigan," said Casey Lowery, President of Applied Innovation. "As a family-owned Michigan business, it's particularly meaningful to partner with another family-owned Michigan company and valued Applied customer. We're also grateful to Kalitta and DHL for inviting us to join the Race to End Hunger and support Feeding America, a commitment to community that aligns closely with our own values. We wish Doug, J.R., Shawn and the entire Kalitta team the very best in Martin!"
Honoring the Kalittas: Doug Kalitta and his uncle, Team Owner Connie Kalitta, will be recognized in Martin, Mich., as part of NHRA's season-long 75th Anniversary celebration. Connie returns to the track this weekend after recovering from knee surgery. Both Kalittas will be honored on the starting line prior to the third qualifying session on Saturday and will receive their medallions signifying their recognition as two of the top-75 drivers in NHRA history.
2025 NHRA Great Lakes Nationals Recap: Inaugural event.
Doug Kalitta Career Stats: 640 events, 63 wins, 70 runners-up, 875 round wins, 70 No. 1 qualifiers.
Current Points Position: 1
Pre-Race Notes:
- Doug Kalitta enters the Dodge NHRA Great Lakes Nationals in first place in the NHRA Top Fuel
point standings, and he is the top seed entering the Countdown to the Championship NHRA Playoffs.
After the completion of the regular season, points earned through the Mission Foods Challenge were
added to the standings, and Kalitta enters the Playoffs with a 26-point lead over his teammate Shawn
Langdon.
- Kalitta has four wins and four No. 1 qualifiers this season. With Kalitta's wins and Langdon's five wins, the Team Kalitta dragsters won nine of the season's first 14 races and competed in 53 of the 55 rounds of racing.
- This weekend's race will be the first time Kalitta races at U.S. 131 Motorsports Park; he was there during test sessions when his uncle was driving, but the Michigan native never raced in Martin.
- With 63 race wins, Kalitta is third on NHRA's all-time Top Fuel wins list and trails second-place Antron Brown by two wins. He is 11th in overall Mission Foods Drag Racing Series wins and trails 10th-place Robert Hight by two wins. In addition, with his next round win, he will tie Warren Johnson for sixth place in all-time NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series 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 definitely been a battle with Shawn and me; our nice little points cushion has
gone away, unfortunately, but we're looking good. Both of our cars are in the same area of our shop
so they kind of share space, and it's a cool deal because it's kind of bragging rights with the two
teams right next to one another. We've got a great effort with what Connie and Chad (General Manager
Chad Head) put together. My crew chief, Alan Johnson, and Brian (Langdon Crew Chief Brian Husen)
worked together for so many years so it'll be an interesting stretch to see how it actually all
unfolds, and we're looking forward to it.
"As the season goes on, it always seems to come down to Pomona and a tight points battle at the end
of the season. The whole format of the Countdown brings tight battles to the teams and the fans, so
it should definitely be a fun time to see what we can do with my car and if we can go some rounds and
be there at the end for this thing.
"The Michigan race is pretty exciting, and it's been a number of years since the Detroit Dragway days
that NHRA has made it to Michigan, so it's pretty close for us. We've had a lot of excitement with
our employees and sponsors. We're looking forward to that race, and Applied Innovation, which is
headquartered over in that part of this state, is on my car this weekend so we look forward to
hosting those guys.
"We're gonna have a ton of people at our hospitality and just part of our weekend; as far as I'm
concerned, the more of the merrier, but it'll be business as usual, really. Each qualifying run's
going to be important and typically Friday's usually a good qualifying day, and then Saturdays are
typically a little warmer, but this time of year in Michigan, I'm not sure what the forecast holds,
but it'll be exciting for the fans."
Doug Kalitta, Photo Courtesy: NHRA
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For Doug Kalitta's 2026 race-by-race results, please click here.
Partnership News: Kalitta Air will host a display on the midway at U.S. 131 Motorsports Park this weekend. The display will include a Funny Car show car, a cutaway engine and various airplane parts. Kalitta Air personnel will be on site all weekend to answer questions about career opportunities or the company in general.
2025 NHRA Great Lakes Nationals Recap: Inaugural event
Shawn Langdon Career Stats: 383 events, 27 wins, 32 runners-up, 448 round wins, 28 No. 1 qualifiers.
Current Points Position: 2
Pre-Race Notes:
- Shawn Langdon enters the Dodge NHRA Great Lakes Nationals in second place in the NHRA Top
Fuel point standings; he is the No. 2 seed in the Countdown to the Championship NHRA Playoffs. After
the points reset following the regular season, points earned through the Mission Foods Challenge were
added. Entering the playoffs, Langdon trails his teammate, Doug Kalitta, by 26 points and leads
third-place Leah Pruett by 17 points.
- Langdon won the prestigious U.S. Nationals two weeks ago and now has five wins on the season including three-consecutive wins at Valdosta, Ga., Joliet, Ill., and Budds Creek, Md. With Kalitta's wins in Charlotte, Sonoma, Calif., Seattle and Brainerd, Minn., the Team Kalitta dragsters won nine of the season's 14 races and competed in 53 of the 55 rounds of racing.
