POMONA — It took Doug Kalitta 26 years to win his first NHRA championship. But it only took two years for him to score his second Top Fuel title.
The 61-year-old from Ann Arbor, Michigan, did not even need to pull his dragster out of the team hauler at In-N-Out Pomona Dragstrip at Fairplex Saturday to claim the title. For the second consecutive day, rain prevented racers from running down the strip at the 60th annual In-N-Out Burger NHRA Finals.
“This is a dream come true,” Kalitta said. “This is definitely a lot easier. I’ve never had a relaxing Pomona at the end of the year. We always seems to come down to the last race on the last day, but my guys had a nice string of runs throughout the Countdown.
“It’s a huge major deal to win the championship before the last round and before the last race.”
Kalitta had only needed to qualify for the event to win the title because of his 144-point lead over teammate Shawn Langdon. When persistent rain kept drivers off the track Saturday, the race order for today’s eliminations was determined by points and Kalitta will be starting from the No. 1 position for the ninth time this season.
It was only the second time in the 72-year history of the NHRA that all qualifying sessions were rained out. The last time it happened was in 2000 in Dallas.
The first round of pro eliminations are scheduled to start at 10 a.m. today. Reigning Funny Car series champion Austin Prock, Super Stock points leader Dallas Green and Pro Stock Motorcycle points leader Richard Gadson also have No. 1 seeds. Prock leads Matt Hagan by 101 points and Green leads Greg Anderson by 92 points. A pair of victories in eliminations will secure their series championships. Gadson has a 21-point lead over teammate Gaige Herrera and the title could be determined if both reach the final.
In 2023, Kalitta needed to win at Pomona to win his first title and he got it. His race was then on to match his cousin, Scott Kalitta, who won twice for the team in the 1990s; Doug Kalitta finished second last year.
Kalitta won four events this season, but the series title did not truly take shape until he had a wiring issue with his dragster at the Reading, Pennsylvania, event. It was the first event of the Countdown to the Championship and he was fourth in standings going into the race. He crashed and had to use a backup car, but he still managed to finish second.
“We hadn’t run that car,” he recalled, “but it was ready to go, so it’s definitely a tribute to our guys. It’s a heck of an opportunity to drive for (car owner and multi-NHRA champion) Connie (Kalitta), having (crew chief) Alan (Johnson), all my guys and (general manager) Chad Head. Alan has just got it figured out with the technology and all of the pieces of the car.”
After the Reading issue, he really began his Countdown tear. He was second in four-wide racing at Charlotte, North Carolina, two weeks later, was the top qualifier, won at Madison, Illinois, won in Dallas and reached the semifinals in Las Vegas two weeks ago.
“It’s hard to pinpoint exactly what the secret sauce has been done here,” he said. “We have had a stretch of the same consistency. All the guys have made my car go down the track and I haven’t done any stupid driving.”
But like all race teams – even after taking a championship – winning another race is important.
“This track is one of my favorite tracks and I’ve been very fortunate here,” he said. “We are totally focused on trying to get the win whenever we get the chance. We all hope the other guy’s car doesn’t start and we beat them in every round.
“It’s just the history. This place has all the history, the museum, the back-in-the-day bring your station wagon from Michigan.”