Shawn Langdon Needs "Perfect World" NHRA Weekend; Doug Kalitta Ready for "Crap Shoot;" J.R. Todd Set to Strive for Top Five

FEEDING AMERICA: THE “RACE TO END HUNGER” UPDATE

FOLLOWING RACE FIVE of SIX

??????????? Prior to the Toyota U.S. Nationals, Kalitta Motorsports launched the 2024 “Race to End Hunger,” a partnership among Kalitta Motorsports, DHL Express, Kalitta Air and five new partners, Applied Innovation, Dayco, Future Energy Solutions, Revchem Composites and Toyota, to accelerate the fight against food insecurity. For six NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series national events, starting with the U.S. Nationals and ending with the Nevada NHRA Nationals in Las Vegas, every time a Kalitta Motorsports driver turns on a race day win light, Kalitta Motorsports will donate $1,000 to Feeding America, and DHL, Kalitta Air and the new partners will match the donation making each race day win light worth $4,000 or 40,000 Feeding America meals.?

Indianapolis:?J.R. Todd (0), Doug Kalitta (0), Shawn Langdon (0).

Reading:?Doug Kalitta (0), Shawn Langdon (3), J.R. Todd (1); money donated: $16,000; meals generated: 160,000

Charlotte:?Doug Kalitta (2), Shawn Langdon (1), J.R. Todd (0); money donated: $12,000; meals generated: 120,000

St. Louis:?Shawn Langdon (1), J.R. Todd (0), Doug Kalitta (0); money donated: $4,000; meals generated: 40,000

Dallas:?Shawn Langdon (1); Doug Kalitta (0), J.R. Todd (0); money donated: $4,000; meals generated: 40,000

Totals To-Date:?Money Donated $36,000; Meals Generated: 360,000

By?clicking here,?fans can join the fight with a personal donation and be entered into a drawing for a VIP experience for two at the 2025 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing event of their choice – donation not necessary to be entered into the drawing.?

SHAWN LANGDON, KALITTA AIR CAREERS TEAM WANT “PERFECT WORLD” SCENARIO

YPSILANTI, Mich. (Oct. 29, 2024) –?Most people want to live in a perfect world, and?that’s where Shawn Langdon wants to finish this weekend. The 2024 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series Countdown to the Championship NHRA Playoffs resumes Nov. 1-3, 2024 at the NHRA Ford Performance Nationals in Las Vegas, the fifth of six playoff races.

The 2024 season has been good for the 2013 Top Fuel champ. Langdon has two wins and five runner-up showings; he enters Las Vegas in third place in the NHRA Mission Foods Top Fuel point standings. He trails second-place Antron Brown by 32, leads fourth-place Steve Torrence by 12 points and trails points leader Justin Ashley by 76 points with two races remaining in the season. It’s time to turn a couple of those runner-up finishes into race wins.?

??????????? “We definitely need to have a good race to stay in contention for the championship so we’re looking forward to Las Vegas – we’re ready to go,” Langdon said. “We need to go more rounds that Justin Ashley – ideally, we need to win the race and have him go out early, but if we can just go one more round than him, that’ll improve our chances. In a perfect world, we win the race this weekend and take the points lead. We just need to keep doing what we’ve been doing all season but turn a couple of those runner-up finishes into race wins. Where it ends up, it ends up. Our goal is to win the last two races – we’re not focused on anything else.”?

??????????? The Kalitta Air Careers Toyota team took care of business in the regular season, but the Countdown has been challenging. Despite qualifying well, the team has not been racing deep into race day, and that is not conducive to challenging for a championship. Still, the team knows it has what it needs and has what it takes to get the job done in the season’s final two races.?

??????????? “We’ve won races and have quite a few runner-up finishes – that gives me confidence in this Kalitta Air Careers Toyota team,” Langdon said. “We know how to go rounds; know how to win races - we just have to execute. Execution wins championships, and we have two more opportunities to execute. The points are pretty tight near the top, but our only focus is Justin Ashley because he’s the points leader. That’s where this Kalitta Air Careers Toyota team wants to be - that’s our only goal; that’s our only focus. If we win the last two races, we’ve done everything we can do.”???

Race Information:?

