GAINESVILLE, Fla. — As part of the season-opening kickoff to NHRA’s 75th anniversary in 2026, the NHRA Top Fuel All-Star Callout returns to Gainesville Raceway, taking place on Saturday, March 7 as part of the 56th annual Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals.
The specialty race features a loaded eight-car field, including defending Callout winner and reigning world champion Doug Kalitta. He earned the top seed in the unique bonus race that offers a big purse and bragging rights to open the milestone campaign.
The rest of the field, in order, includes Kalitta’s teammate, Shawn Langdon, 2025 Gatornationals winner Antron Brown, racing legend Tony Stewart, Justin Ashley, Clay Millican, Shawn Reed and 2023 Callout winner Josh Hart.
With the unique Callout format, Kalitta will get to pick his opening-round opponent. Langdon will get the next selection until all the first-round matchups are set. The quickest winning driver in the opening round gets to call his shot for the semifinals, too, setting one of the matchups.
Kalitta will also try to become the first Top Fuel driver to earn multiple wins in the Callout, which offers a total purse of $130,000.
“It was a good event last year and we ended up winning it, so definitely hoping we can pull it off again this year,” Kalitta said. “We ended up calling out Clay (Millican) for the first round. Anytime you get an opportunity to have those specialty races, they usually are just a lot of fun. It’s the first race of the year, too, and Gainesville really packs in the people. It’s always good to have an extra race on Saturday and just kind of have some fun with it. Our Mac Tools team is definitely looking forward to another opportunity this year. We hope to have some fun with it for sure and pick up right where we left off last season.”
Last season, Kalitta defeated Millican in the opening round and then knocked off Brown before taking down two-time world champ Brittany Force in the finals.
With a big purse, a special Callout trophy and plenty of bragging rights on the line, it can also provide the perfect boost to open the season at one of the most historic races on the NHRA schedule. This year’s loaded field features three NHRA Top Fuel world champions, while all eight participants have Top Fuel victories.
