DHL Toyota and J.R. Todd Poised to Grab Arizona Nationals Title
The DHL Toyota Camry Funny Car team and J.R. Todd are looking forward to getting to Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park this weekend and pick up one more round win at this year’s edition of the NHRA Arizona 
Nationals. Last season Todd and his DHL crew blasted through three tough rounds of racing after qualifying No. 5 only to miss out on the Wally when his Funny Car backfired and deployed the emergency shutoff equipment at the hit of the throttle.
“That was a tough loss for sure,” said Todd. “We had been running strong leading up to the final and I felt like we really had something for them in that race. You hate to lose like that but we put those kinds of things behind us. This season we are looking forward to getting back to Phoenix and getting four win lights on Sunday.”
Two weeks ago at the season opening NHRA Winternationals Todd and his DHL Toyota Camry Funny Car hit the ground running qualifying No. 8. In the first round they were out-dueled by veteran driver Tim Wilkerson to give them an early finish. Todd took the early exit in stride and immediately turned his attention to the Arizona Nationals.
“You always want to come out strong at the first race but there are 23 more races after the Winternationals,” said Todd. “We had a really good test session and I am not going to let one day of the season upset my enthusiasm for where I think this team is headed. We have so many great partners supporting us like WIX Filters, Toyota, NGK spark plugs and Mobil 1 I feel really good about how far we can go this season.”
With the move of former Funny Car teammate Shawn Langdon back to Top Fuel Todd is the lone Funny Car representing Kalitta Motorsports. The team is eager to show they can succeed in the highly competitive category throughout the Mello Yello season.
“I know Shawn will do great in Top Fuel. I don’t mind being the only Funny Car. We get so much support from Toyota and TRD and I can still talk with Shawn and Doug about the track. The Kalitta teams all work together. We have three great race cars over here and I am excited to get some more round wins with this DHL Toyota Camry Funny Car,” added Todd.
2019 NHRA Arizona Nationals Highlights: Qual. No. 5; RUNNER-UP; Beat Terry Haddock, Tommy Johnson Jr., Robert Hight; Lost to Matt Hagan
Last Event Recap (2020 NHRA Winternationals): Qual. No. 8; Lost to Tim Wilkerson
Quotable: J.R. Todd on getting season started: “It was a blast to get back in this DHL Toyota Camry Funny Car in testing in Las Vegas. The first race of the year in Pomona can go either way. We had some good qualifying runs and then the weather threw us a curve ball. It is a long season and I am just glad to be back on the track.”
Career Stats: 225 events, 217 starts, 237 round wins, 18 wins, 33 finals, 12 No. 1 qualifiers; in Funny Car: 73 events, 73 starts, 9 wins, 13 finals, 88 round wins, 3 No. 1 qualifiers
2020 Season:
Winternationals: Qual. No. 8; Lost to Time Wilkerson
