TODD, KALITTA TOP TOYOTAS IN NHRA RICHMOND QUALIFYING

RICHMOND, VA – J.R. Todd qualified fourth in Funny Car, while Doug Kalitta was fifth in Top Fuel to lead Toyota in qualifying for Sunday’s NHRA Virginia Nationals at the Virginia Motorsports Park.

Todd was one of just a handful of drivers able to improve his position on Saturday as track temperatures soared up to 137 degrees. The DHL Toyota Camry driver placed second in both sessions, improving his position up to fourth on the final run with a 3.961-second pass at 318.47 mph. For the weekend, Todd earned bonus points for running in the top three in three of the four qualifying runs. He will face Bob Tasca in Sunday’s opening round.

“We’re really happy with how this DHL Toyota ran in the heat today,” said Todd, the 2018 Funny Car world champion. “The forecast is calling for even warmer temperatures tomorrow and if we can run like this on Sunday, we’ll have a shot to go some rounds.”

Todd’s Kalitta Funny Car teammate Shawn Langdon qualified one spot behind him in fifth with a 3.964 on Friday. He will race Tim Wilkerson in the first-round of eliminations.

Kalitta laid down a 3.783-second run at 323.81 mph in his Toyota dragster on Friday night to qualify fifth. He will face Scott Palmer in Sunday’s opening round.

Richie Crampton rounds out the Kalitta Motorsports contingent as he qualified seventh as all four Kalitta drivers qualified in the top seven. He will race Austin Prock in the first-round of eliminations.

Antron Brown established himself as a contender on Saturday as he excelled in the warmer temperatures.

The three-time world champion earned two bonus points by running the second-quickest pass in Saturday’s first session. He then followed with his best pass of the weekend, placing fourth in the final session with a 3.839. He will start 11th on Sunday and match up with Don Schumaker Racing teammate Leah Pritchett.

Sunday’s Mello Yello Drag Racing Series eliminations will be televised on FS1 beginning at 7:30 p.m. (EDT).