NHRA Ford Performance Nationals

The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway; Las Vegas

TV Schedule (All times eastern): ????

• Qualifying Show: 3-5 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 3 on FS1
• Finals: 5-8 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 3 on FS1

2023 NHRA Ford Performance Nationals Recap:?Qualified No. 8; lost to Tony Schumacher.

Shawn Langdon Career Stats:?348 events, 19 wins, 25 runner-up, 375 round wins, 21 No. 1 qualifiers.

2024 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series Results to Date (wins in italics):

Gainesville:?Qualified No. 1; defeated Cody Krohn, Justin Ashley, Antron Brown and Billy Torrence.

Pomona: Qualified No. 7; defeated Krista Baldwin; lost to Tony Schumacher.??

Phoenix:?Qualified No. 5; defeated Josh Hart, Antron Brown, Steve Torrence and Justin Ashley.

Las Vegas 4W: Qualified No. 8; lost to Doug Kalitta and Steve Torrence in the first round.?

Charlotte 4W: Qualified No. 7; lost to Antron Brown and Brittany Force in the first round.?

Chicago: Qualified No. 4; defeated Cody Krohn, Shawn Reed and Dan Mercier before losing to Antron Brown.?

Epping: Qualified No. 4; defeated Shawn Reed and Billy Torrence before losing to Doug Kalitta.?

Bristol: Qualified No. 4; defeated Shawn Reed; lost to Tony Schumacher.?

Richmond: Qualified No. 1; defeated Lex Joon, Steve Torrence & Antron Brown before losing to Doug Kalitta.

Norwalk: Qualified No. 6; lost to Clay Millican.

Seattle: Qualified No. 13; defeated Justin Ashley, Josh Hart and Clay Millican; lost to Steve Torrence.

Sonoma: Qualified No. 4; lost to Tony Stewart in the first round.?

Brainerd: Qualified No. 5; defeated Shawn Reed, Doug Kalitta and Ida Zetterstrom; lost to Justin Ashley.?

Indianapolis: Qualified No. 16; lost to Brittany Force.?

Reading: Qualified No. 5; defeated Ida Zetterstrom, Tony Stewart and Justin Ashley; lost to Antron Brown.

Charlotte: Qualified No. 6; defeated Josh Hart; lost to Doug Kalitta.?

St. Louis: Qualified No. 5; defeated Doug Kalitta; lost to Justin Ashley.?

Dallas: Qualified No. 4; defeated Jasmine Salinas, lost to Justin Ashley.?

DOUG KALITTA, MAC TOOLS TEAM READY FOR “CRAP SHOOT” IN LAST TWO RACES

YPSILANTI, Mich. (Oct. 29, 2024) –?Doug Kalitta’s Mac Tools team is resilient, and the team is up to the challenge it faces this weekend. The 2024 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series Countdown to the Championship NHRA Playoffs resumes Nov. 1-3, 2024 at the NHRA Ford Performance Nationals in Las Vegas, the fifth of six playoff races.

In the first four Countdown races, Kalitta has just two round wins – a far cry from the first two thirds of the season when the Michigan driver won three races and among six final-round appearances and qualified in the top-four positions 12 times. Kalitta enters the 19th?of 20 races?in seventh place in the NHRA Mission Foods Top Fuel point standings. He trails sixth-place Clay Millican by 19 points, leads eighth-place Brittany Force by 57 points and trails points leader Justin Ashley by 133 points with two races remaining in the season. The team enters Las Vegas following first-round losses at three of the last four races – a very unusual stat for current champion – but Kalitta remains optimistic about righting the ship.?

??????????? “We’re feeling good,” Kalitta said. “We brought the cars back from Dallas and went through everything, and we’re very optimistic. We’ve kind of had a gremlin we’ve been chasing, and I think, with any luck, we’ve narrowed that down, and hopefully the Mac Tools car will be super happy this weekend.”

??????????? “Super Happy” would be a welcome change for this team that experienced so much success in the last two years including three Countdown wins on its way to the 2023 Top Fuel title. After capturing his first four-wide win earlier this season in Las Vegas, Kalitta’s third win in eight final rounds on The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, this weekend is a good opportunity for the reigning champion to get his mojo back.??

