Doug Kalitta didn’t leave many points on the table during qualifying at Brainerd International Raceway.
The reigning NHRA Top Fuel champion was quickest in all four qualifying sessions, won Saturday’s Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty Challenge, and secured the No. 1 starting position for Sunday’s NHRA Brainerd Nationals. Jordan Vandergriff grabbed the top spot in Funny Car, while Dallas Glenn led Pro Stock qualifying.
Kalitta’s best came Saturday afternoon, when he drove the Mac Tools dragster to a 3.673-second run at 332.26 mph. It gave him his fourth No. 1 qualifier of the season and the 70th of his career.
He wasn’t finished.
Kalitta closed qualifying by winning his fifth #2Fast2Tasty Challenge of the season, defeating Josh Hart in the final with a 3.726 at 329.50. Combined with his qualifying bonus points, the weekend has strengthened Kalitta’s position heading into Sunday’s eliminations.
“The guys got me running well and I couldn’t be prouder,” Kalitta said. “We’re digging hard. This place is really special. My family has done really well here over the years, and I’d definitely like to keep it going.”
Rookie Maddi Gordon continued her strong weekend by qualifying second with a 3.695, 336.99 mph. Shawn Langdon was third at 3.730, 331.20.
Vandergriff saved his best shot for last in Funny Car. The John Force Racing rookie jumped to No. 1 during the final qualifying session with a 3.879 at 323.50, in the Cornwell Tools Chevrolet SS. The run gave Vandergriff his third No. 1 qualifier during his first season in Funny Car.
“I stepped on the gas and thought, ‘This thing is going pretty good,’” Vandergriff said. “When I got to the finish line, I knew it felt quicker than anything I’d run all weekend. Turns out it was quicker than everybody.
“That’s a credit to my guys; Chris Cunningham, Jason Bunker and this Cornwell Quality Tools team. They worked hard last night. I don’t know what changes they made because I just drive it, but whatever they did worked, and now we’ve got this yellow hat.”
Vandergriff needed nearly every bit of the 3.879 to get there. Reigning Funny Car champion Austin Prock finished second with a 3.881, 327.19, while Matt Hagan qualified third at 3.899, 326.40.
Glenn’s path to the Pro Stock pole wasn’t nearly as dramatic, but his 6.535, 208.10 from Saturday’s opening session held up through the final round of qualifying.
It was the second time Glenn has qualified No. 1 this season. Teammate Greg Anderson qualified second, while Greg Stanfield’s 6.550 at 208.55 put him third.
“The Q3 run was a really, really nice run. It felt fantastic all the way through,” Glenn said. “I definitely wanted Q4 to feel like that, too, but I think they were trying some stuff and probably need to go back the other direction. I’m sure they’ll look at everything and we’ll make a good run tomorrow.”
Glenn will open eliminations against Jeg Coughlin Jr. in a bid to win at the Minnesota facility for the third time in four years.Eliminations for the NHRA Brainerd Nationals are scheduled to begin Sunday at 11 a.m. CDT.
SATURDAY #2FAST2TASTY – KALITTA MOTORSPORTS SWEEPS NITRO #2FAST2TASTY WINS AT BRAINERD; ANDERSON TAKES PRO STOCK
Maybe NHRA should rename the Mission Foods #Fast2Tasty Challenge to the #2Fast2Kalitta Challenge. Might as well – they’ve owned it anyway.
Kalitta Motorsports swept the nitro portions of Saturday’s Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty Challenge at Brainerd International Raceway, with Doug Kalitta winning in Top Fuel and J.R. Todd taking the Funny Car title. Greg Anderson completed the specialty-race winners list by claiming Pro Stock.
For Doug Kalitta, the Saturday victory was another piece of a weekend that has gone almost entirely his way.
The reigning Top Fuel champion won the specialty race, secured the No. 1 qualifying position for the 70th time in his career, and moved past teammate Shawn Langdon into the championship lead.
Kalitta entered Brainerd riding consecutive victories at Seattle and Sonoma and has continued to pile up points. He collected every available qualifying bonus point and will open Sunday’s eliminations against Cam Ferre as he attempts to repeat as Brainerd Nationals champion.
“Getting the win here last year, the expectations are high to try to do it again,” Kalitta said. “With the momentum we’ve got going, hopefully we can just keep it rolling. Brainerd’s been good to us so far. Alan [Johnson, crew chief] has got my car running well, and all my guys are working their tails off. We’re hungry to do as well as we can, and I’m definitely looking forward to tomorrow.”
Todd made sure Kalitta Motorsports didn’t have to split the nitro hardware with anyone.
The former NHRA Funny Car titlist defeated reigning back-to-back champion Austin Prock on a holeshot in the final, using a .051-second reaction time and a 3.938-second run at 321.88 mph to beat Prock’s quicker 3.933 at 323.81.
The victory was Todd’s second #2Fast2Tasty Challenge win of the season and continued a strong stretch for Kalitta Motorsports. Todd and Kalitta shared the winner’s circle at Seattle last month.
Todd acknowledged his Saturday approach has been different from the one he has leaned on during eliminations. He would like to change that Sunday.
“I always say my mindset is different on Saturday than Sunday, but clearly I need to take that mindset into race day,” Todd said. “I just went up there and tried to hit the [Christmas] tree as hard as I could.
“I don’t want to let my guys down. I say it all the time: They bust their butts and work really hard, and the only way you can pay them back is by turning on win lights. Hopefully I can do that again tomorrow when it really counts.”
Anderson had to work a little harder for his Pro Stock win, although the six-time champion admitted he wasn’t expecting to see the win light.
Anderson defeated teammate Dallas Glenn in the final with a 6.555 at 209.04, earning his third #2Fast2Tasty Challenge victory of the season. The win carried additional significance for Anderson, who grew up racing at Brainerd and enters Sunday trying to repeat as Brainerd Nationals victor.
“I definitely felt like the underdog going up there. He’d been just a tick faster all weekend, and I figured he was going to outrun me,” Anderson said. “I thought I was going to have to make the best run I’d made all weekend, and I probably made the worst run I’d made all weekend. I did not expect that win light to come on.
“Anytime you get around Dallas Glenn, that just makes you better. I know what he is. I know what that guy is capable of every time he goes to the starting line. We’re very proud of the day we had today.”
