Doug Kalitta, J.R. Todd, Greg Anderson and Richard Gadson each claimed Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty Challenge victories Saturday at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park, adding to the storylines of the Cornwell Quality Tools NHRA U.S. Nationals.
Kalitta picked up his fifth Challenge victory of the year in Top Fuel, defeating Clay Millican with a 3.730-second pass at 332.92 mph in his Mac Tools dragster. The win came after he had already clinched the regular-season championship in the specialty race, capping a dominant run in which he and teammate Shawn Langdon combined for 10 wins in 13 events.
“That was really cool, especially down at the end. Mr. [Juan] Gonzalez [of Mission Foods] was down there, so that was very cool,” Kalitta said. “We definitely appreciate what Mission Foods does for the NHRA, and the cool part is being able to race before race day and it’s good for the drivers, too, to have an opportunity to race.
“It didn’t seem like a lot of cars were getting down the track, and I was thinking, ‘If anybody can get my car down the track, it’s Alan [Johnson] and Mac [Savage] and all these Mac Tools/Toyota guys on my car.’ It went straight down through there, so I was very, very happy to see that.”
In Funny Car, Todd completed a Kalitta Motorsports sweep by defeating Austin Prock in the final round. Prock, the points leader and reigning NHRA champion, red-lit to hand Todd his second Challenge win of the season and his second consecutive specialty race victory at Indy.
“I heard him go, and I was about to go at the same time, and caught myself, and then thought, ‘I think he red-lit,’ and saw my win light come on,” Todd said. “We’re definitely having some luck on our side, racing two JFR cars and neither of them make it to the finish under power. That’s pretty wild. I wish this was Monday and this happened.
“It’s our goal to win three races in one week, so that was step one. Dickie [crew chief Venables] said he was just trying to find the limit, and I like his approach, being aggressive. He wants to be aggressive, and the car is responding to the changes he’s making.”
Todd earlier defeated Jack Beckman with a strong performance and will next face Matt Hagan in the opening round of the Callout on Sunday. Hagan finished the regular season as the overall Mission Challenge champion, earning 16 Countdown to the Championship bonus points.
In Pro Stock, Anderson added another highlight to his record season, defeating Erica Enders in the final round with a 6.523 at 210.14 in his HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro. The win was his second consecutive Challenge victory and secured the overall specialty championship in Pro Stock.
“Obviously, the drag race with my old nemesis, they’re certainly knocking on the door again,” Anderson said. “They’re capable of winning again and hopefully that drives me even harder to try and do something special. It turned out right for me at that time. We’ll see what happens on Monday, but after today, I’m pretty damn happy.”
Anderson, who entered the weekend locked in a tight points battle with KB Titan Racing teammate Dallas Glenn, has secured five national-event wins in 2025. His Challenge victory over Enders continued a weekend in which Pro Stock qualifying saw record-breaking performances.
In Pro Stock Motorcycle, Gadson powered past rival Matt Smith with a 6.744 at 201.01 on his RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines Suzuki. It marked his second Challenge win of the year and vaulted him to second in qualifying.
“This was my first shot at him [Smith] since Sonoma, so I wanted to win that a little bit more than normal. I knew he’d probably do something at the start line. I didn’t know what it was going to be. I didn’t care what he did, so this one was all business,” Gadson said.
“It’s always a pleasure to race Matt. I’ve got a lot of respect for him. We have a lot of back-and-forth banter, but he’s not a six-time champ for no reason. You’ve got to kind of savor it because it can go the other way at any moment.”
The Gadson-Smith matchup continued a rivalry that has provided some of the season’s most dramatic moments, including a controversial staging battle earlier this summer. Gadson said Saturday’s win carried extra meaning given the circumstances.
“You’ve seen some Pro Stock teams this year struggle for a number of races and we’re not exempt to stuff like that, too,” Gadson said. “I’m just going to keep enjoying and keep trying to ride the wave. While my bike’s this good in this window, I want to be equally good to match it, and I think I’ll win a lot more than I lose.”
Qualifying at the U.S. Nationals continues Sunday with the Funny Car All-Star Callout competition, followed by eliminations on Monday.
