Doug Kalitta Takes No. 1 Qualifier At NHRA Route 66 Nationals In Joliet, Illinois

NHRA Route 66 Nationals: Doug Kalitta Leads Field In Joliet, Illinois

Doug Kalitta will lead the field in Sunday's eliminations at the NHRA Gerber Glass and Collision Route 66 Nationals at Joliet, Illinois.

Kalitta's 3.720-second run was quickest in the Top Fuel class, earning him the No. 1 qualifier position for the second straight day.

That last session last night was kind of interesting, he said, because everybody was kind of one-upping one another, and it got down to us. As a driver, you're sitting there going, Man, I sure hope we can pull this off. Anytime you get down to the end, and you know there's another pair behind you, you're just hoping to stay ahead. Tomorrow's going to be a good day for racing, so we'll just see what it's got for us.

Kalitta led the Top Fuel chart Friday, and his time held up for his second straight No. 1 start at the event.

Another major moment came Saturday when Josh Hart, of John Force Racing, set the Top Fuel track speed record with his 341.25-mph pass Saturday on the 1,000-foot Route 66 Raceway course.

But starting lineups are determined by elapsed times rather than speeds. Hart took the No. 4 spot behind No. 2 Maddi Gordon and No. 3 Billy Torrence.

Other drivers earning No. 1 qualifying positions included Jack Beckman in Funny Car, Erica Enders in Pro Stock, and Angie Smith in Pro Stock Motorcycle.

Drivers Hope For Repeat Success

Jack Beckman has seemed like déjà-vu. Last year, he qualified first and went on to win the Funny Car trophy. So he's hoping for a repeat.

You're looking at all these graphs, Beckman said. You're looking at the weather station. You're looking at your horsepower number. There's all these numbers up there on their computer screens. Your head could explode at a point. And you have to go through all that stuff and make something make sense for your clutch force, your tires, your ignition timing map, your blower overdrive, your nitro percentage and compression ratio – and it all has to work right. And when your does it better than any other team out there, that's as good as it gets.

Erica Enders would agree. She defeated Elite Motorsports colleague Greg Stanfield to add the bonus-race victory to her No. 1 qualifying achievement.

This is super-exciting, Enders said after her stellar showing. I started racing Super Comp dragsters here back when I was in high school. So I've been coming here an awful long time, and then to secure my first Pro Stock win here back in 2012, it's just been a special place. So it would be fitting if this was where the tide started to turn and it has so far this weekend: securing the No. 1 spot and then winning the Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty. I was really hoping Angie Smith was going to win the Mission Challenge, so then it could be three chicks. Alexis DeJoria also won #2Fast2Tasty in Funny Car. But she did a fantastic job, too. Tomorrow's the day that matters, though, and I really, really want one of those diamond Wally trophies for NHRA's 75th anniversary season. So we'll see what happens.

Pro Stock Motorcycle Class Dominated By Smith

In the bike class, Smith's run in the final round of the specialty race gave her the No. 1 qualifier for the second time in four races this season. She made the quickest runs in the class on both Friday and Saturday, something she hopes will lead to her first win of 2026.

When you are the No. 1 qualifier and you know you have the machine, the motorcycle, that I do, I have to focus on one round at a time, go do my job, and the cards will fall how they want to fall, Smith said. Hopefully, tomorrow, about 4 o'clock, I have a trophy, and we're partying in the winners circle, but being No. 1 qualifier gives you a lot of confidence. But you can't let it give you too much confidence. You still have to focus on the job at hand, and you just have to go out there and know what you need to do.

Even rival and two-time champion Gaige Herrera said she's got the bike to beat this weekend, and my hat's off to her. She's been doing well this year so far and so has Matt her husband and seven-time champion. It's been making the class much more fun and interesting.

Mission Foods Challenge Results

Top Fuel racer Shawn Langdon won the battle between the sport's best two leavers, beating Justin Ashley in the final round of the Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty Challenge.

But he and crew chief Brian Husen both lamented that while the accomplishment was something positive, it was disappointing for them that Langdon could qualify no higher than ninth.

If Langdon can get past Shawn Reed in the opening round of eliminations Sunday, he'll have to meet Kalitta Motorsports teammate Doug Kalitta who has the benefit of a bye in the second round.

It was more than just going up there and trying to win the Mission final, Langdon said. We needed to make a run down the track, too. We were pretty far down in the qualifying order. It was a good run. It responded to what we did.

Pro Stock's Erica Enders defeated Elite Motorsports colleague Greg Stanfield to add the bonus-race victory to her No. 1 qualifying achievement. And in Pro Stock Motorcycle, Gaige Herrera defeated Angie Smith in the final round.

Alexis DeJoria Takes Ugly Funny Car Victory

Alexis DeJoria knew her Funny Car victory at Jordan Vandergriff's expense was ugly, but she was glad to have the bonus money and Countdown-applied points from the all-John Force Racing match-up.

Vandergriff was getting ready to stage his car for the showdown following the burnout when his clutch failed and guaranteed DeJoria the victory. Then she rattled the tires early in her solo run.

I let the clutch out to roll forward, and there was no movement, Vandergriff said. We've got to check that – that's terrible. That's terrible, because I think we might have had that won. DeJoria said she got a lucky round on that one. I did not expect Jordan to have to be shut down. That's not a way you want to win the race, but we won. So, I'm very grateful.

The event is part of NHRA's 75th anniversary season.