Doug Kalitta
1998 , 1994 USAC Midget Rookie of the Year and 1995 USAC Sprint Car champion Doug Kalitta made his NHRA Top Fuel debut , joining the nitro ranks with his uncle and team owner , Connie Kalitta , and his cousin , the late Scott Kalitta . Over the last quarter-century , the Michigan native has added to the Kalitta family ’ s legacy in the sport by winning more than 50 Wallys behind the wheel of his Mac Tools Top Fuel dragster . Last season , after six championship runner-up finishes , Kalitta finally secured his first career NHRA Top Fuel world championship . He became the seventh different driver to win a Top Fuel title with Alan Johnson as his crew chief .
Kalitta , Johnson , and the Mac Tools / Kalitta Motorsports team have kept the momentum going into the 2024 season . Kalitta won the preseason , $ 250,000-to-win PRO Superstar Shootout at Bradenton Motorsports Park in February , and as of this writing , he has three wins in five final-round appearances on the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series tour . His teammate , past world champion Shawn Langdon , is also having a strong season , with new crew chief Brian Husen guiding him to two
KALITTA ’ S 2024 NHRA SEASON KICKED OFF AT THE GATORNATIONALS , WHERE HE RECEIVED HIS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP RING FROM NHRA PRESIDENT GLEN
CROMWELL DURING PRE-RACE CEREMONIES .
“ One thing about drag racing is everybody has to do their job and do it well . That car ’ s gotta be put together the same way each time or the inconsistencies of tuning this thing will just drive you crazy .”
wins in five finals . After the two-race Western Swing , Kalitta and Langdon are No . 1 and 2 in points , respectively .
During a busy week between races , the reigning NHRA Top Fuel world champion and owner of Kalitta Charters sat down with Drag Illustrated for a look at his championship defense season .
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I don ’ t know that there was anyone who wasn ’ t thrilled and happy for you when you finally won your first championship last November . What did it mean to you personally to have that kind of response and support ?
Yeah , after 26 years , I ’ ve had a lot of people over the years that have worked with me and yeah , it was a cool feeling to accomplish something that I had a lot of support with over the years . People definitely were as excited as I was . Some of them ( laughs ). But it was a huge relief , as you can imagine , for me .
You won the inaugural PRO Superstar Shootout to start the year . How big of a deal was that to come out swinging and kind of tell everyone , “ Hey , we ’ re not letting up ?”
That was a fun event for sure . It was kind of a testing thing and then the race , so it was kind of a lowkey deal , but it was a good way to start out the season , with a win . My guys , we ’ ve pretty much all stayed together through the winter , so I had the same guys , and obviously Alan Johnson continuing to tune my car with another gentleman that ’ s working with him this year , Mac Savage .
We actually ended up taking Brian Husen , who had been working with Alan for 20 years or so , and we put him in charge of Shawn Langdon ’ s car , our team car . It was actually a good balance to try to get both our Top Fuel cars running towards the front .
One thing about drag racing is everybody has to do their job and do it well . That car ’ s gotta be put together the same way each time or the inconsistencies of tuning this thing will just drive you crazy . The guys are doing a hell of a job . It continues to be a very big team effort , and I ’ m real proud of these guys for what they ’ re doing .
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You have continued to do really well this year , getting your first four-wide win among others . You ’ re currently the points leader . What has it taken to continue to stay out in front of the Top Fuel field ?
It ’ s a loaded field , that ’ s for sure . Everybody is super hungry . We ’ re just trying as hard as we can and trying to stay ahead of these guys . It ’ s not easy . Connie Kalitta provides us with the equipment , everything that we ’ re doing . Chad Head is the general manager of our group . He ’ s constantly just making shit happen day in and day out to try to improve what we ’ re doing . We ’ ve got the number one on our car and we ’ re definitely not taken lightly when we roll up against somebody . We ’ ve definitely got a target on our backs , which is good as far as I ’ m concerned .
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