The NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series opened up with the 55th annual Amalie Motor Oil Gator Nationals in Gainesville, Florida earlier this month.
The Nitro categories (Top Fuel and Funny Car) became “intertwined together” at this event, as the Kalitta Team showcased themselves with a car in each class making it into the final round of eliminations.
JR Todd in the DHL/Kalitta Racing/Toyota Funny Car proved that you did not have to be the quickest or the fastest to win. All you needed was to be in the right place at the right time. In the first round, his car lost traction, but his opponent (John Smith) also did and could not recover. Then he faced the quicker and faster, Ron Capps, who red-lighted, as his DHL Toyota lost traction again. Then he was able to get by Bob Tasca, as both cars lost traction, but Todd was able to get to the finish line first. In the final round, Todd squared off against the number one qualifier, Austin Prock. On that run, Todd was able to post his only run under four seconds at 300 plus mph (3.889 @ 329.10 mph), as Prock’s car lost traction, for the trophy and his 21st career victory.
In Top Fuel, Shawn Langdon took the top qualifying position in his Kalitta Air/REVCHEM/Toyota dragster and then marched his way through eliminations, taking out Cody Krohn, Justin Ashley, Antron Brown and Billy Torrence to claim the Wally and the Gator Nationals trophies. It was Langdon’s 18th career victory. But, more importantly, Langdon’s win, along with Todd’s win, gave Team Kalitta its first ever Nitro class “double-up” win. For the team owner, patriarch and Drag Racing Hall of Famer Connie Kalitta, it was history. To top it off, it occurred over the same weekend that Kalitta’s late son, Scott Kalitta was inducted into the Drag Racing Hall of Fame. Scott Kalitta lost his life during a drag racing accident in his DHL Funny Car in 2008, which led to the shortening of the racing distance from a quarter-mile (1320 feet) to 1000 feet for safety. The team finally achieved this “double-up” feat after 18 different chances. It should also be noted, that Connie Kalitta’s nephew, Doug Kalitta, finally claimed his first Top Fuel season championship last year, by closing out the final event with a win, making the last year or so very special for this drag racing icon.
In Pro Stock, the five-time and defending class champion, Erica Enders, finally captured her first Gator Nationals win. Enders qualified in the top spot and was a racer on a mission. She took out Kelly Murphy, Aaron Stanfield and arch rival Greg Anderson to match up with fellow Elite Motorsports driver Christian Cuadra for the event title, setting low elapse time and top speed each round. In the final, she left first (0.024 to 0.073) and drove away to a 6.494 @ 211.98 mph win, as Cuadra’s car suffered tire shake and had to idle to the finish. This event win was the 49th of her career.
In Pro Stock Motorcycle, it was simply the continuation of the Gaige Herrera show. Herrera qualified in the top spot and then dominated the class as he marched to the 12th event win of his career. In simple terms, if racers want to gauge themselves in the Pro Stock Motorcycle class at this time, they must square off against Gaige Herrera. He set low elapse time and top speed in every elimination round and reset the national speed record for the class to 204.54 mph.
Regarding the Ron Capps red light vs. JR Todd in Funny Car, when both cars staged, both drivers were ready to react. Todd got a little anxious and accidentally bumped the throttle. Fortunately for him, he was able to catch it before the car could move out of the stage beam. But, for Capps, he reacted quickly by reflexive response to the sound of Todd’s car and his car left the stage beams early, thus fouling him out.
Some interesting notes coming into the 2024 season include Tony Stewart moving up to Top Fuel, taking over the driver duties in Leah Pruett’s dragster (they are now married), as she wants to take some time off from racing to have a family. The sponsor for Austin Prock (Montana Brand/RMT) ended as the owner, Frank Tieg passed away. He also owned the Flav-R-Pak company that sponsored Brittany Force’s Top Fuel Dragster (she still has Monster Energy Drink sponsorship). Prock has taken over the driving duties of the Cornwell Tools/AAA Chevrolet Camaro, normally driven by Robert Hight, to allow Hight to take care of some family issues. Plans are for Hight to return later in the season.
In December 2023, Don Schumacher passed away at the age of 79, after battling cancer. He was an iconic team owner as his teams won 19 championships. He brought many improvements to the sport and helped to develop and advance the driving careers of many of NHRA’s best drivers: Tony Schumacher (his son), Matt Hagan, Antron Brown, Ron Capps, Jack Beckman, Tommy Johnson and others. He also was a member of the Drag Racing Hall of Fame and a very competitive Funny Car driver in his early years.
