NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

Reigning and two-time NHRA Top Fuel champion Doug Kalitta enters this weekend’s inaugural Dodge NHRA Great Lakes Nationals presented by Mopar as the top seed entering the first of six races comprising the Countdown to the Championship NHRA Playoffs, and on the side of the car will be Grand Rapids, Mich.-based Applied Innovation. The NHRA Great Lakes Nationals is set for this weekend at U.S. 131 Motorsports Park in Martin, Mich.

After the completion of the regular season, points earned through the Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge were added to the standings, and Kalitta enters the Playoffs with a 26-point lead over his teammate, Shawn Langdon. Kalitta won the Challenge five times this year and earned his second-consecutive season championship in the special Saturday event.

Kalitta has four wins and four No. 1 qualifiers this season. With Kalitta’s wins and Langdon’s five wins, the Team Kalitta dragsters won nine of the season’s first 14 races and competed in 53 of the 55 rounds of racing. Langdon is the second seed in the Countdown.

A longtime Team Kalitta partner, Applied Innovation serves customers in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana and Florida with managed and co-managed IT and Help Desk services. Applied was founded as a printer, copier and fax company in 1987 and is now a full-fledged office technology provider.

Applied is one of this weekend’s “participating partners” in the Race to End Hunger benefitting Feeing America; Team Kalitta, DHL, Kalitta Air and eight additional partners are working together to fight food insecurity through this annual program which will surpass 4 million meals provided during this year’s effort.

“We’re proud of our partnership with Kalitta Motorsports and are especially excited to serve as Doug Kalitta’s primary partner for the inaugural Great Lakes Nationals, right here in our home state of Michigan,” said Casey Lowery, President of Applied Innovation. “As a family-owned Michigan business, it is particularly meaningful to partner with another family-owned Michigan company and valued Applied customer. We are also grateful to Kalitta and DHL for inviting us to join the Race to End Hunger and support Feeding America, a commitment to community that aligns closely with our own values. We wish Doug, J.R., Shawn and the entire Kalitta team the very best in Martin.”

This weekend’s race will be the first time Kalitta races at U.S. 131 Motorsports Park; he was there during test sessions when his uncle was driving, but the Michigan native never raced in Martin. With the race just a two-hour drive from the team’s shop, Team Kalitta will have massive support at this inaugural race.

“The Michigan race is pretty exciting, and it’s been a number of years since the Detroit Dragway days that NHRA has made it to Michigan, so it’s pretty close for us. We’ve had a lot of excitement with our employees and sponsors. We’re looking forward to that race, and Applied Innovation, which is headquartered over in that part of this state, is on my car this weekend so we look forward to hosting those guys.

“We’re gonna have a ton of people at our hospitality and just part of our weekend; as far as I’m concerned, the more of the merrier, but it’ll be business as usual, really. Each qualifying run is going to be important and typically Friday’s usually a good qualifying day, and then Saturdays are typically a little warmer, but this time of year in Michigan, I’m not sure what the forecast holds, but it’ll be exciting for the fans.”

Doug Kalitta, his uncle, team owner Connie Kalitta, and his late cousin, Scott, will be honored in Martin, Mich., as part of NHRA’s season-long 75th Anniversary celebration. Connie returns to the track this weekend after recovering from knee surgery. Connie and Doug will be recognized on the starting line prior to the third qualifying session on Saturday and will receive their medallions signifying their recognition as two of the top-75 drivers in NHRA history.