By Mike Haag, Raceday San Antonio
ENNIS, Texas — Doug Kalitta’s pursuit for another NHRA Top Fuel championship is heating up at just the right time.
The 2023 NHRA Top Fuel world champion rolls into the Texas NHRA Fall Nationals at the Texas Motorplex this week with momentum and the points lead after a commanding performance in St. Louis last Sunday that earned him his third victory of the season.
Kalitta powered his Mac Tools Toyota Top Fuel dragster to victory at World Wide Technology Raceway, running 3.796 seconds at 327.98 mph to defeat first-time finalist Ida Zetterström in the final round. It was his 58th career win and fifth victory at the St. Louis track.
“Each of the rounds today, my car was just on a rail,” Kalitta said after the win. “That’s really what it took. Conditions were pretty slick out there, just going A to B, and this whole Mac Tools group, I’m just real proud of them. For me, it’s just a huge relief. You’re in the Countdown races trying to do your best, and they’re giving you a car that’s going down the track like that—it’s real special for sure.”
Kalitta, who qualified No. 1 in St. Louis with a blistering 3.675 at 334.82 mph, beat Will Smith, Steve Torrence, and Justin Ashley before facing Zetterström. His semifinal win over Ashley was pivotal, stretching his championship lead to 86 points with three races remaining in the Countdown to the Championship.
“It was a big points day for the guys that we were racing,” Kalitta said. “Getting by Justin, that was a huge round. My car went down the track, so that was huge. We’re definitely trying to get as many points as we can to stay ahead of these guys and keep doing what we’re doing.”
Kalitta now turns his attention to the next race at the Texas Motorplex, a track where the 61-year-old driver from Michigan has a lot of history. He is a two-time Top Fuel winner in Ennis, taking home victories in 2002 and 2013.
In 2002, Kalitta beat Cory McClenathan in the final with a 4.582-second run at 322.58 mph and in 2013, he snapped a 71-race winless streak with a dramatic victory over Shawn Langdon, clocking 3.842 seconds at 320.42 mph. In 2023 when he was the No. 2 qualifier, he set a Top Fuel speed record of 336.73 mph during qualifying.
Kalitta returns to the Texas Motorplex as the current Top Fuel points leader, driving for crew chief Alan Johnson and assistant crew chief Mac Savage. Kalitta has 2,409 points, followed by Justin Ashley at 2,323 (-86) and Shawn Langdon at 2,282 (-127). Rounding out the top drivers are Tony Stewart (2,256, -153), Clay Millican (2,227, -182), Brittany Force (2,216, -193), and Antron Brown (2,207, -202).
“It’s incredible,” Kalitta said. “This whole Mac Tools Toyota team has this thing really running. I’m real proud of these guys—the thing is going down the track and putting up good numbers. I’m doing my best to do my job, and it worked out today. The Safety Safari gave us a great track, and we’re just happy to get the win halfway through the Countdown. We’ll keep at it.”
With three races remaining on the season schedule, Kalitta’s numbers have him as one of the most consistent drivers in Top Fuel. His statistics include: three wins (Sonoma, Brainerd, St. Louis), six final-round appearances, eight No. 1 qualifiers, a 33-14 round win-loss record and eight times he has had the low elapsed time of the event.
After finishing second in points in 2024 behind Top Fuel champion Antron Brown, Kalitta is determined to climb back to the top in 2025.
“I’m real fortunate to have the team I have,” Kalitta said. “Alan is a wizard with these cars and the tune-ups. Mac, everyone at Mac Tools, Toyota, SealMaster, Revchem, and all our partners—this is a team effort. We’ll just keep our heads down and try to finish this thing strong.”
Kalitta said he now must focus his attention on the Texas NHRA Fall Nationals, which will be held October 10-12 at the Texas Motorplex. Billed as the Stampede of Speed, the qualifying rounds will be held on Friday and Saturday and eliminations rounds are set for Sunday.
“We will do our normal thing and show up on Friday, and we will definitely be hitting the ground running there,” Kalitta said. “I haven’t looked at what the conditions are going to be but with that concrete track, it’s pretty forgiving and it usually bolds well with our tune up. Again, just having that group of guys behind me that I’ve got the confidence obviously coming out here with the win. Yeah, it’s a humbling sport, so you just have to keep your head down and just keep trying to get the win lights to come on.”
