INDIANAPOLIS (Nov. 24, 2025) – For Doug Kalitta, this year’s fall visit to In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip for the In-N-Out Burger NHRA Finals marked a far different feel. There were no tense moments, no chance at heartbreak and not even a need for a thrilling winner-take-all finish.
Instead, the championship came on Saturday, summarizing an incredible jaunt through the Countdown to the Championship playoffs. After years of second-place finishes and near-misses, Kalitta won the Top Fuel championship for the second time in three years, continuing a brilliant run with crew chief Alan Johnson.
He matched his cousin Scott’s two world championships and added another impressive notch in the Kalitta family legacy. Doing it without any sort of championship drama in Pomona also made it just a bit sweeter as well.
Kalitta advanced to the final round at the first four playoff races, winning twice and showcasing consistency that none of his counterparts could match in the second half of the season. Kalitta and his team simply got better as the 2025 NHRA Mission Drag Racing Series rolled on, winning four times, advancing to seven final rounds and claiming yet another world title in his 12,000-horsepower Mac Tools dragster for Kalitta Motorsports.
“This is definitely a lot easier, I can tell you that,” Kalitta said. “I’ve never had a relaxing Pomona. It’s always seemed to come down to the last race, last day, but we had a nice string of runs throughout the Countdown. Alan [Johnson, crew chief] and my whole team have had my car going down the track. It’s been really nice, and just not doing something stupid on the track and getting good, solid runs.
“Alan is always throwing down and always has something up his sleeve. So, I’m just really proud of him and my whole team. It’s a huge relief to be able to win the championship and we’re all just super happy.”
Kalitta was a standout in qualifying, taking the No. 1 spot eight times in 2025, but minus a final-round showing early in Phoenix, the team didn’t get rolling until July. They had stayed consistently fourth in points behind Tony Stewart, teammate Shawn Langdon and Justin Ashley, but really turned it on in Sonoma.
Kalitta won back-to-back races in Sonoma and Brainerd, entering the playoffs fourth in points. The team’s resolve was tested at the playoff opener in Reading, where, after taking a first-round win over Tony Stewart, Kalitta’s car swerved across the centerline and collided with Stewart’s dragster.
Neither driver was injured, and Kalitta’s team continued on with a backup car, reaching the final round. He jumped into the points lead and never looked back, distancing himself from Stewart, Ashley and Langdon with a final-round showing in Charlotte and then wins in St. Louis and Dallas.
Kalitta defeated Ida Zetterström in the final round in St. Louis and four-time world champ Steve Torrence in the final round in Dallas to cement his points lead.
A semifinal finish in Las Vegas gave Kalitta enough of a points lead to ensure the championship was his.
“You have to have guys putting that car together exactly the same each and every run to get the consistency for any of these guys to be able to tune the car, so it’s just huge,” Kalitta said. “It was definitely a tribute to the guys.
“We had a lot of confidence in our back-up car (in Reading) and we just hit the ground running once we switched. It’s a heck of an opportunity to drive for Connie. It’s so competitive out here and we all want to win. It’s very cool (to have two titles) and have this opportunity.”
Kalitta also put up big numbers this season, including an epic performance in Seattle that included a run of 3.628-seconds at 341.34 mph, which was the second-quickest and third-fastest run in NHRA history at the time.
The championship is the sixth for team owner Connie Kalitta and Kalitta Motorsports, and its fourth in Top Fuel. Scott Kalitta won back-to-back Top Fuel crowns in 1994 and ’95 to precede his cousin Doug’s two titles. Del Worsham won Kalitta’s first Funny Car championship in 2015 and J.R. Todd won another in 2018.
The NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series kicks off its 75th anniversary season in 2026 on March 5-8 with the NHRA Gatornationals at legendary Gainesville Raceway.
About Mission Foods
MISSION®, owned by GRUMA, S.A.B. de C.V., is the world’s leading brand for tortillas and wraps. MISSION® is also globally renowned for flatbreads, dips, salsas and Mexican food products. With presence in over 112 countries, MISSION® products are suited to the lifestyles and the local tastes of each country. With innovation and customer needs in mind, MISSION® focuses on the highest quality, authentic flavors, and providing healthy options that families and friends can enjoy together. For more information, please visit https://www.missionfoods.com/
About NHRA
NHRA is the primary sanctioning body for the sport of drag racing in the United States. NHRA presents 20 national events featuring the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series and NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series, as well as the Congruity NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series, NHRA Flexjet Factory Stock Showdown™, NHRA Holley EFI Factory X and Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage NHRA Mountain Motor Pro Stock at select national events. NHRA provides competition opportunities for drivers of all levels in the NHRA Summit Racing Series and NHRA Street Legal™. NHRA also offers the NHRA Jr. Street® program for teens and the Summit Racing Jr. Drag Racing League® for youth ages 5 to 17. With more than 100 Member Tracks, NHRA allows racers to compete at a variety of locations nationally and internationally. NHRA’s Youth and Education Services® (YES) Program reaches over 30,000 students annually to ignite their interest in automotive and racing related careers. NHRA’s streaming service, NHRA.tv®, allows fans to view all NHRA national events as well as exclusive features of the sport. In addition, NHRA owns and operates three racing facilities: Gainesville Raceway in Florida; Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park; and In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip in Southern California. For more information, log on to www.NHRA.com, or visit the official NHRA pages on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.
