In-N-Out Burger NHRA Finals Preview: Kalitta Motorsports Chases Top Fuel and Funny Car Titles

It all comes down to Pomona. Shawn Langdon arrives at the In-N-Out Burger NHRA Finals leading the NHRA Top Fuel standings by 107 points over Kalitta Motorsports teammate and reigning champion Doug Kalitta. With points-and-a-half on the table at the season finale, the championship will be decided between two cars that share the same shop.

Over in Funny Car, J.R. Todd is still mathematically alive, needing a near-perfect weekend and some help to steal the title from Matt Hagan.

Langdon’s path to his second career Top Fuel championship is clear-cut:

• 121+ point lead after qualifying: Langdon clinches the championship.
• 91–120 point lead after qualifying: Langdon is champion if he wins his first round of eliminations.
• Kalitta within 89 points after qualifying: Kalitta stays alive, but no matter what he does, Langdon clinches by reaching the semifinals.

Langdon’s 2026 season has been nothing short of spectacular: eight wins, three runner-ups, four semifinal appearances, and nine No. 1 qualifiers. Heading into the finale, his focus hasn’t changed.

“For this weekend in Pomona, we just have to get the job done. Whatever that is, whatever the scenario, we’re prepared for it. I just want to keep the same mindset, keep the same mentality, keep the same focus and the same energy that we have all season.

“This season definitely exceeded the goals I had in mind for our team this year. We’ve done a really good job; what we’ve accomplished means a lot, but at the end of the day, you have to win the championship. We have to do that – that’s our goal so that’s our focus, and that’s where our heads are.

Langdon’s rise to the top of the standings traces back to a decision by team owner Connie Kalitta and general manager Chad Head to bring crew chief Brian Husen into the fold. This is the third season of that pairing, and it’s been the best yet.

“When Connie (Team Owner Connie Kalitta) and Chad (General Manager Chad Head) had a game plan to change some things around with the team with the opportunity of Brian (Crew Chief Brian Husen) coming over, we knew the possibilities. We knew what our goals were as a team: to try to get this car to compete. This year is the third with Brian as crew chief, and each year, he’s gotten a little bit better. The last couple of years were good, but this one has been really good. We have to get the end goal – that’s the big one.

Langdon and Husen have been here before. Both were part of the Alan Johnson Racing team that won the 2013 Top Fuel championship, and Langdon sees familiar traits in this year’s effort.

“I do feel some similarity between what this team is doing and what our (Alan Johnson Racing) team did in 2013. We had a really good car in 2013, but this one’s pretty good, too. We were able to win the championship with that car. Brian and I were both on that team so it’s definitely about the vibe – we have a great group of guys putting the car together. Hopefully, if things go right this weekend, we’ll have an opportunity to do that again.

“The really neat thing about Brian is we start preparing for the countdown last November. He doesn’t layup, he utilizes his runs for every piece of information, and to him, every run counts. Really for our team, it’s an all-year thing.

For Langdon, a second title would carry meaning well beyond his own résumé.

“It (a second championship) would mean a lot for a lot of different reasons. Brian getting the opportunity to be a championship crew chief is at the top of the list, but the Kalitta Air Careers guys have just done such a great job giving me a good race car every week – if we can close the deal this weekend, they’ve earned it – they deserve it. My mindset is still just don’t mess it up; don’t make mistakes, let the guys do their work – they’re the ones that make the magic.”

Kalitta trimmed Langdon’s lead from 139 points entering Las Vegas to 107 heading into Pomona, and he remains in mathematical contention for his second-straight NHRA Top Fuel title and third overall. He also holds a 129-point cushion over third-place Antron Brown.

His path is narrow. Kalitta must cut Langdon’s lead to less than 90 points before eliminations begin, then advance three rounds further than his teammate. If Langdon reaches the semifinals, Kalitta is eliminated from contention.

Kalitta knows the odds, but he also knows what points-and-a-half can do, and Pomona is one of his favorite stops.

“Alan Johnson (Crew Chief) is the creator of all this stuff, and even having him on my team, I have to admit, it (the championship) feels like a long shot for us; it’s hard, but anything can happen with points and a half at Pomona. That’s really one of my favorite places to race so we’ll be definitely up on a wheel and hoping that it doesn’t rain like it did last year – that would be bad for sure. Rain or no rain, having this opportunity is all you can hope for.

The in-house rivalry between the Mac Tools and Kalitta Air Careers crews adds another layer to the showdown.

“We all work together (at Kalitta Motorsports) to chip in on whatever needs to happen to try to make it happen as a team. It would be one hell of an opportunity; it’s between those two teams (the Mac Tools and Kalitta Air Careers teams), and the guys have a rivalry for sure. They share the same shop, so it’s bragging rights. To me, having a chance (at another championship) is just an incredible opportunity to even be able to have this conversation. We’ll just have to let it play out and see what happens.

“Alan Johnson and Mac Savage (Crew Chiefs) and all my guys are doing an incredible job keeping the consistency of putting the car together so Alan and Mac can do their magic tuning this thing. Alan has been out here for years, and Mac was on my team when I first started so these guys have a ton of experience in these situations. Shawn’s car has been incredible all season, so we know we have a lot of work to do at Pomona, but my guys are hungry. We’ve been here before.”

Regardless of how the title shakes out, Kalitta will lock in his 29th-consecutive top-10 finish in the final Top Fuel standings when the 2026 season concludes. Antron Brown will also post his 29th-straight top-10 finish, split between Top Fuel (18) and Pro Stock Motorcycle (11).

J.R. Todd enters Pomona third in the Funny Car standings, 104 points behind leader Matt Hagan, 65 behind second-place Jordan Vandergriff, and 37 ahead of fourth-place Austin Prock. To stay alive, Todd must trim Hagan’s lead to fewer than 90 points before Sunday’s eliminations. If Hagan leads by more than 90 after qualifying, Todd’s title hopes end.

Todd took down Hagan in the second round in Las Vegas, but couldn’t turn that into the win he needed.

“I said before Vegas that we were still in the conversation and that we won’t quit fighting until somebody tells us we’re done, and that’s still what we’re thinking. We knocked off the points leader in the second round there in Vegas, but we needed to go on and win the race to close the gap more. We took a step – it just wasn’t as big as we hoped.

Todd credits crew chiefs Dickie Venables and Todd Smith for putting the DHL team back into title contention for the first time since his 2018 championship.

“Dickie and Todd (Crew Chiefs Dickie Venables and Todd Smith) have this team back in the championship hunt for the first time since we won it in 2018. They’re two aggressive-minded guys bouncing ideas off each other, and they have us at the last race of the year with a shot at a championship – that’s all anyone can ask. No matter how this thing plays out, this DHL team made a move this season. I think the combination of Dickie and Todd is where the performance of our car has come around this year.”

“Going into Pomona, we need a perfect weekend, and we need some help from the guys in front of us. With points and a half, almost anything is possible. If we can cut into that lead and go into eliminations trailing (Matt) Hagan by less than 90 points, we’ll be in position to make a run at it.”

The 2026 campaign has already rewritten the Kalitta Motorsports record book. The team has 15 wins this season (Langdon 8, Kalitta 5, Todd 2), the most in team history. Langdon and Kalitta have combined to win 13 of 19 Top Fuel races and competed in 71 of 74 rounds. Neither driver reached the final round at Pomona, Calif., Norwalk, Ohio, or Ennis, Texas.

The team also enters the finale having won either the Top Fuel or Funny Car title at each of the last nine races. The last time a Team Kalitta car failed to win in one of those classes was in Norwalk, Ohio, on June 28.