- Langdon has five wins, three runners-up and two semifinal showings along with six No. 1 qualifiers this season. In the last five races, he qualified first, second, fourth, third and first.
- 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 no stranger to U.S. 131 Motorsports Park; he's competed in multiple bracket races in Martin in recent years.
- Langdon is the 2013 NHRA Top Fuel Champion and has 27 wins in his career.
Pre-Race Quotes:
"We had our sights set on the regular season championship, but if you're going to lose it, might as
well lose it to your teammate. At the end of the day, we just wanted to keep everything in house; we
wanted to keep everything for (Team Owner) Connie Kalitta for everything he's done for us and
everything he's done for the sport.
"It's been a great year, but obviously we want more. Anytime you can get multiple wins in the season
is good, especially with the competition, but we're not stopping there. Our goal is to hopefully be
there at the end for the championship. Connie gives us the opportunity of a lifetime to be able to do
stuff like that. I'm just focused on racing, I'm focused on winning, I'm focused on being the best I
can be to compete for the championship at the end of the year.
"Brian's (Crew Chief Brian Husen) work ethic has brought a whole new element to this team; he's
changed this team forever. His impact on the guys and everybody there - he's such a great leader to
the team. For Brian, the career he's had working under AJ (Doug Kalitta Crew Chief Alan Johnson) for
so many years, for him to step out in the last couple years and really make his mark within the first
couple seasons as a crew chief makes me happy that I'm his driver and that I get the opportunity to
be a small piece of his success.
"I've been there (to Martin, Mich.) the last few years for a lot of high dollar bracket racing, and
it's a great racetrack. The surface is awesome. It works really well day and night, but I've always
felt like it had national event potential, so I was really glad the opportunity came about for them;
I was all in for that. It's a great way to kick off the playoffs at a new track where nobody has any
notes, and we'll go from there.
"We've had a real good track record this year at first-time events with South Georgia and Maryland.
That's a little bit of a confidence builder, and Martin is now the home track for the whole Team
Kalitta group so it's going to be a big weekend. It's a great track; I love going there. We're
excited to keep going; we still a lot of work to do."
Shawn Langdon, Photo Courtesy: Kalitta Motorsports
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For Shawn Langdon's 2026 race-by-race results, please click here.
2025 NHRA Great Lakes Nationals Recap: Inaugural event
J.R. Todd Career Stats: 351 events, 23 wins, 28 runners-up, 385 round wins, 17 No. 1 qualifiers.
Current Points Position: 5
Pre-Race Notes:
- J.R. Todd enters the Dodge NHRA Great Lakes Nationals as the fifth seed in the Countdown to
the Championship NHRA Playoffs which begin this weekend. Todd finished the regular season in fifth
place in points, and after all points from the Mission Foods Challenge races throughout the regular
season were applied to the standings, Todd trails fourth-place Jordan Vandergriff by 14 points and
leads sixth place Austin Prock by five points with six races remaining in the season.
- Todd's driving career actually began at U.S. 131 Motorsports Park. He drove a Top Fuel car at the suburban Michigan racetrack in IHRA competition for the entire 2000 season and then two additional races in 2006; he raced in Martin twice.
- Todd advanced to at least the semifinals eight times this season. He has one win, one runner-up finish and six semifinal showings in addition to three No. 1 qualifiers this season.
- Todd is the 2018 NHRA Funny Car Champion and has 23 race wins in his career.
Pre-Race Quotes:
"I always say we want to start the Countdown in the top five in points; now, we have to
execute. We definitely stumbled in Indianapolis, and that cost us some positions in the in the
Countdown. We need to qualify well every race and go to the later rounds.
"We have to qualify better than we did in Indy, and we've already made those changes. We
put different parts and pieces on the car between qualifying and the first round in Indy. Then, we
tested some things on Tuesday after Indy so we know the car is capable of running really well with
the parts that we've added into the combination. Now, it's just a matter of running hard, pretty much
running as hard as we can, for the last six races.
"The Countdown is different because pretty much every run matters. You just can't afford any mistakes
like you could earlier in the year; those mistakes will bite you during the Countdown. Other than
that, outside the car, you'd like to not have as many outside distractions for those last six races
so you can just focus on doing the best you can inside the car.
"I haven't been to Martin in maybe 10 or 15 years so it's been a while, but I remember it was a
really nice facility. Anytime we go to a new track, that's a new fan base we can touch so that's
always good, and it's another home race for the Kalitta gang since it's the only race in Michigan."
J.R. Todd Photo Courtesy: Kalitta Motorsports
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For J.R. Todd's 2026 race-by-race results, please click here.
TV Schedule (All times eastern):
- Qualifying Show 1: Noon-2 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 20 on FS1
- Finals No. 1: 2-5 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 20 on FS1
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