J.R. Todd and DHL Camry Eager to Take Bite Out of Gatornationals

Gainesville, FL – The DHL Toyota Camry Funny Car team and J.R. Todd will be heading into the historic NHRA Gatornationals looking to add their names to a historic list of Funny Car winners. For over fifty years the iconic race held at Gainesville Raceway has seen legends made in front of record crowds packing the grandstands all weekend. As the first race on the East Coast the Gatornationals has been the site of record setting performances and memory making runs.

“There is so much history at the Gatornationals you just want to get a win there to add to your resume,” said Todd. “I think you look at the drivers who are Hall of Famers or legendary drivers and they all have at least one win at the Gatornationals. I want to add my name to this list.”

The 2018 NHRA Funny Car world champion has started the season with early exits at the Winternationals and Arizona Nationals but Todd sits in the Top Ten in points and sees improvement on the horizon. During the first two events the DHL Camry has made solid runs but race day success has eluded the team.

“I think we are making improvements for sure every time we get on the track,” said Todd. “My crew chiefs, Todd (Smith) and Jon (Oberhofer), are making adjustments and we just have been thrown some curve balls. One of the many things this team has going for it is we have a lot of confidence in each other. We have been through the ups and downs together so we are staying positive and looking forward to this weekend.”

Throughout his career Todd has shown that the races just following the Gatornationals have been highly successful with wins in Las Vegas twice and Houston in 2018 coming the over the past two seasons. The team knows that they can get some of that momentum going at Gainesville Raceway with consistent qualifying and some good runs on race day.

“There is always a great crowd in Gainesville for this race,” said Todd. “We just need to put our heads down and come out with good runs on Friday so we can get aggressive on Saturday. The race day on Sunday will be a lot of fun if you have four good qualifying passes in your back pocket. All the Kalitta Motorsports teams will be working together and even though I am the only Funny Car there is a lot of collaboration over here.”

2019 NHRA Gatornationals Highlights:  Qual. No. 11; Lost to Jack Beckman

Last Event Recap (2020 NHRA Arizona Nationals): Qual. No. 9; Lost to Ron Capps

Career Stats: 226 events, 218 starts, 237 round wins, 18 wins, 33 finals, 12 No. 1 qualifiers; in Funny Car: 74 events, 74 starts, 9 wins, 13 finals, 88 round wins, 3 No. 1 qualifiers