POMONA, Calif. — For the second time in three years, Doug Kalitta is a world champion, because the veteran formally clinched the 2025 NHRA Mission Meals Drag Racing Collection Prime Gasoline world championship on Saturday on the In-N-Out Burger NHRA Finals at In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip.
Kalitta locked up the title when qualifying was canceled on Saturday as a result of climate. It marked a far totally different really feel than Kalitta’s first championship, which went right down to a winner-take-all closing spherical at Pomona in 2023.
This time, Kalitta’s dominance within the Countdown to the Championship playoffs ensured {that a} pressure-packed state of affairs wouldn’t be needed. He reached the ultimate spherical of the primary 4 playoff races, successful in St. Louis and Dallas to take management in his 12,000-horsepower Mac Instruments dragster.
That led to the championship being clinched on Saturday, as Kalitta celebrated together with his group earlier than the primary spherical of eliminations even began.
“Yeah, that is undoubtedly lots simpler [than 2023],” stated Kalitta. “It’s at all times appeared to come back right down to the final race, final day, however we had a pleasant string of runs all through the Countdown. Alan [Johnson, crew chief] and my entire group have had my automobile happening the observe. It’s been actual good, and simply not doing one thing silly on the observe and getting good, strong runs.
“Alan is at all times throwing down and at all times has one thing up his sleeve. So, I’m simply actually pleased with him and my entire group. It’s an enormous reduction to have the ability to win the championship earlier than the final spherical on the final race, and we’re all simply tremendous pleased.”
A lot as was the case in his 2023 championship season, Kalitta and his Alan Johnson-led Mac Instruments group didn’t catch hearth till halfway by means of the common season with back-to-back wins in Sonoma and Brainerd, and entered the Countdown to the Championship playoffs in fourth place.
After a runner-up at each Studying and Charlotte, Kalitta defeated Ida Zetterström within the closing spherical in St. Louis and four-time world champ Steve Torrence within the closing spherical in Dallas to cement his factors lead.
A semifinal end on the season’s penultimate occasion in Las Vegas gave Kalitta sufficient of a factors lead to make sure the championship can be clinched in qualifying at Pomona.
“It’s onerous to pinpoint precisely what the key sauce is with what we’ve achieved right here, however Alan has spent hours constructing these elements and he’s simply received it discovered,” stated Kalitta, who has 4 wins, seven final-round appearances and eight No. 1 qualifiers by means of 19 races this season.
“You additionally need to have guys placing that automobile collectively precisely the identical every run to get the consistency for any of those guys to have the ability to tune the automobile, so it’s simply large.”
The championship is the sixth for group proprietor Connie Kalitta and Kalitta Motorsports, and its fourth in Prime Gasoline. Scott Kalitta received back-to-back Prime Gasoline crowns in 1994 and ’95 to precede his cousin Doug’s two titles. Del Worsham received Kalitta’s first Humorous Automotive championship in 2015 and J.R. Todd received one other in 2018.
