The NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series rolls into Brainerd for the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals. Each of the Team Kalitta drivers are ready to kick off the final push towards NHRA’s Countdown to the Championship this weekend at Brainerd International Raceway.

Langdon Ready To Keep Points Lead At Brainerd

Shawn Langdon sits atop the Top Fuel standings and is determined to maintain his position heading into the final two events.

Langdon and his Kalitta Air 25th Anniversary team have been performing well, reaching at least the semifinals at each of the past five races. That stretch included his third victory of the season at Seattle. He holds a 48-point lead over second-place Tony Stewart, with Justin Ashley and Doug Kalitta in hot pursuit.

“It feels good to be in the points lead,” Langdon said. “That’s our goal; it’s where we wanna be, but we obviously want to keep the lead. We need to keep plugging along and hopefully hold onto it through these last two races of the regular season. It’s gonna be difficult with all the competition in Top Fuel, but our job is to keep doing what we’re doing and keep getting to final rounds. Hopefully, we can win one of those last two to secure it and give us a good start to the playoffs.”

Kalitta’s Sonoma victory marked the 99th Top Fuel win in Kalitta Motorsports’ history, setting up the possibility of a major milestone. Langdon, who earlier this season claimed the 1,000th Top Fuel win in NHRA history, has his sights on delivering win number 100 for the team.

Doug Kalitta Has A Late Season Charge On His Mind

Fresh off becoming the most successful Top Fuel driver in Sonoma Raceway history, Doug Kalitta is setting his sights on a strong finish to the regular season. Kalitta hopes to turn mid-summer momentum into a late-season surge starting at the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals.

Kalitta’s Sonoma triumph marked his first victory of 2025, his sixth at the California track, more than any other Top Fuel driver, and was the 56th of his career. Coming just a week after teammate Shawn Langdon’s Seattle win, the result completed a Team Kalitta sweep of the Top Fuel Western Swing. With only two races remaining before the Countdown to the Championship, every round win is critical in a class where the margin for error is razor-thin.

“We’re all hungry right now; it’s obviously getting to the time of the season where it’s a ‘lead, follow or get out of the way’ kind of moment, and there’s some big money up for the regular-season championship. I think we may be a little far back for that, but it’s drag racing so who knows,” Kalitta said.

Kalitta enters Brainerd 121 points behind Langdon in the standings. While the $150,000 regular-season championship bonus is still mathematically possible, especially with the U.S. Nationals offering points-and-a-half, he needs another strong result this weekend. Brainerd has been a solid venue for Kalitta, with two wins in four final-round appearances.

J.R. Todd Ready To Move Forward At Brainerd

J.R. Todd’s 2025 campaign has been marked by steady progress punctuated by occasional setbacks. The DHL GR Supra driver hopes to break this weekend at the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals at Brainerd International Raceway, where Todd aims to recapture early-season form.

Todd’s upward trajectory was confirmed with a win in New Hampshire earlier this summer, but results since then have been inconsistent, including just one semifinal appearance and a difficult western swing.

“I don’t think it’s just one thing in particular; it’s just like I’ve been saying all year,” Todd said. “It’s gonna take some time to get things dialed in, and we’re not fully there yet. Yeah, it gets frustrating. When you know you’re capable of going out there and winning races, but either the driver doesn’t leave on time, or we go out there and spin the tires – it’s just a combination of things. We gotta get it worked out, and we’ll get there, but like I keep saying, it’s gonna take some time. We’re obviously not patient people; we want it to happen right away, but it’ll come.”

Brainerd holds mixed memories for Todd and his crew. Last year, despite reaching the semifinals, the team endured two engine explosions that destroyed both primary Funny Car bodies, forcing them to compete with a borrowed body from Ron Capps. This year, Todd hopes for a smoother weekend followed by productive post-race testing.

“We get to hang out on the lake up there all week, and it’s good,” Todd said. “It’s kind of like a little mini-vacation before and during the race so it’s a nice little getaway from the racetrack. I definitely look forward to that, and I look forward to seeing the fans at the race track. I like the Brainerd fans; they’re really passionate about us coming there and it’s a way cool environment – you know they’ll be energetic.”