Competition Plus’ Water-Cooler Topics From The In-N-Out Finals, Pomona, Ca.

 

1 – Top Fuel championship goes to Doug Kalitta – finally! - With points leader Steve Torrence exiting in the semifinals, the Top Fuel championship came down to a winner-take-all final round that pitted Doug Kalitta and Leah Pruett, neither of whom had ever finished the season No. 1 in the sport's premier category.

Both Kalitta and Pruett had earned championships before. Kalitta was the 1994 USAC National Sprint Car champion. Pruett has titles in the NHRA’s Nostalgia Funny Car and Factory Stock Showdown.

But both eyed that Top Fuel title, Kalitta for many more years than she. Nevertheless, Pruett, who eliminated Torrence in the semifinal, wanted to join teammate Matt Hagan on the champions' podium to give Tony Stewart Racing a double-nitro championship. They both had won at Dallas in mid-October, and taking that accomplishment to a higher level would have given the team boss a third major-series championship in eight days. Cole Custer brought Stewart the first Nov. 4 with his NASCAR Xfinity Series crown.

More so, though, it would cap a gritty climb to the pinnacle of the Top Fuel mountain after tough breaks and a lot of hustle. And it would come at her home track, which already had produced a hauler full of personal and professional memories.

And for Kalitta, the Mac Tools Toyota Dragster driver who had finished as runner-up six times, he knew tuner Alan Johnson could bring him that championship that would shake the stigma of no titles in his 26-year career.

In the end, the day belonged to Kalitta, who teamed with tuner extraordinaire Alan Johnson at the beginning of 2022. They endured a winless first season together, but this year, Kalitta came alive at the outset of the Countdown – as the No. 6 seed – with a pair of victories at Reading and Charlotte. That vaulted him into the championship conversation for the first time all year.

And Kalitta delivered in his 587th start, registering his first title and Johnson’s 13th. Johnson also has won three times with Gary Scelzi, five times with Tony Schumacher, and once each with Larry Dixon, Del Worsham, Shawn Langdon, and Brittany Force.

“It was such a big relief after that run [against Pruett]. It's hard to believe,” Kalitta said. “I dream about this opportunity when we're here. It was definitely on my bucket list. So, just really, hats off to Alan, and Brian [crew chief Husen], and everybody on my team -- and obviously, all the fans and support that I've gotten.”

He said because his visor was taped to block the sun, didn’t even get to see the win light come on in his lane. But he knew the victory was his when he pulled off the track and saw the Safety Safari and others rooting him on.

“It’s incredible the way the points thing worked out to come down to that last run,” Kalitta said. “I just stayed focused. It was obviously a big round, and it played out just perfectly. I got to the end of the track and was like, ‘I cannot believe these guys are still looking at me and high fiving’ because unfortunately, I missed the win light. Everybody was down there, and it was something I looked forward to all my life. It was a hell of a drag race, and it was nice to get the win.

“It’s going to take awhile for this to settle in,” Kalitta added. “At the end of the run, I was so relieved. I’ve been trying to win this thing for years, and it’s really hard to believe. I’m kind of speechless at the moment, but it’ll settle in here after the banquet" Monday night.

Clutching the trophy and hearing the rousing cheers of the crowd that gathered around the post-race podium, the mild-mannered Kalitta cut loose a little bit and said, “So, yeah, we're taking this baby back to Ypsilanti!” The team’s shop is at Ypsilanti, Mich., where he also operates Kalitta Charters.

The trophies, he said, will shine among the two his late cousin Scott Kalitta earned in Top Fuel in 1994-95 and the honors that have gone to his uncle and team owner Connie Kalitta.

“We’ve had a great run being out here, and this championship has definitely been on my ‘things to do list.’ My cousin Scott won this thing a couple of times, so I’ve always grown up in his shadow, trying to accomplish what he accomplished. So it was definitely on my bucket list to get a Top Fuel title. It’s definitely a big relief.”