??????????? “It sure would be – it’s been a good place for us over the years,” Kalitta said. “The fans there are awesome really; it’s kinda cool that they run early enough that people can still do that they do on the strip. It’s a beautiful facility, and we’re super excited to get there. I definitely like going to Vegas – it’s always exciting to hit the last two races at the end of the year, be in contention to win those and see where you shake out. It’s definitely a crap shoot when it comes to these last two races with points and a half at the last one. You never count yourself out, but we definitely have to collect as many points as we can.?

??????????? “After losing in the first round these last few races, we definitely need to start going rounds again. As long as the boys have the car happy again, hopefully we can tune the thing and keep it running better than the next guy. For me, every race I go to, I’ve been very fortunate to know we have the car and the team to beat so that’s kinda the way I roll.”??

Race Information:?

NHRA Ford Performance Nationals

The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway; Las Vegas

TV Schedule (All times eastern): ????

• Qualifying Show: 3-5 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 3 on FS1
• Finals: 5-8 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 3 on FS1

2023 NHRA Ford Performance Nationals Recap:?Qualified No. 4; defeated T.J. Zizzo; lost to Josh Hart.?

Doug Kalitta Career Stats:?605 events, 55 wins, 62 runner-up, 794 round wins, 58 No. 1 qualifiers.

2024 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series Results to Date (wins in italics):

Gatornationals: Qualified No. 7; defeated Clay Millican; lost to Steve Torrence.

Pomona: Qualified No. 6; defeated Jasmine Salinas; lost to Billy Torrence.

Phoenix: Qualified No. 3; defeated Terry Totten; lost to Justin Ashley.

Las Vegas 4W:?Qualified No. 1; defeated Shawn Langdon in the first round, Brittany Force and Josh Hart in the semifinals followed by Justin Ashley, Steve Torrence and Tony Stewart in the final round.?

Charlotte 4W: Qualified No. 1; defeated Shawn Reed and Cody Krohn in the first round, Billy Torrence and Jasmine Salinas in the semifinals before beating Antron Brown but losing to Justin Ashley and Clay Millican in the final round.??

Chicago: Qualified No. 3; lost to Justin Ashley.?

Epping:?Qualified No. 1; defeated Scott Farley, Tony Stewart, Shawn Langdon and Tony Schumacher.?

Bristol: Qualified No. 14; defeated Antron Brown, Steve Torrence, Brittany Force; lost to Tony Schumacher.

Richmond:?Qualified No. 2: after first-round bye, defeated Josh Hart, Tony Stewart and Shawn Langdon.?

Norwalk: Qualified No. 1; defeated Kyle Wurtzel, Billy Torrence and Steve Torrence; lost to Antron Brown.?

Seattle: Qualified No. 4; defeated Billy Torrence and Jasmine Salinas; lost to Steve Torrence.?

Sonoma: Qualified No. 1; lost to Ron August, Jr.?

Brainerd: Qualified No. 4; defeated Antron Brown; lost to Shawn Langdon.

Indianapolis: Did not qualify.?

Reading: Qualified No. 3; lost to Dan Mercier?

Charlotte: Qualified No. 3; defeated Tony Stewart and Shawn Langdon; lost to Antron Brown.?

St. Louis:? Qualified No. 12; lost to Shawn Langdon.?

Dallas: Qualified No. 10; lost to Clay Millican.?

THREE-TIME LAS VEGAS WINNER J.R. TODD, DHL TEAM STRIVE FOR TOP FIVE

YPSILANTI, Mich. (Oct. 29, 2024) –?In a season that began with such promise, the current situation for J.R. Todd and the DHL GR Supra team is not what anyone envisioned. The 2024 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series Countdown to the Championship NHRA Playoffs resumes Nov. 1-3, 2024 at the NHRA Ford Performance Nationals in Las Vegas, the fifth of six playoff races.

The Countdown has not been kind to the 2018 champion - he?enters Las Vegas in eighth place in the NHRA Mission Foods Funny Car point standings. He trails seventh-pace Blake Alexander by 11 points and leads ninth-place Chad Green by 13 points with two races remaining in the season. The DHL GR Supra team is 103 points out of fifth place and within reach of a top-five season finish.?

