NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

Longtime NHRA Funny Car crew chief Dickie Venables is the new crew chief for J.R. Todd’s DHL Funny Car. Venables, 60, is a four-time NHRA Funny Car championship crew chief, having won the title in 2007 with then-driver Tony Pedregon at Tony Pedregon Racing; he was the assistant crew chief for Pedregon’s 2003 title at John Force Racing. 

After working with Del Worsham at Alan Johnson Racing, Venables joined Don Schumacher Racing in 2011 and led driver Matt Hagan to the NHRA Funny Car championship in 2014, 2020, and 2023. 

Venables comes to Kalitta Motorsports from Tony Stewart Racing, where he teamed with Hagan since the team’s inception. Longtime Kalitta Motorsports team member Jon Oberhofer will serve as Venables’ assistant crew chief. Venables replaces Todd Smith, who joined Kalitta Motorsports in 2016 and left at the end of 2024.

“I’m super excited about this next phase of my career — I’m really happy to be in Michigan, getting comfortable with everybody and meeting people I didn’t know before,” said Venables. “Kalitta Motorsports obviously has a lot of resources and great teams, so I’m really happy to be part of it. 

“There is no magic wand you can wave over one of these cars. It’s something we have to take one step at a time — as long as we make progress with the changes we’re thinking about making, I think we’ll eventually get to our goal. The biggest thing about that is you have to have good people, and the whole Kalitta organization is well represented out there.

“I’ve seen what they were able to accomplish with some of the mishaps and unfortunate things that happened to the race cars in both Funny Car and Top Fuel. Those guys never gave up. They got the chassis fixed and got the cars back on the racetrack – that’s the definition of teamwork. I’m excited and looking forward to getting the season started.”

“Dickie Venables is real pro, and he’s a major addition to a talented DHL GR Supra team,” said Team Kalitta General Manager Chad Head. “Dickie’s talents and experience will put the DHL team in a position to challenge for the 2025 Funny Car championship.” 

The Team Kalitta Top Fuel teams finished second and fourth in 2024, and each team will have the same leadership in the new season. Doug Kalitta followed his 2023 NHRA Top Fuel championship with a second-place finish in 2024. Crew chief Alan Johnson and assistant crew chief Mac Savage return to the Mac Tools team for the 2025 season. Shawn Langdon finished fourth in the final season standings last year in crew chief Brian Husen’s first season at the helm of the Kalitta Air Careers Top Fuel team, and the talented duo both return for the new season.