Furthermore, the 52-time winner said he wanted to make sure he at least won a race with Alan Johnson, if for no other reason than to preserve his reputation: “It’d be bad to be with Alan Johnson for two years and not win a race.”

He has three this season in five final-round appearances.

Six-time Pro Stock titlist Erica Enders said Sunday evening, “He’s been the people’s champion for years, and today he’s the world champion.”

When Kalitta first competed in 1998, he envisioned NHRA President Dallas Gardner handing him that championship trophy. Then Tom Compton had the chance, then Peter Clifford. But others kept shutting out Kalitta, some with seemingly impossible last-minute heroics. And finally, NHRA boss Glen Cromwell got the honors of making the popular presentation Sunday.  

Connie Kalitta called the moment “awesome” and said, “I’m so happy for him and his wife [Josie]. I’m so happy for the crew.”

Doug Kalitta said his 80-something uncle “didn’t get in the mosh pit [a signature Kalitta Motorsports celebration], but the video will be priceless.”

And so will this memory, which he has 116 days to savor until the 2024 Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season starts.

Paul Doleshal, group manager, motorsports for Toyota Motor North America, said, “Doug Kalitta is one of the classiest and most-talented racers NHRA has ever seen and to be a part of his first championship is an incredible honor for Toyota Racing. We’ve loved every moment of working with Doug and Kalitta Motorsports, and this championship is another feat we've accomplished together. We look forward to celebrating with Doug, his family, and the entire team, and we couldn’t be happier for them to have achieved this long-awaited title.”

2 – Hagan, rivals all lose in Round 2, but Hagan claims Funny Car title - Funny Car racer Bob Tasca III said it during qualifying, referring to himself and fellow championship contenders Matt Hagan and Robert Hight: “Forget the Big Three. It’s the Big 19 right now that can take any one of the Big Three out.”

That was prophetic, because that’s what happened in Sunday’s second round.

Cruz Pedregon, Blake Alexander and Chad Green, respectively, eliminated Tasca, Hagan and Hight to determine the 2023 king of the class. “The Big Three” fell like dominoes, and the decision came down to the match-up between Hight and Green – all while Hagan stewed at the top end and Hight fretted on the starting line, sitting through a lengthy oildown clean-up.

Hagan still had the points lead, but if Hight beat Green, the John Force Racing president and fellow three-time champion would become the first four-time Funny Car titlist since Force in 1994. Hight lost traction toward the finish line against Green to hand Hagan the distinction.

“I jumped in the car over there with Chad Green and I told him, ‘Flip your visor up, because I'm going to kiss you on the lips,'" Hagan said. "And Chad, I definitely owe him a beer.”

For Hagan it was sweet relief, with perhaps a touch of divine intervention, for as he waited for the Hight-Green run, he wasn’t sure which way the results would swing. 

“More than likely, Robert, they don't stumble. They runnered-up last year, and that's how it goes a lot of times. Two of my championships out of three, I runnered-up and then come back and won it. So that's just how fate is sometimes. But we'll sit here and wait. I'm not going to sit up here and wish bad on nobody, man. Everybody's trying hard, and the best man wins out here. We didn't get it done, and it falls on us. There's nobody to blame but us.”

He was blaming himself but at the same time sending up a prayer to his mother, whom he lost earlier this year. “I was doin’ some prayin’,” he said. “I never prayed to my mom before, but I said, ‘I don’t know what you and my brother [Kyle, who passed away several years ago] are doing up there, but I sure could use a little help.”

As Hagan stood there, “We really want to win this championship. You hate to sit here and hope somebody else loses. You want to go out there and just turn four win lights on and get it done.” Later he stressed that “That’s not my style of racing. It’s about my body of work.”

But Hight did stumble -- barely, but enough for Green to advance to the semifinals. And help came in the form of tire smoke for Hight.

That twist of events gave Hagan’s team owner, Tony Stewart, his second championship in eight days, counting Cole Custer’s NASCAR Xfinity Series title last weekend at Phoenix. And it made Hagan the fourth to record four or more Funny Car championships. He joined John Force, Kenny Bernstein, and Don “The Snake” Prudhomme, all three of whom were at Pomona this weekend.

