Top Fuel’s Doug Kalitta Claims Second Title on Saturday In-N-Out Berger NHRA Finals

POMONA, CA – November 16, 2025 – (Motor Sports NewsWire) – For the second time in three years, Doug Kalitta is a world champion, as the veteran officially clinched the 2025 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series Top Fuel world championship on Saturday at 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 due to weather. It marked a far different feel than Kalitta’s first championship, which went down to a winner-take-all final round at Pomona in 2023.

This time, Kalitta’s dominance in the Countdown to the Championship playoffs ensured that a pressure-packed situation wouldn’t be necessary. He reached the final round of the first four playoff races, winning in St. Louis and Dallas to take control in his 12,000-horsepower Mac Tools dragster.

That led to the championship being clinched on Saturday, as Kalitta celebrated with his team before the first round of eliminations even started.

“Yeah, this is definitely a lot easier [than 2023],” said Kalitta. “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 real 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 before the last round at the last race, and we’re all just super happy.”

Much as was the case in his 2023 championship season, Kalitta and his Alan Johnson-led Mac Tools team didn’t catch fire until midway through the regular 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 both Reading and Charlotte, 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 at the season’s penultimate event in Las Vegas gave Kalitta enough of a points lead to ensure the championship would be clinched in qualifying at Pomona.

“It’s hard to pinpoint exactly what the secret sauce is with what we’ve done here, but Alan has spent hours building these parts and he’s just got it figured out,” said Kalitta, who has four wins, seven final-round appearances and eight No. 1 qualifiers through 19 races this season.

“You also 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.”

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.

Eliminations for the In-N-Out Burger NHRA Finals are scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. PT on Sunday. Gates open at 7:30 a.m.

To purchase tickets to the 60th annual In-N-Out Burger NHRA Finals, fans can visit www.NHRA.com/tickets. All children 12 and under will be admitted free in the general admission area with a paid adult. For more information about NHRA, visit www.NHRA.com.

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.

Source: National Hot Rod Association

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