Team Kalitta Looks To Keep Championship Momentum Rolling At NHRA Northwest Nationals

The battle for the 2026 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series championship shifts north this weekend as the Muckleshoot Casino Resort NHRA Northwest Nationals heads to Pacific Raceways. Once again, Team Kalitta arrives with a commanding presence, leading the Top Fuel standings while remaining a serious contender in Funny Car.

Shawn Langdon and Doug Kalitta continue to control the Top Fuel championship race, holding the top two positions in the standings since the second event of the season. Meanwhile, J.R. Todd is looking to regain momentum in Funny Car as the Countdown to the Championship rapidly approaches.

With only three races remaining before the regular season concludes, every qualifying point, Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty Challenge point, and round win will play a critical role in determining playoff positioning.

Shawn Langdon Defending Seattle Victory While Leading The Points

Shawn Langdon enters Seattle as both the defending event winner and the NHRA Top Fuel points leader.

After earning his first Pacific Raceways victory last season, Langdon returns holding an 85-point advantage over teammate Doug Kalitta. The Kalitta Air Careers dragster has been one of the sport’s most consistent performers throughout 2026, collecting four victories, three runner-up finishes, two semifinal appearances and five No. 1 qualifying efforts.

Team Kalitta’s Top Fuel operation has also been remarkably dominant. Combined, Langdon and Kalitta have won six of the season’s first 11 races while advancing through 41 of 43 elimination rounds.

Langdon also continues to own the two fastest runs in NHRA history after recording 345.00 mph and 344.91 mph earlier this season at the Southern Nationals.

In Sonoma, Langdon added another Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty Challenge victory, giving him four Saturday wins this season and keeping him within a single point of Kalitta in the specialty championship battle.

Despite leading the standings, Langdon knows consistency, not comfort, is the key to winning another championship.

“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.”

The smallest details have become a bigger focus for Langdon’s team this season.

“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.”

Momentum has fueled Team Kalitta’s success all 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.”

Even with last year’s victory, Langdon isn’t changing his approach.

“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.”

Doug Kalitta Looking To Close The Gap

Doug Kalitta enters Seattle fresh off his second victory of the season after another dominant performance at Sonoma Raceway.

The defending Top Fuel world champion now owns 61 career victories and sits just one win away from tying Larry Dixon for third on NHRA’s all-time Top Fuel wins list.

While Langdon currently leads the standings, Kalitta believes there’s still plenty of racing left before the Countdown begins.

“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 a ways 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.”

The veteran credits the healthy competition between the two Team Kalitta dragsters for making both programs stronger.

“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.”

Kalitta says the atmosphere inside Team Kalitta has never been stronger.

“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.”

Pacific Raceways has undergone major improvements over the years, something Kalitta believes has transformed the event.

“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 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.”

J.R. Todd Searching For Late-Season Momentum

While the Top Fuel teams continue to dominate, J.R. Todd knows his DHL Toyota GR Supra Funny Car team needs to find another gear before the Countdown begins.

Todd sits fifth in the Funny Car standings, just 23 points behind Matt Hagan and comfortably ahead of Chad Green. Although he has reached at least the semifinals five times this season, the former world champion says recent clutch and bellhousing issues have slowed the team’s progress.

“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.”

Todd hopes Seattle becomes the turning point for his season, much like 2018 when he began the run that ultimately produced a Funny Car championship.

“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.”

Todd believes qualifying has become more important than ever in today’s Funny Car field.

“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 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.”

With only Seattle, Brainerd, and Indianapolis remaining before the Countdown to the Championship begins, Team Kalitta finds itself in an enviable position.

Langdon leads the Top Fuel standings, Kalitta is charging after another championship with momentum from his Sonoma victory, and Todd remains firmly in the Funny Car title hunt despite recent challenges.