MADISON, Ill. (AP) — Doug Kalitta raced to his sixth No. 1 qualifying position of the Top Fuel season Saturday in the NHRA Midwest Nationals at Gateway Motorsports Park.
Kalitta powered his Kalitta Motorsports dragster to a 3.758-second run at 325.45 mph to take the top spot away from rookie Richie Crampton in the final qualifying session.
“We kind of struggled in the first two Countdown races, but we know we can go rounds and we’re real confident about that and now we need to go out there and prove it,” said Kalitta, a three-time winner at Gateway. “We’re real excited for tomorrow. The car is running good, the track is holding up good, the lanes are both pretty even and the conditions are really good. I’m looking forward to it.”
John Force topped the Funny Car field, Erica Enders-Stevens was fastest in Pro Stock, and Eddie Krawiec was No. 1 in Pro Stock Motorcycle in the third of six events in the NHRA Mello Yello Countdown to the Championship.
In Funny Car, the 65-year-old Force earned his sixth No. 1 of the season and 152nd of his career with his Friday run of 4.022 at 319.52 in a Ford Mustang.
Enders-Stevens’ Friday run of 6.513 at 212.90 stood, and Krawiec had a 6.810 at 194.60.
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