NHRA Reading Nationals Presented by Nitro Fish
NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series
Maple Grove Raceway; Mohnton, Pa.
Post-Event Wrap-Up
Finals Broadcast Replay (eastern time): 6-9 p.m. Monday, Sept. 15 on FS1
Qualifying: Doug Kalitta was the No. 3 qualifier at the NHRA Reading Nationals Presented by Nitro Fish. Kalitta's best qualifying attempt came during the opening qualifying session Friday afternoon when he reached the finish line in 3.756 seconds at 335.40 mph.
Eliminations: Kalitta defeated reigning Top Fuel champion Antron Brown in the first round and advanced to a second-round matchup with incoming points leader Tony Stewart. Both drivers walked away from a significant racing incident that happened during the round. Immediately after Kalitta crossed the finish line at 335 mph, an apparent front-tire issue propelled the Mac Tools dragster into the left lane where Kalitta made significant contact with Stewart. Kalitta's car bounced off Stewart's car and spun then shredding the left-rear tire before coming to a stop in the middle of the racetrack. Stewart's car flipped on its side before going back onto its wheels where it slid against the wall until it came to a stop.
Team Kalitta pulled the Mac Tools backup car out of the trailer before racing Steve Torrence in the semifinals. A combination of the Mac Tools team, Kalitta Air team and DHL team worked together to get the backup car ready for competition, and they did a masterful job. Kalitta made a 3.812-second run at 335.23 mph to advance to the final round where he met Shawn Reed. Kalitta was off the starting line first and was leading the race early when the Mac Tools dragster smoked the tires giving the win to Reed.
Unofficial Point Standings: Kalitta jumped two spots and leaves Reading in first place in the NHRA Top Fuel point standings. He leads second-place Tony Stewart by 18 points.
Kalitta on Reading: "The Mac Tools dragster just smoked the tires in the final; it was a little unexpected, but it was cool for Shawn Reed to get his first win. It was an opportunity for sure, but it is what it is. We tore up our car (in the second round) with a front tire issue. It was just unfortunate. Really happened so quick; there was nothing I could really do. Fortunately, Tony (Stewart) and I are good. That's really the main thing. That's probably the worst one I've had. (I've) been very fortunate over the years, and it's all part of it.
"The Kalitta Air guys, the DHL guys along with everybody from my team worked together, and we were able to get the spare car out, which we hadn't run before. The thing went right down the track so it was a hell of an effort. I'm real proud of my guys - we're looking forward to heading to Charlotte."
Mac Tools Crew Chief Alan Johnson on the Switch to the Backup Car: "You have to hand it to the guys that work on that car because they did a lot of work (before the semifinals). That thing was prepared perfectly. We unloaded it, changed a couple parts and set it up like we thought we needed to, and it ran low ET (elapsed time) of that round and got the win. Hats off to the guys that work on the Mac Tools dragster - they're awesome."
Shawn Langdon, Kalitta Air 25th Anniversary Top Fuel Dragster
Finals Broadcast Replay (eastern time): 6-9 p.m. Monday, Sept. 15 on FS1
Qualifying: Shawn Langdon was the No. 5 qualifier at the NHRA Reading Nationals Presented by Nitro Fish. Langdon made his best qualifying attempt in the Friday-night session when he posted a 3.762-second effort at 333.49 mph.
Eliminations: Langdon defeated Doug Foley before losing to Shawn Reed in the second round. Langdon was off the starting line first and was leading the race when the Kalitta Air 25th Anniversary dragster smoked the tires giving the round win to Reed.
Unofficial Point Standings: Langdon dropped one spot and leaves Reading in third place in the NHRA Top Fuel point standings. He trails second-place Tony Stewart by 15 points and leads fourth-place Justin Ashley by 17 points.
Langdon on Reading: "I felt like we had a good shot to win today, but we just smoked the tires in the second round. It's disappointing, but we'll head to Charlotte next weekend and try to win there. Thanks to Kalitta Air, SealMaster, Dayco and Revchem - we appreciate what they do for Team Kalitta."
J.R. Todd, DHL Funny Car
Finals Broadcast Replay (eastern time): 6-9 p.m. Monday, Sept. 15 on FS1
Qualifying: J.R. Todd was the No. 5 qualifier at NHRA Reading Nationals Presented by Nitro Fish. All four of Todd's qualifying attempts were within .07 seconds, but he made a 3.911-second run at 334.24 mph to claim the No. 5 qualifying position.
Eliminations: Todd raced Ron Capps in the first round of eliminations. Unfortunately, the DHL GR Supra smoked the tires almost immediately, and Todd was eliminated.
Unofficial Point Standings: Todd dropped one spot and leaves Reading in seventh place in the NHRA Funny Car point standings. He trails sixth-place Cruz Pedregon by 26 points and leads eighth-place Spencer Hyde by two points.
Todd on Reading: "That's definitely not how we wanted to start the Countdown especially after four consistent runs in qualifying. Going out first round is something you can't afford to do in the Countdown, but if you're going to, the first race is the time to do it. The good news is we don't have to wait long for a chance to redeem ourselves; we'll head down to Charlotte and see what we can do at the four-wides next weekend."
Next Race: Team Kalitta will be back in action Sept. 19-21, 2025 at the NHRA 4-Wide Carolina Nationals near Charlotte. For additional information, please visit www.NHRA.com. For additional information on Kalitta Motorsports, please visit www.teamkalitta.com.