The Kalitta Motorsports teams are ready for the U.S. Nationals. Drivers Shawn Langdon, Doug Kalitta, and J.R. Todd each have the chance to set up a title run during the Countdown to the Championship with a successful weekend at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park.

Each of the Kalitta Motorsports teams will also be racing for something bigger this weekend, the ability to fight food insecurity as it partners with the Race to End Hunger campaign that benefits Feeding America. Every race-day win light a Team Kalitta turns on during the Countdown, will generate 40,000 meals that are used to fight food insecurity. This is thanks to the Kalitta Motorsports partners.

Langdon Eyes U.S. Nationals Victory and Regular Season Crown

As the 2025 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series approaches its regular season finale, Top Fuel points leader Shawn Langdon and the Applied Innovation / Kalitta Air Careers team have a singular focus heading into the sport’s most prestigious event: win the U.S. Nationals, and let everything else take care of itself.

The Cornwell Quality Tools NHRA U.S. Nationals marks the end of the regular season and the beginning of the Countdown to the Championship. With “points and a half” on the line, meaning each round win is worth 30 points instead of the usual 20,  the championship picture is far from settled.

Langdon enters the weekend with a 45-point lead over Tony Stewart and a 51-point lead over teammate Doug Kalitta, who has won the last two events. With the enhanced points structure, both Stewart and Kalitta are mathematically within striking distance; two rounds could separate first from third when racing begins in Indy.

“The goal is to be first in points so we were just trying to hopefully have a good weekend,” Langdon said. “The car’s been good all season. It’s been running well these last few races, so hopefully, we can maintain our lead; that’s the plan. I try to treat every race the same and have the same mentality, but everyone’s a little bit different.”

The U.S. Nationals, often referred to as “The Big Go”, is regarded as the most prestigious race in drag racing. Along with the chance to lock down the regular-season championship, a win on Monday would net Langdon a $100,000 event payout and solidify his third U.S. Nationals victory.

“If we win the race, it doesn’t matter what anybody else does. When we were testing in Brainerd, and it rained all day, Brian (Crew Chief Brian Husen) and I had a conversation. We looked at everything and came to the same conclusion: if we win the race; it doesn’t matter. If we win the race, that gets us the $100,000, and that gets us the $150,000 for the regular season championship. Rather than sit there and worry about where this guy qualifies or how many points for this or that, it’s points and a half, who had oil downs, and who did what, we just go win the race, and the rest takes care of itself.”

Doug Kalitta Rides Momentum into U.S. Nationals with Eyes on Championship Chase

Doug Kalitta and his Mac Tools team are hitting their stride at just the right time. As the 2025 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series heads into its regular-season finale, the former Top Fuel champion is coming off back-to-back wins and surging into championship form.

Kalitta enters Indy ranked third in the standings, just six points behind second-place Tony Stewart and 51 points back from his teammate and current points leader Shawn Langdon. With the U.S. Nationals paying “points and a half,” the margin leaves all three contenders within striking distance of the sport’s first $150,000 regular-season championship.

“It’s exciting to have a shot at the regular season championship,” Kalitta said. “We just have to keep our heads down and keep digging. With points and a half, we’re within two rounds of Shawn and Tony. I’m just glad we’re making a hard charge at this point in the season. Our goal is obviously to get the prize at the end of the season, but the regular-season prize would be a really cool accomplishment for sure. These last couple of races have been fun; the car’s been going down the track and running well so we’re totally geeked about going to Indy and seeing what we have for sure.”

Kalitta’s consistency this season has kept him in the hunt. He has qualified number one seven times and started from the top four positions in 10 of 13 races. Kalitta also carries personal motivation into the “Big Go.” The U.S. Nationals hold deep family ties, with years of history chasing victories at Indy. He already owns one U.S. Nationals win and hopes to add another as momentum builds for the Countdown.

“Getting hot late in the season is definitely the name of the game, and we’re getting close to the Countdown, so we’ve definitely got a great shot at it,” Kalitta added. “I need to get a little bit better on the tree- whatever it takes to be more consistent. I’ll continue to work on that because the guys have my car really running well so we’re pretty fortunate. Our Mac Tools car has been a pleasure to drive. (Crew Chief) Alan Johnson, (Assistant Crew Chief) Mac Savage) and all my guys really have that thing dialed in, but it’s a matter of putting it together exactly the same every time. We’ve gone through that with our crew guys, so everybody’s gelling right now, which is really good.”

J.R. Todd and DHL GR Supra Team Building Momentum Ahead of U.S. Nationals

In a season defined by rebuilding and regrouping, J.R. Todd and his DHL Toyota GR Supra team appear to have found their stride just in time for the NHRA’s biggest race of the year. The 2025 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series will close its regular season at the Cornwell Quality Tools NHRA U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis, and Todd enters the event on an upswing.

At the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals in Brainerd, Minnesota, two weeks ago, Todd reached his second final round of the season, ultimately finishing runner-up. The performance marked the team’s most consistent showing of 2025, highlighted by Todd’s strong qualifying runs, including a stint as the provisional number one qualifier on Friday.

“It’s definitely the best our DHL car has performed all year,” Todd said. “That gives you confidence going into the biggest race of the year and the most important time of the year.  It would have been nice to leave Brainerd with a trophy, but we definitely know we have a car that’s capable of competing with the front runners out there now, so that’s encouraging. That’s been the goal all year – to get to where they are. I’m not saying we’re fully there, but we made changes going into the Brainerd race to try and ‘wake up’ the car. It seems to have worked, but until we can keep repeating it, we’re not there yet.”

Todd enters Indianapolis sixth in the Funny Car standings, just 47 points behind fifth-place Paul Lee. With “points and a half” available at the U.S. Nationals, Todd has an opportunity to climb higher in the standings. A victory at Indy, which would mark his third at the historic event, could push him as high as third depending on how other contenders fare.

“People don’t ask who won in Topeka, Kan.; they want to know who’s won Indy,” Todd said. “It’s the biggest race of the year, it pays more; there’s just a lot, a lot going on there, especially with the Funny Car Callout. All the legends of the sport did well at Indy, and to be able to put your name up there with those means a lot. It’s pretty cool to be part of a list of those who won a championship, won Indy, or both. I’ve always gotten that feeling in my stomach when I pull in the gate there since I was a kid. You definitely get a different feeling pulling into that race than any other race on the tour. That’s our Daytona 500 or Indy 500.”