The Kalitta Motorsports teams had a strong showing at the Northwest Nationals, but they’re hungry for more. There’s still a lot of racing left before the Countdown begins, and plenty of points for the regular season championship are on the table. Shawn Langdon, Doug Kalitta, and J.R. Todd each want to secure a win at DENSO NHRA Sonoma Nationals.

Langdon Wants To Stay Focused At Sonoma

Shawn Langdon enters the DENSO NHRA Sonoma Nationals as the Top Fuel points leader and he isn’t ready to give that lead up. Following a dominant win at the NHRA Northwest Nationals in Seattle, Langdon and his team aim to maintain momentum as the regular season nears its end.

Langdon’s Seattle performance underscored his team’s precision and consistency. After qualifying second behind teammate Doug Kalitta, Langdon delivered four stellar passes on race day with 3.700, 3.685, 3.651, and 3.662 second-runs. The victory marked his third win of the season and propelled him back to the top of the standings.

“Our mentality is ‘put our heads down and work our butts off,’” Langdon said. “If we give it 100 percent, the results will be there, and we’ll have nothing to hang our heads about later. If we can get a couple of wins along the way, that’s icing on the cake. We may have a little target on our backs now, but we embrace that. Our motto is perfection until the end of the year, and these guys were first in Seattle, so it’s a good start.”

With three events remaining before the Countdown to the Championship, Langdon wants to stay perfect and leave no opportunity for the competition. The regular-season champion will receive a $150,000 bonus, adding even more incentive to his pursuit of excellence.

“Keep doing the same thing – that’s what it boils down to,” Langdon said. “Keep making great runs; there’s a lot of good competition, so it won’t be easy, but we have to be perfect and make great runs. Right now, everybody’s focused on doing their jobs and doing their jobs perfectly. We just have a one-track mind: that’s to go win every race for the rest of the year and leave no doubts and leave no questions.”

Kalitta Eyes Redemption and Points Surge at NHRA Sonoma Nationals

Doug Kalitta came up short at last weekend’s NHRA Northwest Nationals, but his performance left no doubt that he’s capable of winning—and winning big.

Kalitta’s performance in Seattle was among the strongest of the weekend. After securing his sixth number one qualifier of the season, the veteran driver opened eliminations with a blistering 3.628-second pass at 341.34 mph—his quickest and fastest run ever, the second-quickest run in NHRA Top Fuel history, and, at the time, the third-fastest speed ever recorded. He followed that with a 3.676-second second-round run before falling short in the semifinals against Brittany Force when engine issues struck mid-run.

“Sunday was another opportunity, and we were hoping to get to the final and have a shot at it,” Kalitta said. “It’s been a while since we went to a final, so we were hoping to get it done. I felt really good about the weekend. The car was really good, and we definitely had a good opportunity. You have to take advantage of those opportunities when you have them; we’re hoping to have another opportunity this weekend in Sonoma and give it another shot. With the team I have behind me, I know it’s just a matter of time before we get it done.”

Kalitta, who is chasing his first win of the season, knows time is running short. With only three regular-season races remaining, the Michigan native is looking to make up ground on teammate and current points leader Shawn Langdon in the race for the $150,000 regular-season championship bonus.

“This is definitely the time to start picking up the pace and get all those gremlins out of the way so hopefully we can accomplish that and see what happens,” Kalitta said. “We have Sonoma this weekend; then it’s Brainerd, and Indy will be here before you know it; it’s amazing how quickly this year’s gone so the momentum with everybody doing what they’re doing is really important, We have a heck of an effort with all the Mac Tools, Toyota, Revchem and SealMaster folks – we have a lot of support from all the Mac Tools franchisees and the fans so we’re looking forward to Sonoma and enjoying the rest of our West coast stretch.”

J.R. Todd Building Momentum For Sonoma Nationals Push

As the 2025 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series moves into its second half, J.R. Todd and his team are beginning to show the kind of consistency needed to make a serious run in the standings. Todd and his team are focused on turning strong qualifying and performance gains into late-round finishes—starting at Sonoma.

At last weekend’s NHRA Northwest Nationals near Seattle, Todd impressed early by taking the provisional number one qualifying spot during Friday night’s session. Despite excellent track conditions carrying over into Saturday afternoon, only two drivers in the final qualifying pair managed to surpass Todd’s effort, placing his team third overall heading into eliminations.

Race day brought further progress. Todd opened eliminations with a season-best 3.888-second run, showcasing the team’s potential to go rounds. Although a competitive second-round pass wasn’t enough to advance, Todd’s team delivered six consistent runs over the weekend—an encouraging sign as they seek to peak at the right time.

It’s all about consistency,” Crew Chief Dickie Venables said. “That’s what it takes to win. We don’t have that yet. Our goal for Seattle was trying to go A to B on all the runs, and we were able to do that. We’re still working on it and making headway. We’re not quite there yet, but we’re pleased with the progress. J.R. does a great job behind the wheel. There’s nothing there that I even think about. He’s smooth, he drives the car well, he does everything the same, and he’s a champ for a reason. It’s a pleasure to work with him.”

Todd is optimistic about carrying that momentum into Sonoma, a track where he’s enjoyed past success, including a win two years ago.

“This is the time of the year to start making moves,” Todd said. “I’ve talked a lot about going to the later rounds and getting points, gaining on these guys in front of us and hoping they go out early so we can make up some ground going into the countdown. This is the time of the year to make that happen. I have a handful of wins at Sonoma, and we’ve just run well there in the past. With the momentum we have coming out of Seattle, we need to keep it going, hopefully get to the final, and finish the deal. Funny Car is so tough; you can’t take things for granted – you just have to keep digging.”

With the playoff field tightening and valuable points on the line, every round matters. For Kalitta Motorsports teams, Sonoma offers both an opportunity and a proving ground to show they’re ready to contend when it matters most.