Kalitta keeping the golden opportunities rolling in Top Fuel

The numbers are starting to add up for Doug Kalitta.

NHRA’s reigning Top Fuel world champion is closing in on third place on the all-time wins list. He made the quickest run of the season Saturday afternoon at South Georgia Motorsports Park to claim his 67th career No. 1 qualifier, which broke a tie for seventh all-time with Kenny Bernstein. And his two championships have come in the last three years.

But the drag racing veteran doesn’t concern himself with any of it.

“Each time we go up there, it seems like you’re only as good as your last run,” Kalitta told RACER. “I’m more geared toward working now and getting it done today. I’ve been working hard at trying to do my part.”

Kalitta does plenty behind the wheel, but he is always quick to deflect the success to others. Whether it be Chad Head, who leads the Kalitta Motorsports program and has all three teams putting the competition on notice, or crew chiefs Alan Johnson and Mac Savage for their leadership and the team around them.

“We’ve got a good combination for what the guys are doing on the supercharger and the clutch,” Kalitta said. “It’s probably the trickiest two things that we have on this car is the consistency of the lower clutch. Those are, in my opinion, the most finicky pieces of this equation, and being able to give Alan a consistent car each time we go up there.

“Alan has a history of winning championships, and I have to admit, I’m very fortunate. I hope I can hang onto him as long as possible. I hope he doesn’t get bored.”

Johnson did not make the trip to Georgia but is working with the team remotely. It brought a small sense of panic to Kalitta, who laughed about whether he was retiring.

“I’m like, ‘Oh my God, where’s Alan at?’” he said. “I’m sure he had something important to do. He’s working with Mac over the phone, doing whatever, and this is a cool opportunity for Mac. Now we have to prove just one more tool in Alan’s toolbox to win a race from tuning the car at home.”

Some of the stiffest competition is going to come from in-house. Kalitta and Shawn Langdon have been two of the most dominant and consistent drivers in the class the last few seasons, and it hasn’t slowed down to start 2026. While Kalitta went to No. 1 in qualifying in Georgia, doing so with a 342-mph pass, it came a day after Langdon became the fastest man in NHRA history with a 345-mph run.

Kalitta is fresh off a win in the four-wide event at zMAX Dragway. Langdon won the second event of the season in Phoenix. The two are 1-2 in the Top Fuel standings – exactly as they finished the 2025 season.

“I have a lot of respect for Shawn,” said Kalitta. “I’ve raced against him for a long time; he’s always been considered one of the best drivers and leavers (in the class). They’re going to be tough. That’s one of the things Alan said early on, ‘We’re going to have our hands with these guys next door.’ So, we’re going to have to make it happen somehow.”

But even if it’s not Langdon, there are plenty of others in the class shooting for the champion. The season has started with four different winners in four races, and behind the Kalitta duo in points is the Leah Pruett and Tony Stewart duo of the Tony Stewart Racing/Elite Motorsports alliance, and then Josh Hart of John Force Racing.

“They all feed off one another, too,” Kalitta said of the class and never being able to have your guard down. “There are a lot of talented drivers out here.”