TODD, CRAMPTON TOP TOYOTAS IN LAS VEGAS FOUR-WIDE QUALIFYING
LAS VEGAS – J.R. Todd qualified fourth in Funny Car, while Richie Crampton was sixth in Top Fuel to lead Toyota 
in preparation for Sunday’s DENSO Spark Plugs Four-Wide Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Todd earned six bonus points in qualifying as the quickest driver in two of the four Funny Car sessions. He will be looking for his third consecutive victory at The Strip and his second straight in the DENSO Four-Wide Nationals.
“The DHL Toyota Camry made two really good passes in qualifying, but we need to be more consistent on race day,” said Todd, who registered a 3.920 in Saturday’s first session. “With temperatures expected to be warmer tomorrow, it very well may come down to who makes the best adjustments.”
Todd will open Sunday’s action in a quadrant with Matt Hagan, Jim Campbell and Gary Densham, with Todd having lane choice.
Shawn Langdon also qualified in the top half of the Funny Car field in eighth with a 3.931-second pass. He will battle pole-sitter Tim Wilkerson, Robert Hight and Jeff Diehl in the opening round on Sunday.
Coming off a victory at the Gatornationals, Crampton led the Toyota Top Fuel contingent by qualifying sixth with a 3.758 on his final qualifying run of the weekend. Crampton will race Brittany Force, Scott Palmer and Cameron Ferre in his opening quadrant on Sunday.
Right behind Crampton was his Kalitta Motorsports teammate Doug Kalitta who placed seventh with a 3.766. He is in a quadrant with Steve Torrence, Terry McMillen and Steve Chrisman.
After struggling in Friday’s second session, Antron Brown bounced back with two solid runs on Saturday, earning two bonus points for being second quick in Saturday’s first run. In placing ninth, he will be part of a three-car battle in the opening round. He will need to defeat either pole-sitter Mike Salinas or Billy Torrence to advance to the second round.
NHRA’s Sunday Live pre-race show will be shown on FS1 from 11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m., with Sunday’s Mello Yello Drag Racing Series eliminations show set to be televised on FS1 beginning at 5:30 p.m. (all times EDT).