If Tasca’s pre-race words were visionary, so were Hight’s.

Hight had alluded to “The Pedregon Factor” before the weekend began, recalling that last year, Cruz Pedregon – in Hight’s words – “comes from nowhere and screws everything up – all the points, everything” by winning this race. Now Tasca understands what Hight meant.

“The Pedregon Factor” struck again Sunday, as the Snap-on Tools-sponsored veteran defeated Tasca, leaving Hagan and Hight to battle for the championship.

Tasca, who said, ‘It was a career year for me,” said that for his Todd Okuhara- and Aaron Brooks-led team, “The best is yet to come.”

Hight, who lost the championship by a mere three points to Ron Capps in 2022, reached out to Hagan directly and on the public-address system.

He said, “Congratulations to Matt Hagan. They’ve been there all year. We’ve been here just at the end. I’m still proud of my team.”

Hagan closed his season with six victories in eight final rounds and a 41-15 record in eliminations.

3 – Enders aces first-round match-up to secure her sixth Pro Stock championship - After she won her first-round match Sunday against Fernando Cuadra to secure her sixth Pro Stock championship, Erica Enders said, “First and foremost, I want to give the Good Lord all the glory. He turns every single mess into a message.

“And that's exactly what the season started off as – a complete and utter disaster,” she said. “It took us seven races to figure out our issue. The message this year is tenacity and consistency and digging through all of the crap and just prevailing when it matters.”

Enders lost to Matt Hartford in the semifinal round Sunday, but her record-extending championship achievement affirmed her never-quit approach on the racetrack.

She languished as a backmarker at the beginning of the season as she lost in the opening round at four of the first six races and never got past the quarterfinals. Then, in June at Tennessee’s Bristol Dragway, Enders won and pointed herself in the correct direction. She started to move up through the order from 14th place and started the Countdown as the No. 3-ranked driver. She finally grabbed the points lead following the St. Louis race in October. After that, Enders won the next two races, at Dallas and Las Vegas, to lock into another classic championship battle against Greg Anderson.                                                                                                                                                                    

“I owe my guys all the credit in the world. I have to thank my guys for that. Richard Freeman's a tremendous leader that gave us all such a great opportunity, starting in 2014, here at Elite Motorsports. it's through God that I can do all things,” Enders said. “But it takes a team of people to do it here and I couldn't do it without them.

“As a little girl in a Jr. Dragster, this is my dream. I've not only been able to accomplish it once, but we've been able to accomplish it six times,” Enders said. "It’s us against the world. And today, ‘us’ won.”

With that, Enders -- the most successful woman in all of motorsports – completed her third set of back-to-back titles. She also dominated in 2014-15, 2019-20, and 2022. The Melling / Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage Chevrolet Camaro driver matched retired class legend Warren Johnson’s six series crowns. The late Bob Glidden earned 10 in Pro Stock. 

Jim Campbell, Chevrolet U.S. vice-president of performance and motorsports, said,. “I vividly remember Erica’s first win at Route 66 Raceway in Joliet in 2012. It’s so exciting to see her capture the sixth championship of her career today. She’s a great racer and a recordbreaker. Her wins and championships are a result of her skill, hard work, dedication, preparation, and teamwork. Congratulations to Erica, Richard Freeman, Elite Motorsports and the Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage Melling Chevrolet team.”

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4– Chad Green claims his first Funny Car victory in family-themed final - With the three title-eligible drivers gone in the second round, the Final Four in the Funny Car bracket didn’t include ‘The Big Three’ of Matt Hagan, Bob Tasca III and Robert Hight.

First-time winner Chad Green might not have been one of the “Big Three.” but he said he already considers himself one of the “Big Dogs” because he always has high expectations for himself and his Bond Coat, Inc. Ford team.

