One year ago, Doug Kalitta entered the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals having never won a four-wide race. He took care of that last year and looks to successfully defend his title this weekend. The 2025 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series continues April 11-13, 2025, at the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals in Las Vegas.
It was one of the most memorable moments of the season for the 2023 NHRA Top Fuel champion. Kalitta qualified No. 1 and ran the table to the first four-wide win of his career, and he wants to make it two of a kind this weekend on The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
“Getting that first four-wide win last year in Las Vegas was a big deal so we’ll go there this weekend and try to do it again,” Kalitta said. “Having won in this format definitely gives you a little more confidence. The Mac Tools car’s been really good, and I’m looking forward to it for sure.”
Kalitta enters this weekend’s race in second place in the NHRA Top Fuel point standings. He trails his teammate, Shawn Langdon, by 77 points. He qualified fourth in Gainesville, but a mechanical issue ended his day in the second round. In Phoenix, he qualified No. 1 but lost to Langdon in the final round, and two weeks ago in Pomona, Calif., he qualified No. 2, but the Mac Tools car smoked the tires in the second round.
“We’re putting good runs together just about every time this Mac Tools car goes down the track,” Kalitta said. “On occasion, at a less-than-favorable time, we’ve had these little gremlins pop up that cost you a round. Overall, I think we’re in good shape. All my guys are super comfortable with what we’re doing. We’ve made a lot of runs since we started testing and so everybody’s getting comfortable. We’re just itching to try to get back to the winner’s circle for sure.
“Our car’s been real consistent, and it’s a good feeling for sure to have a good car and a consistent car so you have the mindset that you know you can win each round. Whatever we’re doing, we just feel we can beat the other car to the (finish) line so it’s real fortunate situation for my team, Mac Tools, Toyota, Revchem, SealMaster and everybody that supports us so we’re really looking forward to having another shot at it and hoping to make it happen on Sunday.”
Kalitta will race in his first Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge of the season on Saturday. Because this weekend’s race is a four-wide event, the drivers who raced in the quarterfinals two weeks ago in Pomona, Calif., will re-run that round in two “quads” during Saturday qualifying with the two quickest cars from each advancing to the final quad to determine the winner.
“The Mission Foods Challenge is a great program,” Kalitta said. “It gives the fans a good race to watch on Saturday during qualifying. It’s just fun; Mission Foods has done a lot for our sport as the title sponsor so it’s greatly appreciated, and it gives us another opportunity to get ready to race on Sunday.”
This story was originally published on April 9, 2025. 
