Doug Kalitta won the No. 1 qualifier and the Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge in his Applied Innovation dragster at the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals in Norwalk, Ohio. It was his fourth No. 1 qualifier of the season and the 57th of his storied NHRA career.
Kalitta’s Friday-night run of 3.692 seconds at 330.15 mph in his 11,000-horsepower Applied Innovation dragster held up through Saturday’s two qualifying rounds, handing Kalitta his fifth-career No. 1 qualifier at Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park. After qualifying No. 1 earlier this season in Las Vegas and Epping, N.H., Kalitta went on to win the race the next day.
“It’s a confidence thing for all of us,” Kalitta said. “The way my car’s running, I’m trying to get into a good routine and trying my best to be as consistent as I can, and so far this weekend, I’ve been pretty steady so that’s been good. We’re definitely looking forward to tomorrow to see what we can do for Applied Innovations, Mac Tools, Revchem, SealMaster, Toyota and everyone else that supports us.
“Everything about running the speeds these things are going and setting speed records is fun. Connie (Team Owner Connie Kalitta) is out here this weekend; he’s driven these things, tuned them, and I think even he’s impressed with the performance. We’re really happy the car’s going down the track and setting good times.”
Kalitta’s win in the Mission Foods special event is his first of the season and his second overall. He won the inaugural Mission Challenge in Phoenix last season. In today’s challenge, he defeated Tony Stewart and Antron Brown to claim the title. In the final round, which was also the final qualifying session, Kalitta made a 3.703-second pass at 337.16 mph setting the track speed record.
“Antron (Brown) and I were talking this morning about how the Mission Challenge gets you ready to race on Sunday,” Kalitta said. “I hope it’s working well for the Mission Foods guys because I think all the drivers definitely enjoy racing on Saturday in this format. I think it was a good idea, and the chips are good so how can you go wrong with that?”
Kalitta will face No. 16 qualifier Kyle Wurtzel in Sunday’s opening round of eliminations. Shawn Langdon and his Kalitta Air Careers team qualified No. 6 and face No. 11 qualifier Clay Millican in the first round. In Funny Car, J.R. Todd qualified No. 2 in the DHL GR Supra, his best qualifying effort of the season, and will race No. 15 qualifier Chris King.
This story was originally published on June 30, 2024. 
