Shawn Langdon – Kalitta Motorsports Photo
Doug Kalitta Reaches NHRA Michigan Semifinals
J.R. Todd Races to NHRA Michigan Semifinals
RACE WINNER: Shawn Langdon, Kalitta Air Careers Dragster
Finals Broadcast Replay (eastern time): 9 p.m.-Midnight, Tuesday, Sept.
22 on FS2
Qualifying: Shawn Langdon was the No. 4 qualifier at the NHRA Great
Lakes Nationals. During the second round of qualifying Friday afternoon,
Langdon reached the finish line in 3.698 seconds at 339.37 mph. It was
Langdon’s sixth-consecutive top four qualifying effort.
Eliminations: Langdon and the Kalitta Air Careers team had a spectacular
day recording the lowest elapsed time of the season and the fastest
speed in NHRA history. Langdon defeated Maddi Gordon, Will Smith, his
teammate, Doug Kalitta, and Spencer Massey on the way to his fifth win
of the season and the 28th of his career.
In the first round, Langdon’s 3.652-second pass at 344.04 mph was the
quickest elapsed time of the season, but the 2013 Top Fuel champion and
Crew Chief Brian Husen, a native of Grand Rapids, Mich., were just
getting warmed up. They defeated Smith with a 3.686-second effort at
342.73 mph in the second round, but the biggest fireworks came in the
semifinal matchup with Kalitta. Langon posted a 3.663-second elapsed
time at 346.95 mph to shatter the 345 mph speed record he set in
Valdosta, Ga., in May. The Kalitta Air Careers team put the exclamation
point on the weekend reaching the finish line at 346.15 mph in the win
over Massey in the final round.
With elapsed times of 3.652, 3.686, 3.663 and 3.664 seconds along with
speeds of 344.04, 342.73, 346.95 and 346.15 MPH, one drag racing insider
called Langdon’s day, “the best sustained performance in the history of
Top Fuel.”
Unofficial Point Standings: Langdon leaves Michigan in first place in
the NHRA Top Fuel point standings. He leads Kalitta by 11 points
following the first of six Countdown to the Championship NHRA Playoffs
races.
Langdon on Michigan: “It just goes to show it takes everything. You go
to a facility like US 131 that takes a lot of pride in their facility;
it’s beautiful. The concrete is awesome, straight, flat, and then you
get some good conditions, and really anything’s possible. My guys have
been doing such a great job, and I’ve talked over and over about how
good my team has been all year long; they just continue to give me a
great race car. They put it together perfectly, and then Brian (Husen)
makes perfect calls, last-minute adjustments, and he races smart. We
knew the track was so good, but the problem was being able to get wheel
speed. You just had to get everything in sync, but to be able to do that
for four runs today, is awesome. I’m proud of the guys to come off the
Indy win and get another one here.
“I’m very happy for Brian to win as a crew chief at his home track so
there’s just a lot of good things going on, good vibes. This race was a
big one for Kalitta Air. We had a lot of people out this weekend from
Kalitta Air, Applied Innovation, Fifth Third, Gerber and PJH. Obviously,
the rain kind of hindered a little bit of that, but Connie (Team Owner
Connie Kalitta) was able to come out this weekend and see some runs. To
be able to see a smile on his face is the end goal. All in all, A plus
weekend.
“Brian was talking all day about the track being good enough to set a
record. We were able to do it on the speed. We were just trying to race
situations and trying to race smart, not beat ourselves, because there’s
always that little bit of a 50/50 shot if you really go for it. Brian
raced what he felt was comfortable and gave me a great race car; I just
tried not to do anything to mess that up.”
Langdon Photo Courtesy: Kalitta Motorsports
Doug Kalitta, Applied Innovation Top Fuel Dragster
Finals Broadcast Replay (eastern time): 9 p.m.-Midnight, Tuesday, Sept.
22 on FS2
Qualifying: Doug Kalitta was the No. 1 qualifier at the NHRA Great Lakes
Nationals; it was his fifth No. 1 qualifier of the season and the 71st
of his career. Kalitta was the top qualifier after Friday but made his
best qualifying attempt during Saturday’s rain-delayed third qualifying
round. The Applied Innovation Top Fuel dragster reached the finish line
in 3.660 seconds at 338.86 mph, and Kalitta held on through the final
session late Saturday afternoon.
Eliminations: Kalitta defeated Kyle Satenstein and Billy Torrence to
reach a semifinal showdown with his teammate, Shawn Langdon. In the
semifinals, Kalitta was off the starting line first, but the Applied
Innovation dragster smoked the tires, and Langdon cruised to the win
with a 3.663 second run at 346.95 mph, the fastest run in NHRA history.
Unofficial Point Standings: Kalitta leaves Michigan in second place in
the NHRA Top Fuel point standings. He trails Langdon by 11 points and
leads third-place Tony Stewart by 68 points.
Kalitta on Michigan: “It was great to see that we had so many people
come out today. The Monday Nationals actually had people! The track is
incredible here. Really incredible conditions. I don’t know what
happened in the third round, but we were definitely gonna give Shawn and
his team a run for their money. Unfortunately, it wasn’t meant to be for
us in the Applied Innovation car this weekend; we really wanted to get
them a win in their hometown. Obviously, always cheering for the Kalitta
cars so we’re all real proud of what Shawn and that Kalitta Air team did
today. He got a little ahead of us in points coming out of here so we
will just have to hunt him down in Rockingham.”
Doug Kalitta Photo Courtesy: Kalitta Motorsports
J.R. Todd, DHL Funny Car
Finals Broadcast Replay (eastern time): 9 p.m.-Midnight, Tuesday, Sept.
22 on FS2
Qualifying: J.R. Todd was the No. 5 qualifier at the NHRA Great Lakes
Nationals. His best qualifying attempt was during the first qualifying
attempt Friday afternoon. Todd made a 3.893-second run at 334.57 mph and
followed with a nearly identical time and slightly faster speed in the
second round.
Eliminations: Todd defeated Dave Richards and Terry Haddock setting up a
semifinal matchup with Jordan Vandergriff. The DHL GR Supra team was up
for the challenge, and Todd’s 3.899 second run at 336.83 was his best of
the day, but Vandergriff’s 3.896-second effort was good enough to get
the win by .0359 seconds.
Unofficial Point Standings: Todd leaves Michigan in fifth place in in
the NHRA Funny Car point standings. He trails fourth-place Ron Capps by
six points and leads sixth-place Austin Prock by 40 points.
Todd on Michigan: “It was good to get to the semifinals here in
Michigan, especially with this being our team’s home state. The fans
really showed out, especially for a Monday, and we definitely appreciate
everyone who stuck around. We made a strong run in the semis and just
came up a little short. All in all, not a bad way to start the Countdown
for this DHL team. We’ll take the positives from this weekend and get
ready to be back in the car in just a few days.”
J.R. Todd Photo Courtesy: Kalitta Motorsports
Next Race: Team Kalitta will be back in action Sept. 25-27, 2026, at the
NHRA Nationals at The Rock in Rockingham, N.C. For additional
information, please visit www.nhra.com [1]. For additional information
on Kalitta Motorsports, please visit www.teamkalitta.com [2].
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