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TODD DRIVES CAMRY TO MAPLE GROVE WIN; TAKES OVER FUNNY CAR POINT LEAD

MOHNTON, PA – J.R. Todd drove his DHL Toyota Camry to victory over Tim Wilkerson in final round to win the NHRA Nationals at Maple Grove Raceway and take over the Funny Car championship point lead after the first round of the Countdown to the Championship playoffs.

Todd opened the day with a victory over Bob Tasca, then knocked off Mike Smith in the second round. That advanced him to a semifinal match-up with Ron Capps where Todd had an .013 advantage at the light and never trailed on the way to running a 3.975 to set up a final round match-up with Wilkerson.

In the finals, Todd again took the lead at the light with a .029 advantage and never led by less than .045 seconds after the 60-foot mark, registering a 3.972-second pass at 319.90 mph in winning his second consecutive race and his fourth of the season.

“It’s awesome to keep the momentum going, but we still have a long road ahead of us,” said Todd, who becomes the first African-American driver to top the Funny Car playoff standings since the inception of the Countdown. “These DHL/Wix Filter Toyota guys know how to win. A lot of them were here when Del Worsham won the title in 2015. We got some gifts early on today with some of the cars in front of us going out early. It was nice to be able to come out of here with a win.

“Once I got the call from Connie (Kalitta) in 2014, I knew I was with a team capable of winning races and winning championships. I feel this is my best opportunity to go out there and achieve those things.”

Rounding out the Camry Funny Car contingent, Cruz Pedregon defeated Jack Beckman in the first round before falling to Capps, while Shawn Langdon was eliminated in his opening run against Robert Hight.

In Top Fuel, Antron Brown climbed up to fifth in the Countdown standings after advancing to the semifinals today. Brown defeated Brittany Force and Leah Pritchett in his first two runs before eventually losing to Tony Schumacher.

Doug Kalitta also earned a Top Fuel round win today, defeating teammate Richie Crampton before being defeated by Clay Millican in round two.

The Mello Yello Drag Racing Series heads to St. Louis next weekend for AAA Insurance NHRA Midwest Nationals at Gateway Motorsports Park, September 21-23.

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