Kalitta Motorsports: Road to the Championship Begins

The NHRA regular season is over, the points have been reset, and Team Kalitta could not ask for a much better starting position.

Doug Kalitta and Shawn Langdon will enter the Dodge NHRA Great Lakes Nationals at U.S. 131 Motorsports Park first and second in the Top Fuel standings, while J.R. Todd begins the six-race Countdown to the Championship fifth in Funny Car.

Kalitta holds a 26-point lead over Langdon after the regular-season points reset and the addition of Mission Foods Challenge bonus points. The two Team Kalitta dragsters have combined to win nine of the first 14 races of the season and have raced in 53 of 55 possible rounds, making them the clear center of attention as the playoffs begin.

Kalitta enters the Great Lakes Nationals as the No. 1 seed in Top Fuel and the driver everyone else is trying to catch. The two-time NHRA Top Fuel world champion has four victories and four No. 1 qualifying positions this season. Combined with Langdon’s five wins, Team Kalitta has taken nine of the first 14 Top Fuel trophies.

Kalitta admits the cushion he once had over Langdon is gone, but the fact that the two cars are battling each other for the championship is a pretty good problem to have.

“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.”

Despite being a Michigan native, Kalitta has never raced at U.S. 131 Motorsports Park.

He has been to the facility before during test sessions when his uncle was driving, but the Great Lakes Nationals will be his first time making competitive runs in Martin. That makes the Countdown opener feel even more significant.

“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 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.”

Kalitta enters the weekend with 63 career victories, third on the all-time Top Fuel list and only two behind Antron Brown. His next round win will also tie Warren Johnson for sixth on the all-time NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series round-win list.

Langdon enters the Countdown in exactly the position he wants: close enough to attack immediately. The 2013 Top Fuel world champion trails Kalitta by 26 points and leads third-place Leah Pruett by 17.

Langdon is coming off a huge U.S. Nationals victory at Indy, giving him five wins this season. His year also includes three consecutive victories at Valdosta, Joliet, and Budds Creek, plus six No. 1 qualifying positions.

“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.”

Langdon also made it clear how much crew chief Brian Husen has meant to his team.

“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 of 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.”

That dynamic adds another layer to the Kalitta-Langdon championship fight. Johnson and Husen worked together for years, and now their two teams are separated by barely more than one round entering the playoffs.

Unlike Kalitta, Langdon is very familiar with Martin.

He has competed in multiple high-dollar bracket races at U.S. 131 Motorsports Park in recent years and believes the track has always been capable of hosting a national event.

“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 have a lot of work to do.”

While Kalitta and Langdon battle at the top of Top Fuel, J.R. Todd begins the Funny Car Countdown from fifth.

Todd trails fourth-place Jordan Vandergriff by 14 points and leads sixth-place Austin Prock by five. The 2018 Funny Car world champion has one victory, one runner-up finish, six semifinal appearances, and three No. 1 qualifying positions this season.

He admits the U.S. Nationals wasn’t the weekend his team wanted.

“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 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 points reset changes the feel of the season immediately.

“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.”

Todd’s connection to U.S. 131 also runs much deeper than most. His driving career began there in 2000 when he competed in Top Fuel during the IHRA season. He later returned for two more races in 2006.

“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.”

The Kalitta Top Fuel cars have won nine of the first 14 races and appeared in 53 of 55 possible rounds. Langdon arrives fresh off an Indy victory. Kalitta is already a two-time champion and has been one of the hottest drivers in the category. Todd has shown he can consistently reach the late rounds in Funny Car. This team is in prime position to win both Top Fuel and Funny Car titles, and it all starts at U.S. 131 Motorsports Park.