Kalitta, Hyde & Glenn Pick Up Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge At NHRA 4-Wide In Vegas
Story By: NHRA – LAS VEGAS, NV – The final pass of Saturday at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway proved to be a great one for Doug Kalitta, as the former Top Fuel world champion picked up the win in the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge at the 25th annual NHRA 4-Wide Nationals.
Spencer Hyde (Funny Car) and Dallas Glenn (Pro Stock) also won the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge bonus race on Saturday.
Kalitta Motorsports teammate Shawn Langdon won the first two Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenges this year, and Doug kept the Top Fuel team perfect this season in the bonus race.
“Yeah, I really like the format, being able to race on Saturdays. It’s brought a lot more to the fans,” Kalitta said. “I think they’re all engaged a little more on Saturdays. We ended up winning this race last year. So, for me, coming to these races that you won the previous year, you really want to get it done again.
“Besides Pomona, I think this is the closest track to where Alan [Johnson, crew chief] lives, so he typically has a lot of people that come out. So, I’m going to have to give the love to Alan on this one, because this is like his home track and maybe has something to do with it.”
In Funny Car, Spencer Hyde’s rookie season continues to progress at a rapid rate, as the newcomer picked up the win in the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge with a run of 3.968 at 318.54 in his 11,000-horsepower Head Contractors & Engineers Ford Mustang. After not qualifying at the first two races, Hyde has made rapid improvements, advancing to the semifinals at the most recent race in Pomona.
That put him in the bonus race in Las Vegas and Hyde took advantage on Saturday in a major way, winning a quad that featured Cruz Pedregon, Matt Hagan and Chad Green. The car has performed at a consistent clip the past two races and Hyde been on his game. He thrilled with Saturday’s outcome, marking his first major accomplishment in the NHRA ranks.
“It’s pretty cool. Obviously, we had a little rough start to the season — didn’t qualify in Gainesville, didn’t qualify in Phoenix — but we’re putting that behind us,” Hyde said. “We had a great outing in Pomona, going to the semifinals and obviously here with this win. I’m getting more comfortable in the car, getting some good, clean runs in.
“That’s the first time it’s blown up on me at the finish line, so that was exciting. I’ve been waiting for the last couple runs. I knew it dropped a hole [cylinder] in the last run, and it’s not if, it’s when in these things, so I just been kind of waiting for it. It wasn’t too bad it — just popped blower off – but there was no big fireball or anything, so all good.”
Dallas Glenn won a thrilling Pro Stock final in the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge on Saturday, winning over KB Titan Racing teammate Greg Anderson on a holeshot with a run of 6.637 at 206.13. Anderson was quicker with a 6.614, but Glenn’s strong .022 reaction time handed the young standout his first victory of the season in the specialty race in his RAD Torque Systems Chevrolet Camaro.
“I’m really thrilled, because three of us basically staged at the same time, and then I didn’t feel like I hit the tree,” Glenn said. “I was happy to see I was .022, and then the car made a right turn. I was out in the weeds and it was spinning and bouncing. It was a little more shocking to see the win light come on.
“It was definitely a big confidence boost. You know, I feel like we’re still working on the car. We’re still getting a little bit better, and I feel like I can miss it and still be .022, so I’m definitely feeling more comfortable in the car, too. We have a lot of momentum going into Sunday.”
