Doug Kalitta (born August 20, 1964) is an American auto racing driver from Ypsilanti, Michigan, and owner of airline Kalitta Charters. He started racing in open-wheel cars on an oval. Kalitta won the 1994 USAC Midget rookie of the year title and the 1994 USAC Sprint car championship. He moved to drag racing in 1998 and, as of 2023, has been NHRA Top Fuel Championship runner-up a total of six times. Kalitta won his first NHRA Top Fuel Championship on November 12, 2023 at the In-N-Out Burger NHRA Finals in Pomona, CA. Doug threw the first pitch of the Tigers game on 6/12/24 and was “Just a bit outside!”