TODD DRIVES CAMRY TO VEGAS WINNER’S CIRCLE IN FOUR-WIDE NATIONALS
LAS VEGAS, NV – Reigning Funny Car world champion J.R. Todd drove his DHL Toyota Camry to his first win of 
the season in Sunday’s DENSO Spark Plugs Four-Wide Nationals. The triumph marked his third consecutive win at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and his ninth in the last 38 NHRA events.
Todd defeated Jim Campbell and Gary Densham in the first round and then eliminated Matt Hagan and Jeff Diehl in round two. That set up a final round quadrant of Todd, Tim Wilkerson, Tommy Johnson Jr. and Jack Beckman. Todd had a great jump at the start and moved into the lead by the 330’ mark. By 660’, it was a two-car battle between Todd and Johnson with Todd holding a .023 second advantage. That was as close as Johnson would get, though, as Todd registered a 3.970-second run, with a margin of victory of .032 seconds.
“It seems like these DHL Toyota Camrys always run well here,” said Todd after securing the sixth win for a Kalitta Camry in the last 11 Las Vegas events. “The whole team has a really good handle on this place, especially my crew chiefs Todd Smith and Jon Oberhofer. It seems like the more we come here, the better grip they get on this place. We struggled early this year with cold tracks and shaking the tires. I knew that it was eventually going to warm up and, sure enough, it was hot and nasty here today.”
In Top Fuel, Doug Kalitta advanced to the final round today on the way to finishing third. The Top Fuel point leader knocked off Terry McMillen and Steve Chrisman in the opening round. In round two, Kalitta eliminated Steve Torrence and teammate Richie Crampton to advance to the finals. He defeated both McMillen and Torrence on holeshots, giving Kalitta six holeshot victories in nine round wins this season.
In the finals, Kalitta took the lead early and led up until the 330’ mark before smoking the tires on the way to a third-place finish. Kalitta has now advanced to the semifinals or beyond in three of the season’s first four races.
“It was a big win in the first round,” said Kalitta. “Four-wide is kind of cool and different. I was hoping to have a great day with this Mac Tools Toyota dragster. I was hoping to get another hole shot win in that final quad. I am still trying to win a four wide. It is a crazy deal. It is fun, but a little chaotic and your adrenaline is running through you when you roll up there. Bruton Smith is hands-down the best track owner and that is the biggest reason I support this race. I love the guy for what he has done for the sport.”
Crampton advanced to the second round with victories over Scott Palmer and Cameron Ferre with an impressive 3.69-second run. His second-round run came to an end after spinning the tires.
Both Antron Brown (Top Fuel) and Shawn Langdon (Funny Car) were unable to make clean passes down the track and each was eliminated in their opening round run.
The 2019 Mello Yello Drag Racing Series will be back in action next weekend at Houston Raceway Park for the NHRA SpringNationals, April 12-14.
