Eight Participants set for Pep Boys NHRA Top Fuel All-Star Callout in Gainesville

Loaded field for the big-money specialty race at Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals features five world champions

GAINESVILLE, FL – February 8, 2024 – (Motor Sports NewsWire) – The lineup for the Pep Boys NHRA Top Fuel All-Star Callout is set and it’s a star-studded field that includes five world champions, record-breaking drivers and a host of all-star drivers.

The race, which started in 2022 and pits eight standouts against each other in a unique specialty shootout, takes place on Saturday, March 9 during the highly-anticipated opener to the 2024 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season, the 55th annual Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals.

With big money, including a total purse of $130,000, a special Callout trophy and belt, and bragging rights on the line at legendary Gainesville Raceway, the top eight seeds, in order, are Steve Torrence, Doug Kalitta, Brittany Force, Mike Salinas, Justin Ashley, Leah Pruett, Antron Brown and Shawn Langdon.

With Austin Prock switching to the Funny Car ranks this year, Langdon moves into the vacated slot as the next highest-ranked driver in the Callout points standings. Combined, Torrence, Kalitta, the 2023 world champion, Force, Brown and Langdon have 11 world titles in the loaded category.

The action gets a special feature broadcast at 7 p.m. ET on FS1 on Saturday, March 9 and with the distinctive callout format in place, first-round selections will be made at 12:30 p.m. on Friday, March 8 in the Top Eliminator Club. Torrence, the top-seeded driver, gets the first pick to call out his opening-round opponent. If Kalitta isn’t called out, the veteran picks next, going down the line until all four first-round matchups are set. Then, the driver who makes the quickest winning run that round selects their semifinal opponent, locking in the other matchup as well.

It’s all part of a massive, marquee weekend that will give one Top Fuel driver the chance to win the Callout and then the famed Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals the next day, adding another surefire layer of excitement to the legendary event.

Torrence won the inaugural Pep Boys NHRA Top Fuel All-Star Callout in 2022, though that race was finished in Indy due to weather. The four-time world champion will look to win it for the first time in Gainesville, while Kalitta looks to stay red-hot to open 2024 after ending last season with his elusive first world title. Force won the 2022 world title after setting track and world records across…