There is no doubt that Doug Kalitta’s Top Fuel title was a long time coming.
The 59-year-old found his calling in drag racing back in 1998 when he took over the Kalitta Motorsports Top Fuel car from his cousin, Scott Kalitta, who moved to the Funny Car division. Doug Kalitta hasn’t deviated from the straight line since.
Through winless seasons, record-breaking years and all the heartbreaks that come with chasing titles, Kalitta stood his ground and waited his turn.
It may have taken 26 years and six runner-up finishes in the standings for his moment to arrive, but regardless, following his victory at In-N-Out Burger Drag Strip in Pomona, Calif., on Nov. 12, Kalitta will forever be a Top Fuel champion.
“It’s going to take a while for that to settle in, but I’ll definitely be grinning here for quite a while,” Kalitta confessed. “It’s incredible the way the points thing worked out, to come down to that last run.”
In the final elimination round of the 21-race season, it was winner-take-all for the title between Kalitta and Tony Stewart Racing’s Leah Pruett.
Kalitta grabbed the holeshot with a .047 reaction time and the Mac Tools dragster bolted down the drag strip with Pruett in tow. But as Kalitta approached the top end, he missed the crucial moment.
“I missed the win light,” Kalitta explained. “I had my visor all taped up because of the sun, so I missed it. But everybody was down there and it was something I’ve been looking forward to my whole life.”
There were a few things that felt different about this particular title run, but if there was one moment where the tides turned in Kalitta’s favor, it was at Pennsylvania’s Maple Grove Raceway in September.
And it happened with a bang.
The tire blew on Kalitta’s dragster during the final round of qualifying at the Countdown to the Championship opener at Maple Grove. As a result, the team moved to a backup, non-canopy car for eliminations.
“After Reading, when we blew that tire, for some reason, our luck kind of changed after that. The car was responding good and everything seemed to be a lot happier with our tune up,” Kalitta said.
The next day, the 59-year-old went out and defeated Josh Hart, Shawn Langdon, Leah Pruett and Steve Torrence to collect his 50th victory — and first in nearly three years.
“Throughout the year, I was thinking, ‘Man, I’ve just gotta get a win.’ Because if I could get a win, that would take a lot of the pressure off,” Kalitta said. “That would definitely not look good on your résumé, having Alan (Johnson, crew chief) for two years and not winning a race.”
Maple Grove proved to be a catalyst for Kalitta, who picked up the points lead and made another trip to the winner’s circle at zMAX Dragway in Concord, N.C., the next weekend.
The Mac Tools dragster driver then notched three consecutive quarterfinal finishes, which left him second in points heading into the In-N-Out Burger NHRA Finals. After starting the Countdown seventh in points, Kalitta had clawed his way to the top.
With his victory over Pruett at Pomona, he solidified his place in Top Fuel history.
“At the end of the run, I was just so relieved. I’ve definitely been trying to win this thing for years,” Kalitta said. “My cousin Scott has won this thing a couple times, so, with growing up in his shadow and trying to accomplish the things he’s accomplished, that was definitely on my bucket list to get a Top Fuel title.
“Now he’s got one on me.”
Scott Kalitta, who died in 2008, is a two-time Top Fuel champion.