TODD TOP TOYOTA IN NHRA POMONA QUALIFYING; EXTENDS CHAMPIONSHIP LEAD

POMONA, CA – J.R. Todd qualified fourth in Funny Car, while Antron Brown was sixth in Top Fuel to lead Toyota in preparation for Sunday’s Auto Club NHRA Finals at the Auto Club Raceway at Pomona.

Todd extended his championship lead back to 74 points heading into tomorrow’s eliminations, the equivalent of over two rounds. He can clinch the 2018 Funny Car championship by advancing to the semi-finals or beyond on Sunday.

“Nothing’s changed for our DHL Toyota,” said Todd, who registered a 3.897-second pass in his final qualifying run on Saturday. “We’re going to go out there and run hard. We’re not going to let up. Our goal for tomorrow is to win the race.”

Todd will open eliminations against Jim Campbell on Sunday.

Shawn Langdon qualified ninth and will open up Sunday’s action with Matt Hagan, while Cruz Pedregon placed 14th and will square off against Tommy Johnson in the opening round.

In Top Fuel, Brown earned six bonus points for placing in the top four in three of the weekend’s four sessions in one of his top qualifying weekends of the year.

“This Matco Tools Toyota dragster is right there,” said Brown, who enters Sunday’s season finale sixth in the Top Fuel point standings. “We’re really excited about how the weekend has gone. We’re just ready to get after it. We always knew we had this in us. It was just taking time to come to fruition.  We have a lot to look forward to. We’d love to end the year with a win and let everyone know what’s coming for next year.”

Brown will face Doug Kalitta in an all-Toyota first-round match-up on Sunday after Kalitta qualified 11th, one spot behind Kalitta Motorsports teammate Richie Crampton, who matches up against Billy Torrence in round one.

Sunday’s Mello Yello Drag Racing Series Sunday Live qualifying recap show will be aired on FS1 at 11:30 a.m., with the eliminations show live on FS1 beginning at 4:00 p.m. (EDT).