“God gets all the glory.” (Photo: NHRA Media)
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — On Saturday night, the third annual NHRA Top Fuel All-Star Callout took place at Gainesville Raceway at the Gatornationals. With a total of eight cars and $80,000 on the line, the drivers got to pick their own opponents on stage, kicking off the 2024 NHRA season.
Four-time world champion, Steve Torrence, was called to the stage first and chose last year’s Callout winner, Josh Hart, to start alongside him on the track.
“My strategy for round one [of the] Callout is to get to the finish line first,” said Torrence.
Defending Top Fuel champion, Doug Kalitta, was called to the stage next. Kalitta selected two-time world champion Brittany Force, who was the only female competitor of the night. When asked about his strategy, Kalitta said that he would do whatever it takes to win and get the big money.
Next up on the stage was Mike Salinas. He chose Justin Ashley to be by his side for the first round. Salinas said that he was “excited for breaking speed records and [for] making new ones.”
There were two remaining drivers left, Antron Brown and Shawn Langdon, and by default they would be each other’s opponents. Langdon said that his strategy was to “leave first and get there first”.
“When we go racing, we ain’t showing any love,” said Brown. “We’re trying to destroy whoever is in the other lane.”
Antron Brown competing in the NHRA Top Fuel All-Star Callout at Gainesville Raceway in Gainesville, Florida. (Photo: NHRA Media)
Brown and Langdon hit the strip first and Brown seized the win with a reaction time of .062 seconds, an elapsed time of 3.918 seconds and a final speed of 280.49 miles an hour. Langdon followed with a reaction time of .053 seconds, an elapsed time of 4.304 seconds and a final speed of 209.17 miles an hour.
| RT | 60 FT | 330 FT | 660 FT | MPH at 660 | ET | MPH | |
| Shawn Langdon | .053 | .838 | 2.136 | 3.241 | 215.72 | 4.304 | 209.17 |
| Antron Brown | .062 | .848 | 2.136 | 3.056 | 256.45 | 3.918 | 280.49 |
Salinas and Ashley rolled up to the start line next. Going down the track, it looked like Salinas had lost it, but he would end up being the victor with a reaction time of .077 seconds, an elapsed time of 4.192 seconds and a final speed of 291.51 miles per hour. Ashley had a reaction time of .062 seconds, an elapsed time of 4.427 seconds and a final speed of 237.09 miles per hour.
Force and Kalitta were up next and early on in the race, Kalitta lost traction and spun tires, handing the victory to Force. Force had a reaction time of .090 seconds, an elapsed time of 3.795 seconds and a final speed of 331.28 miles per hour. Kalitta had the better reaction time of .049 seconds but faltered with a total elapsed time of 5.816 seconds and a final speed of 118.53 miles per hour.
| RT | 60 FT | 330 FT | 660 FT | MPH at 660 | ET | MPH | |
| Brittany Force | .090 | .856 | 2.158 | 3.062 | 284.09 | 3.795 | 331.28 |
| Doug Kalitta | .049 | .834 | 2.293 | 3.920 | 130.78 | 5.816 | 118.53 |
In the final matchup of Round 1, Torrence took the victory from Hart.
Following the same procedure as the first round, the drivers got to choose their opponents for the semifinals. With there only being four competitors, the lowest seed got to pick first, leaving the remaining two drivers to race each other. The lowest seed was Torrence, who ended up picking Brown. Torrence said that “this is a tough competition any way you look at it”.
That left Salinas and Force to battle against each other.
“I have four daughters,” said Salinas. “So I’m afraid of females. But she’s great.”
The latter pair was up first. Force was victorious with a reaction time of .147 seconds, an elapsed time of 3.785 seconds and a final speed of 329.47 miles per hour. Salinas came out on top for his reaction time of .068 seconds but had trouble with the elapsed time and final speed, which were 4.477 seconds and 195.05 miles per hour, respectively.
Torrence and Brown were up next. Although Brown did not win with his final speed, he became the victor due to his elapsed time of 3.761 seconds. Torrence’s was 3.765 seconds.
| RT | 60 FT | 330 FT | 660 FT | MPH at 660 | ET | MPH | |
| Antron Brown | .055 | .855 | 2.150 | 3.022 | 290.26 | 3.761 | 322.50 |
| Steve Torrence | .072 | .861 | 2.143 | 3.031 | 288.27 | 3.765 | 329.34 |
After Torrence and Salinas were eliminated, Force and Brown went head-to-head in the final round. Due to Force’s engine having a mechanical issue that resulted in an oil fire, Brown emerged victorious in the Callout and happily collected the $80,000 payday. The fireball shooting out of Force’s car made it appear that Brown blew up as well, but luckily for Brown, it was just a reflection.
Brittany Force (Photo: NHRA Media)
Brown won the race with a reaction time of .053 seconds, an elapsed time of 3.709 seconds and a final speed of 332.43 miles per hour. Force ended with a reaction time of .085 seconds, an elapsed time of 3.730 seconds and a final speed of 328.70 miles per hour.
“This is a great momentum builder,” said Brown. “But God gets all the glory.”
