The situation was astonishing. Reigning NHRA Top Fuel champion and points leader Doug Kalitta entered the final round of qualifying for the Toyota U.S. Nationals two weeks ago but was not yet qualified. His final qualifying attempt moved him into the field at the No. 16 spot, but his teammate, Shawn Langdon, knocked him out of the race a few minutes later. The 2024 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series Countdown to the Championship NHRA Playoffs begin Sept. 13-15, 2024 at the Pep Boys NHRA Nationals in Mohnton, Pa.
Entering the season’s final regular-season race, Kalitta held a hefty points lead on the strength of three wins in six final rounds during the 2024 season, but things did not go well in Indianapolis. Despite his team’s best efforts, the lack of performance was perplexing. For the first time in 301 races, Kalitta failed to qualify for a race – the last time that happened was the fall race in Las Vegas in 2010 – nearly 4 years ago. The next day, the team stayed in town for what was its most important test session of the season to hopefully exercise its gremlins.
“It was definitely disappointing for my team and me, but it wasn’t for a lack of effort for sure,” Kalitta said. “If you’re gonna have a race like that, you definitely don’t want it to happen during the Countdown. In testing the car on Tuesday in Indy, the thing ran great. It ran times that would have been a low qualifier kind of deal with how qualifying went (at the U.S. Nationals). After those three good, solid runs on Tuesday, we can kind of just shake it all off, let it be what it was and go into Reading with the same mindset we always have – qualify first and win the race. That’ll be our goal for sure, I think, barring anything stupid happening, we should be in good shape. We’re still leading the Countdown points, and we have six races to go so I think we’re in a great spot. We just have to go out there and make the next six count.”
Now, the most-important part of the season is here: the Countdown to the Championship NHRA Playoffs. One year ago, Kalitta won the first two Countdown races and went on to win the 2023 NHRA Top Fuel championship with three wins in six Countdown races including the season finale. Kalitta’s championship run started with an improbable win at Reading, Pa., last year. After running the entire season in a car with a canopy, the Mac Tools dragster ran over something on the track in the final qualifying session, cut a tire and damaged the primary car forcing the team to use its backup car, which did not have a canopy, for eliminations. The rest, as the saying goes, is history.
“I always like going to Reading for whatever reason, the temperatures are cool, performances are good, a bunch of gear-head race fans fill that place so it’s a good atmosphere,” Kalitta said. “The Koretskys are doing a great job with the facility since they purchased it so it’ll be good. Obviously, it’ll be an important race as the first one of the countdown, and then we have three in a row so it’s a matter of keeping our heads down and making it happen – that’ll be our focus.
“Seeing the teamwork that goes into what happens, and obviously working with Alan, Mac (Crew Chief Alan Johnson and Assistant Crew Chief Mac Savage) and the rest of the Mac Tools team as they navigate through what they do is cool. It’s exiting, obviously, to drive for Alan. It’s still something I’m certainly appreciative of and want to make the best of it. He’s an incredibly-competitive individual so it’s just a lot of fun to be a part of it.”
Six races and 24 rounds of eliminations will determine the 2025 championship, and Kalitta enters the Countdown as the No. 1 seed holding a 15-point advantage over second-place Justin Ashley and a 28-point lead over his teammate, third-place Shawn Langdon, after the Countdown points reset and the addition of championship bonus points earned in the Mission Foods NHRA Challenge throughout the regular season. The top-10 drivers in the point standings are now separated by just 109 points. Kalitta and his Mac Tools Toyota team must focus on the task at hand – successfully defending his first-career Top Fuel title.
“It’s good; we just try to take each round, each race at this point and stay focused on that and try not to get too wrapped around all the different things you can do or think about,” Kalitta added. “I just try to focus on what we have to do. That’ll be fun, though, because obviously everybody’s gunning for the No. 1 spot, but we are, too. It’s time to lead, follow or get out of the way.”
This story was originally published on September 12, 2024. 
