NHRA Top Fuel Champion Doug Kalitta Happy Answering Different Questions These Days

• Doug Kalitta snapped a nearly three-year-long dry spell when he finally notched his 50th career win at the 38th annual Pep Boys NHRA Nationals at Reading, Pa., last Sept. 17.

• He went on to win three of the final six events of the 2023 season en route to his first championship.

• Kalitta has won three events in 2024 and leads the Top Fuel standings.

It was nearly a year ago when people were coming up to NHRA Top Fuel driver Doug Kalitta and tip-toeing around the questions many were whispering behind his back.

"Hey Doug, when are you going to get that 50th win?"

"Have you given any thought to retirement?"

"How frustrating have the last three years been?"

Who was asking those questions? Well, I, for one. After all, it had been nearly three years since Kalitta had found his way to the winners' circle at an NHRA event. Kalitta appeared to be at a loss for answers then, and at least a little bit of the hop had gone out of his step.

These days, the questions—and the results—have changed.

Oh, how they have they changed.

Kalitta snapped a nearly three-year-long dry spell when he finally notched his 50th career win at the 38th annual Pep Boys NHRA Nationals at Reading, Pa., last Sept. 17. He went on to win three of the final six events of the 2023 season en route to his first championship.

This year, the 59-year-old Mac Tools Dragster pilot from Michigan sits atop the Top Fuel points chart with wins in three of the first 10 events, including two wins in the last four. He's made the final round the last four times out.

Needless to say—but we'll say it anyway—the questions are different these days for the 55-time winner.

"Yeah, we kind of got things going towards the end of last year, and it's been fun," Kalitta told Autoweek at the series' most recent stop at Norwalk, Ohio. "We've seen it happen in the past with (crew chief) Alan Johnson getting on a roll. It's been just really everybody pulling together, working, doing their job, and the guys putting this thing together doing a hell of a job."

Kalitta points to the efforts of crew chiefs Johnson and Mac Savage and how well they're working together to make the Mac Tools Top Fuel Dragster the car to beat this year in the class.

Brian Husen was a crew chief with Kalitta's car last year. He's teaming this year with Justin Groat on the team's sister car driven by Shawn Langdon. That combination is also working, as Langdon enters this weekend's NHRA Northwest Nationals in Seattle third in the standings to give Kalitta Motorsports the top 1-2 punch in Top Fuel.

"Alan has incredible knowledge," Kalitta said. "He builds a lot of parts and just seems to have a knack. When you get the right combination obviously of people, parts and car, it all comes together. We struggled the first year with some combinations and I think we changed everything except the driver."

Changes last year even included switching to a non-canopy dragster from the canopy car, which Kalitta ditched out of necessity just before the win at Reading. The canopy car was damaged when a tire blew during a run at Reading. Contact twisted the car body just enough to the point where the canopy wouldn't fit properly.

So, the team quickly switched to the non-canopy car, went on to win the event, and the team hasn't gone back to the canopy. Maybe the 30 or so less pounds in the driver compartment has been a bigger difference than Kalitta believes.

Kalitta says he plays just a small role in the turnaround. In fact, he says the data shows that his driving and his reaction times are "pretty much the same" as before things kicked into a different gear last season.

"I'm obviously trying to do my best," he said. "It's an incredible opportunity right now. It's just a happy motor right now with Alan's tuneup and with what the guys are doing putting this thing together."

And then there's what Kalitta calls the "sweat equity" put in by team general manger Chad Head, and the leadership of ever-present boss of the operation—legendary team owner Connie Kalitta.

"Connie's 86 years old, and he's out here still giving us everything we need to do what we're doing, and that's really what it boils down to," Doug says.

And as for the questions, they are a lot different these days—and more fun to answer.

"Trust me, over the years I've had a ton of great crew members, crew chiefs," he said. "And obviously, with Alan, it's definitely a lot of fun for sure."