Doug Kalitta's 13-year drag-racing career is studded with a number of stellar achievements and precious few regrets.
 
But the 2006 NHRA Finals at Pomona, Calif., has to rate as probably his most crushing disappointment. It was the race at which Tony Schumacher seized the series championship on the last run -- against Kalitta, taking the race and the glory from the Ann Arbor, Mich., driver who had led the standings following the previous 10 events.
 
Things unraveled a bit that weekend for Kalitta, and he never had led the Top Fuel qualifying field since -- until Saturday at the Northwest Nationals at Pacific Raceways.

Doug Kalitta's 13-year drag-racing career is studded with a number of stellar achievements and precious few regrets.
 
But the 2006 NHRA Finals at Pomona, Calif., has to rate as probably his most crushing disappointment. It was the race at which Tony Schumacher seized the series championship on the last run -- against Kalitta, taking the race and the glory from the Ann Arbor, Mich., driver who had led the standings following the previous 10 events.
 
Things unraveled a bit that weekend for Kalitta, and he never had led the Top Fuel qualifying field since -- until Saturday at the Northwest Nationals at Pacific Raceways.
 
Driving a special Kalitta Air-themed dragster, he registered his first No. 1 qualifying position in 85 races, relying on his 3.884-second elapsed time at 313.58 mph from Friday's night session.
 
Both his time and speed were best in the class, and they propelled him into the Countdown to the Championship field. He joined Larry Dixon, Tony Schumacher, and Cory McClenathan as qualified for the so-called playoff process that consists of the final six events (at Indianapolis, Charlotte, Dallas, Reading, Las Vegas, and Pomona).
 
“I can't believe it's been almost four years since we were No. 1,” Kalitta, who's fifth in the standings, said of his 29th career No. 1 qualifying berth. “All the credit goes to Jim (crew chief Oberhofer), Troy (assistant crew chief Fasching), and all the guys on our Kalitta Air team.
 
“We've made some changes to our engine program and tune-up since Norwalk,” he said, referring to the previous race, in northern Ohio, “and they definitely look like the right moves.”
 
Kalitta, a four-time runner-up in the first seven races this season, said, “Getting in the Countdown is also a really big deal for us. It's something we don't have to worry about now, and we can go out and race with less pressure on us. Our Kalitta Air Dragster is really running great this year, and we hope to keep that going.”
 
He'll have a bye run in tomorrow's first round of eliminations, because the Top Fuel class is a car short of a full field. Then he'll face the winner of the Morgan Lucas-Steve Torrence match-up.
 
Kalitta is a three-time runner-up finisher at Pacific Raceways, with final-round appearances in 2003, 2000, and 1999.