Doug Kalitta, Mac Tools Team ‘Never Say Never’
Doug Kalitta enters the season’s final race with a shot at successfully defending his 2023 NHRA Top Fuel championship. He’ll need a nearly perfect weekend to make it happen, but come-from-behind championship wins have happened before. The 2024 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series Countdown to the Championship NHRA Playoffs conclude Nov. 15-17, 2024 at the In ‘n Out Burger NHRA Finals in Pomona, Calif., the last of six playoff races.
One year ago, Kalitta entered this race 15 points behind points leader Steve Torrence. He would win the 2023 title in a “winner-take-all” final round against Leah Pruett. Kalitta enters this year’s final race tied with Torrence for fourth place in the NHRA Mission Foods Top Fuel point standings. He and Torrence trail third-place Shawn Langdon by 40 points, second-place Antron Brown by 41 points, points leader Justin Ashley by 85 and lead sixth-place Clay Millican by eight points.
Trailing Ashley by 85 points, repeating as NHRA Top Fuel champion is definitely a tall task – Kalitta must have a phenomenal weekend and get some significant help from not only Ashley but also the other drivers ahead of him in the standings. While multiple scenarios in which Kalitta could repeat as champion exist, the bottom line is the Michigan Motorsports Hall of Famer needs to win the In ‘n Out Burger NHRA Finals and hope the rest of the chips fall in his favor. With points-and-a-half being awarded this weekend, a round win is worth 30 points instead of 20 adding extra intrigue to the different scenarios.
“I know that I never say never, and that’ll be our attitude this weekend,” Kalitta said. “It’s kind of interesting with points and a half going into the last race. I think we’re going to have to get a little bit lucky to pull this thing off, but it’s definitely still mathematically possible. We’ll go there to collect as many points as we can and let it let it be what it’ll be. Pomona has been a great track for me over the years, so we’ll see what happens.”
Indeed. Kalitta enjoys prolific Pomona stats. He has seven wins in 14 final-round appearances along with six No. 1 qualifiers. In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip is also Crew Chief Alan Johnson’s home track, and the legendary tuner has won countless races and clinched multiple championships with race wins at the historic track. Kalitta experienced the thrill of winning the Top Fuel title last year but also knows the agony of the near miss with six runner-up finishes before winning his first-career championship last year.
“We really have the car to do it so that’s the interesting part of this whole scenario,” Kalitta added. “It would be awesome to get the win this weekend and see how this all shakes out. We have an opportunity to win it, and that’s what it’s all about. Obviously, the team effort and the camaraderie that goes along with it, working with my team and then being able to do it together make it really special. I definitely have the best guys in the business, and nothing they do will be surprising. This Mac Tools Toyota team is hungry to get it done.”
This story was originally published on November 12, 2024.
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