Doug Kalitta has been here before. Six times to be exact.
Over the course of his 25-year career, the drag racing veteran has finished runner-up in the Top Fuel championship half a dozen times, but has yet to win the title. With one race to go in the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series season, Kalitta is a mere 15 points behind category leader and four-time Top Fuel champion Steve Torrence.
It’s fair to say not many expected Kalitta to be one of the lead contenders going into the season finale at the In-N-Out Burger Drag Strip in Pomona, Calif., on Nov. 9-11.
In fact, it’s been a while since the Kalitta Motorsports team threatened for the title. The last time was in 2020, when the Michigan native finished three points behind Torrence. Kalitta also finished second to Torrence in 2019.
“I’ve had the opportunity to run for the championship before, but I feel like this is probably one of the best opportunities I’ve had,” Kalitta said.
When evaluating his early season record, Kalitta is a bit surprised to find himself in position to challenge for the championship heading into Pomona. At the start of the year, it took 10 races for the team to make its first final round appearance.
Even then, their results weren’t consistent until the Countdown to the Championship began at the Pep Boys NHRA Nationals at Maple Grove Raceway in September when Kalitta earned his 50th career win.
“We obviously had to wait until the Countdown started to start running up front, so that was perfect timing,” Kalitta said, chuckling.
Since the playoffs began, the Mac Tools dragster has rattled off two wins and three consecutive quarterfinal finishes. It’s likely that, in order to clinch his first championship, Kalitta will need to find his way back into the winner’s circle this weekend in Pomona.
He noted that, following the last race at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway two weeks ago, the team stayed afterward to do some testing. But other than that, the class veteran hasn’t given much heed to the external pressure, or to his long tally of runner-up finishes.
In Kalitta’s mind, the calmer he can be, the better.
“Just have fun with it — that’s the goal here,” Kalitta said. “Let all the cards play like they’re going to play here. We’re down to this one race, and we all know we’ve got to get it done this weekend.”
The 59-year-old’s history at the California drag strip is one factor that may play into his favor, as he has 13 career final round appearances at Pomona.
“I’ve had real good luck at Pomona, particularly at the World Finals there. I’m really hoping that we show up with a car that’s running in the mid-60s,” Kalitta said. “We’re pretty excited about getting to the track and showing up strong.”
Kalitta noted he’s put the past behind him, and he doesn’t plan on walking into Pomona with the weight of his six runner-up finishes on his shoulders. Instead, he’s viewing this year as a fresh opportunity to do things right, and just maybe, he’ll be holding the championship trophy for the first time come Sunday night.