Randy Meyer Racing overcame a challenging start to the weekend to deliver a storybook finish at the JEGS SportsNationals at Beech Bend Raceway Park, with rookie driver Mitch Kalitta claiming his first career Top Alcohol Dragster victory in just his second start in the class.
The win marked Randy Meyer Racing’s 131st drag racing victory, the team’s sixth win at Beech Bend Raceway Park and its third consecutive victory at the Bowling Green facility. Matt Cummings won at Beech Bend in 2025, while Zack Sackman took the victory in 2024.
However, the weekend did not begin as smoothly as the team had hoped.
Both of Randy’s Top Alcohol Dragsters struggled to make clean qualifying runs on Friday and Saturday. Kalitta, making only his second Top Alcohol Dragster start of the season as a rookie, recorded an 8.227-second pass at 266.32 mph as his best qualifying effort after missing Q1 due to work. The number on the scoreboard, however, did not reflect the performance of the car.
During the staging procedure, Kalitta accidentally double-staged the dragster. Rather than rushing through the post-pre-stage steps required to launch the car — turning the fuel fully on and releasing the clutch — he took the time to complete the process correctly. Because the elapsed-time clock begins when the green light is on, those additional seconds were included in the official elapsed time. The result was an 8.227-second recorded pass even though the dragster was actually traveling at a five-second pace once it was fully underway to the quarter-mile. It was a valuable rookie lesson for Kalitta.
Jennifer Wiens was facing an even bigger learning curve. The JEGS SportsNationals marked her first Top Alcohol Dragster event after completing her license upgrade from Top Dragster with the team on Monday following the NHRA Brainerd Nationals. Wiens also struggled to make a clean A-to-B qualifying pass, with her best qualifying effort coming in at 8.489 seconds.
Despite the difficult qualifying sessions, Randy Meyer Racing’s crew continued working through the issues and the two drivers ultimately qualified fourth and fifth, putting the Meyer dragsters on opposite sides of the elimination ladder. That gave the team the best possible opportunity to bring both cars to the final round, and Sunday proved to be a completely different story.
Wiens came out swinging in the opening round, delivering the quickest pass of the entire event by any car — a 5.23-second run at 277 mph — to defeat Jackie Fricke. With only five cars entered for the eight-car field, Wiens received a bye in the second round, securing her spot in the final round while the other side of the ladder played out where kalitta’s path to the final was anything but easy.
In the second round, Kalitta faced veteran Jared Dreher and put together a 5.34-second pass at 269 mph to defeat Dreher’s 5.52 at the same speed.
The semifinal matched Kalitta against No. 1 qualifier Melanie Johnson. Kalitta once again posted a 5.34-second run, while Johnson encountered shake and had to pedal her dragster, ultimately recording a 5.55, and Kalitta earned his place in the finals.
That set up an all-Meyer final round, with both Kalitta and Wiens lining up for their first-ever Top Alcohol Dragster finals. Both drivers delivered strong passes, but Kalitta saved his best run of the weekend for the moment that mattered most. Kalitta powered the Kalitta Air dragster to an impressive 5.26-second pass at 267 mph, defeating Wiens’ Hedinger’s Equipment/NGK Spark Plugs and Coils strong 5.32-second run at 272 mph, and securing his first career Top Alcohol Dragster victory.
“I had a great weekend here at Bowling Green, it’s a super cool facility with lots of history and character,” said Kalitta. “It was my first time there, which seems to be a rarity for me as our family has raced at so many different tracks. Qualifying did not go as planned, I had a rookie mistake on the second run, but it was good to get that one out of the way before heading to Indy. Randy, JJ, & the whole Randy Meyer team had my Kalitta Air car running smooth and strong on Sunday winning all three rounds. I’m super honored to get my first NHRA win with such great people, I could not do it without them and the support from my family. Now we are focused on Indy for the Big Go!”
For Wiens, the weekend represented an impressive debut in Top Alcohol Dragster competition. After only earning her upgraded license days earlier, she immediately found herself in her first final round and posted the quickest pass of the entire event along the way.
“Qualifying was a little rough, and we faced the number two qualifier first round and somehow ended up low E.T. for the weekend,” said Wiens. “I had a bye into the final, and in the final I think we still ran a great pass, but Mitch prevailed and it was a great weekend overall. I can’t wait to do it again.”
The result was a significant milestone not only for Kalitta, but for the entire Randy Meyer Racing organization. The victory was the team’s 131st overall and continued a unique streak at Beech Bend Raceway Park, where Randy Meyer Racing has now won three consecutive years with three different drivers.
Hedinger’s Equipment was also on board both Randy Meyer Racing dragsters throughout the JEGS SportsNationals weekend. Based in Indianapolis, Indiana, Hedinger’s Equipment is an authorized wrecker dealership for Miller, Century, Vulcan, Chevron and Landoll trailers, offering an extensive selection of new and pre-owned equipment backed by a strong focus on customer service. The company has partnered with Randy Meyer Racing to support the team and a shared commitment to performance and excellence in both the drag racing and towing industries.
The Hedinger’s Equipment branding will remain on the Randy Meyer Racing dragsters next weekend at the NHRA U.S. Nationals, where Kalitta will return to competition alongside TJ Tindle.
With a first career win now on his résumé and Wiens already showing championship-level potential in her Top Alcohol Dragster debut, the Randy Meyer Racing team leaves Bowling Green with plenty of momentum heading into the biggest race of the NHRA season.
