Doug Kalitta

He moved to drag racing in 1998 and, as of 2023, has been NHRA Top Fuel Championship runner-up a total of six times.

Doug threw the first pitch of the Tigers game on 6/12/24 and was “Just a bit outside!” Kalitta formerly raced in USAC events.

He was the 1991 USAC rookie of the year in the midget series, and won the 1994 championship in the sprint car category.

He is fifth on the all-time top fuel wins list;[2] the most recent of his 52 victories (Kalitta also has 113 career final round appearances) came in winning at the In-N-Out Burger NHRA Finals in Pomona, CA, on November 12, 2023.

Scott Kalitta, an NHRA driver who died on June 21, 2008, in a racing accident, was his cousin.