AAA Insurance NHRA Midwest Nationals

Madison, Ill – Todd eyes third straight win…Funny Car points lead J.R. Toddwill be looking to drive his Camry Funny Car to his third consecutive victory at Gateway Motorsports Park this weekend. The Kalitta Motorsports driver opened the Countdown to the Championship last weekend with a victory at Maple Grove Raceway. He also won the regular season finale at the U.S. Nationals. His four victories on the season tie him for the series lead.

Gateway To The Winner’s Circle…No driver has won more at Gateway Motorsports Park than Antron Brown, who will be eying a sixth trip to Winner’s Circle at the track. Brown won in 2009 and then reeled off four consecutive wins from 2012-2015. Fellow Toyota Top Fuel pilot Doug Kalittahas won three times at the St. Louis area track, while Shawn Langdonhas one Midwest Nationals victory to his credit.

Counting Down…J.R. Todd enters this weekend’s AAA Midwest Nationals on top of the Funny Car point standings after the first race of the Countdown to the Championship. It marks the first time he’s topped the point standings since moving over from Top Fuel in 2017. He’s not the only Toyota driver chasing a championship in the playoffs, though. Three-time world champion Antron Brown climbed up one spot to fifth with a semifinal run at Maple Grove. He’s one spot ahead of sixth-place Doug Kalitta. Shawn Langdon enters the second race of the Countdown from the tenth spot in Funny Car.

Quotes:

J.R. Todd, DHL Toyota Camry Funny Car:  “It was awesome to keep the momentum going at Maple Grove, but we still have a long road ahead of us. These DHL/Wix Filter Toyota guys know how to win. A lot of them were here when Del Worsham won the title in 2015. I just want to keep winning and keep our foot on their throats. My guys are racing smart. It goes back to the TRD guys and Chad Head, who are checking the track for us and giving us the grip numbers. That’s key for us. We’re just racing what the track will allow us. We definitely didn’t have the best car at Maple Grove, but I felt like we had a really good car and my guys are racing smart and not beating ourselves. You have to go down the track to win these things. Now we just need to keep it going through St. Louis.”

Antron Brown, Matco Tools/Toyota Top Fuel dragster:“This Countdown is rough, but that’s the way it’s supposed to be. We had a great start to the Countdown in making the semifinals at Maple Grove.  Any time you can kick off the Countdown in the top four it’s a plus. We just need to get a couple of things leveled out. We’re going to keep pushing hard and get ready for St. Louis. I’m very excited to get down to Gateway. It’s always been a great racetrack for us. We’ll come out swinging and if we keep doing what we’re doing, I think we’re going to be in the right spot. We have five races left, so we’re definitely still in the championship hunt.”