“To me, fifth in points is definitely still possible, but we need to finish the season with two really strong races to make it happen,” Todd said. “I still have my sights set on that because with points and a half in Pomona, that always seems to shake things up. If guys go out early, and you have a good day, who knows where we could end up? A top-five finish is our goal – it’s just a bigger hill to climb now.”

But it’s a hill the team is definitely capable of climbing. The DHL team started the season with a bang winning the opening race and advancing to at least the semifinals at 10 of the season’s first 13 races. Todd has three Las Vegas wins including a Las Vegas sweep in 2018 when he won the Funny Car title. This team has the tools and the talent to turn the end of the season around.?

“Finishing the season on a positive note is definitely key looking at the season we’ve had,” Todd added. “The way we started the season with the win in Gainesville, making all those Mission Foods Challenge deals and showing consistency each race was definitely really good for DHL, Toyota, Revchem, SealMaster and all the great people who support us. We needed that- we know we can still do it, but we have to kick our performance up to get back to that level. Overall, even though we started out really strong, it definitely hasn’t been the season we wanted so we’re hoping to finish with a trophy or two to close it out.”?

Todd will appear on this week’s episode of “Talkin’ Funny Cars with Buddy Hull” Wednesday, Oct. 30 at 8 p.m. eastern time on the NHRA Fast Channel available through?several digital channels including the Roku Channel (USA & Canada), Tubi, Samsung TV Plus, Sling Freestream and other free streaming services.

“It was fun, and it was good to learn more about Buddy,” Todd said. “It’s always good to sit down and talk about those things people don’t get to see on weekly racing shows during a standard NHRA race weekend. Anytime you can sit and talk with somebody and talk about past experiences or try to educate the fans on things they might not know, I think it’s always positive for our sport.”?

Race Information:?

NHRA Ford Performance Nationals

The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway; Las Vegas

TV Schedule (All times eastern): ????

• Qualifying Show: 3-5 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 3 on FS1
• Finals: 5-8 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 3 on FS1

2023 NHRA Ford Performance Nationals Recap:?Qualified No. 10; lost to Cruz Pedregon.

Funny Car Career Stats:?316 events, 21 wins, 26 runner-up, 348 round wins, 14 No. 1 qualifiers.

2024 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series Results to Date (wins in italics):

Gainesville:?Qualified No. 6; defeated Blake Alexander, Ron Capps, Bob Tasca and Austin Prock.?

Pomona: Qualified No. 11; defeated Cruz Pedregon and Paul Lee; lost to Matt Hagan.?

Phoenix: Qualified No. 5; defeated Cruz Pedregon and John Force before losing to Austin Prock.?

Las Vegas 4W: Qualified No. 3; defeated D. Wilkerson, D. Richards before losing to M. Hagan and R. Capps

Charlotte 4W: Qualified No. 12; defeated Ron Capps and Buddy Hull in the first round, Cruz Pedregon and John Force in the semifinals before beating John Force but losing to Matt Hagan and Daniel Wilkerson in the final round.?

Chicago: Qualified No. 12; lost to Alexis DeJoria.?

Epping: Qualified No. 3; defeated Dave Richards and Bob Tasca before losing to John Force.?

Bristol: Qualified No. 11; defeated Terry Haddock, Ron Capps, John Force; lost to Austin Prock.?

Richmond: Qualified No. 7; lost to Matt Hagan.?

Norwalk: Qualified No. 2; defeated Chris King; lost to Ron Capps.?

Seattle: Qualified No. 4; defeated Buddy Hull and Bob Tasca; lost to Austin Prock.?

Sonoma: Qualified No. 6 defeated Jason Rupert, lost to Ron Capps.?

Brainerd: Qualified No. 8; defeated Paul Lee, Austin Prock; lost to Matt Hagan.

Indianapolis: Qualified No. 10; lost to Ron Capps.?

Reading: Qualified No. 11; defeated Matt Hagan, lost to Jack Beckman.?

Charlotte: Qualified No. 6; lost to Dan Wilkerson.?

St. Louis: Qualified No. 13; lost to Jack Beckman.?

Dallas: Qualified No. 10; lost to Cruz Pedregon.?

All Images Courtesy:?NHRA