And that Big Dog had a big day Sunday. Not only did he bring Ford a victory in an all-Mustang final round, but Green also did it against Tim Wilkerson, his own crew chief Daniel Wilkerson’s father and the man who guided him in his transition to the Funny Car class from the Pro Mod ranks. What’s more, his victory came on the day he doubled in the winners circle with his own son, Hunter Green, who earned the Top Alcohol Dragster final.

“It's just been an amazing weekend,” Green said. “First off, it's been an amazing season. This has been a dream season for us. I couldn't be more proud of my guys. They've really come a long way in the last few years, and they've stuck with me. We've been trying all year to get this Wally. We've been close a few times, but it's just been an amazing season. I can't think of a better way that you could top off a season, ending it like this.

“But I just can't say enough about our season. It's been so amazing. You could have never drawn it up like this. This season has been a great season, we surprised a lot of people, and to cap it off with a win is awesome,” he said.

5 – Pro Stock winner Aaron Stanfield - With wife Joleigh prepared to deliver their second child at any minute in Bossier City, Louisiana, Aaron Stanfield drove his Janac Brothers / Melling Engine Parts Camaro to the Elite Motorsports-affiliated team’s first victory of the season and eighth overall. He beat Matt Hartford in the finals.

"This is really incredible,” Stanfield said. “Thank you to my wife. She told me, ‘If you’re going to go, you’d better win.’ We’ve struggled a bit this year. We’ve been waiting for that win to come, so to get it here at this last race, it’s awesome. Given everything else that’s going on in my life, it’s perfect timing.”

Stanfield said his offseason will start with helping take acre of the new baby, who joins their daughter Oakleigh Raelynn.

“I’ll be changing diapers, for sure,” he said. “Just to go into the offseason knowing you and your team did a really good job to win the last race, it definitely makes you hungry to get going again and start racing. We’ll be itching to get back in the driver’s seat and looking forward to Gainesville.” That’s where the 2024 season will begin in March with Florida’s famous Gatornationals.

“It’s very special to get this done at the last race. I’ve got to thank all my guys who work on my hot rod. They give me the best thing they can give me. I’m just very thankful.”

 

 

7 – Torrence’s ‘Drive For Five’ In Neutral Until Next Season - Steve Torrence said Saturday he was confident, especially after earning the No. 1 qualifying position with a dragster he decided was “the quickest and fastest race car I’ve ever had,” that he didn’t think he could lose the Top Fuel lead.

But a dropped cylinder in his semifinal match against Leah Pruett derailed his chance to earn his fifth championship in six seasons for the Capco Contractors dragster team.

However, Torrence seemed to take in stride the fact he finished in second place in the final standings, 48 points behind champion and event winner Doug Kalitta and nine ahead of race runner-up Leah Pruett.

“I like Leah, and that team did a great job this year,” Torrence said, “but I got to admit that after we lost, I was rooting for Doug.  He’s been out here chasing a championship for a lot of years, and he’s just a good guy.

"We didn’t get the championship, but I’m so proud of these CAPCO boys and what they were able to do this year. We’ve made big changes to our program the last two years, but we finished the season with one badass race car."

He said he was “a little disappointed, sure, but I’m excited about next season with the Mission Foods people coming on board in a big way.  Camping World, Pep Boys, the PRO Superstar Shootout ... it's all good.”

 

 

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9 – Capps looking for trophy with third series sponsor in 2024 - Outgoing Funny Car champion Ron Capps, not a factor in the chase this fall or in this race because of a first-round upset loss to eventual finalist Tim Wilkerson, said crew chief Dean “Guido” Antonelli “has a lot of really cool things that we tested here that are going to make us better next year.” And he said his goal is to parlay that into a special personal goal.

“I've got two of the big trophies at home. One says ‘Mello Yello’ and one says ‘Camping World.’ That's two of the last eras of the NHRA series sponsors. We're going to try to get us a ‘Mission Foods’ championship trophy,” he said.

“We just stumbled in the Countdown, and you can't do that,” Capps said. He said he’s looking ahead: “There’s so much going on in the sport. It's exciting going into 2024 with Mission Foods.”