It never rains in Southern California, right?
Friday in Pomona, California, begs to differ.
The only “reign” Friday at the NHRA Winternationals belonged to past NHRA Top Fuel champion Doug Kalitta. He rose to the top at the rain-delayed NHRA All-Star Callout, claiming victory by stopping another past series champion, Brittany Force.
The race, originally scheduled for the NHRA opener in Gainesville, Florida, was completed in Pomona, where Kalitta clocked 3.657 seconds at 335.15 mph in his Mac Tools dragster to beat Force, who ended the day as Top Fuel No. 1 qualifier.
Kalitta, the 2023 world champion, defeated Clay Millican and Antron Brown earlier to secure his place in the finals. This victory marks another significant achievement at the track, where he earned his first world title less than two years ago.
“It’s been a while since we raced on a Friday, so that was pretty cool and we were super excited for what Right Trailers has done for us with this Callout,” Kalitta said. “We tried to do it in Gainesville, and there’s no better place to bring it than here. I love running this place, but I’m glad to get by Brittany, Antron, and Clay. It was a fun day, for sure.
“The guys gave me a great car to be able to run that .65 after watching Brittany run the .64 a couple times. I knew we had that run in us, and I’m glad we were able to do it.”
