Toyota
Team Toyota Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals Pre Race Report
Brainerd, MN – Todd In Hunt For Top Seed In Funny Car…J.R. Todd is trending upward with the Countdown to the Playoffs set to begin in 
just over three weeks. Todd climbed up to third in points, only 38 points out of the top spot in the Funny Car championship race after advancing to his second consecutive final this past weekend in Topeka. The DHL Camry driver appeared to be headed to his second win of the season after stretching out a .063-second lead by the 330’ mark before smoking the tires, giving John Force the Wally. Todd also reached the finals at Pomona in the previous race and overall has advanced to four final rounds this year, with a win at the Gatornationals.
Brainerd Special For DeJoria…Alexis DeJoria will be looking for her first Funny Car win since coming out of retirement at the same Brainerd track where she won her last race in 2017, defeating Tim Wilkerson, Cruz Pedregon, John Force and Tommy Johnson on the way to the victory. DeJoria made history at the track in 2014 when she ran the first sub-four second Funny Car pass ever run at Brainerd. She has advanced to the semifinals or beyond three times in the last five races and has qualified in the top two in six of 11 events this season.
Todd Drives Camry To Finals In NHRA At Topeka; Climbs To Third In Points
TOPEKA, KS – J.R. Todd drove his DHL Toyota Camry to his second consecutive Funny Car final round before eventually falling to John Force in Sunday’s Menards NHRA Nationals at Heartland Motorsports Park. Todd also reached the finals at Pomona in the most recent race and has climbed up to third in the championship race, just 38 points out of the lead.
After an opening round bye, Todd squared off with Ron Capps, who entered the day as the Funny Car point leader. Todd had an .016 edge on the tree and the two ran side-by-side through 330’ before Todd took the lead at the 660-foot mark and went on to register a .014-second win on a holeshot, 3.996-3.994. That would set up a semifinal match-up with Blake Alexander, where Todd had a sizable lead at the light and was never challenged, driving off to an easy victory.
Todd, DeJoria Top Funny Car Field As Camrys Run 1-2 in Menards NHRA Nationals Qualifying
TOPEKA, KS – J.R. Todd ran a 3.884 at 332.67 mph, with Alexis DeJoria just behind him at 3.894 as the two Toyota Camry drivers captured the top two spots in Funny Car qualifying in preparation for Sunday’s Menards NHRA Nationals at the Heartland Motorsports Park. Both drivers have officially clinched their berths in the Countdown to the Championship playoffs.
It is the second number one qualifier for Todd this season and the 14th of his career. He will enter Sunday’s first round of eliminations just 49 points out of the Funny Car point lead and will have a bye in the opening round.
DeJoria continued her outstanding qualifying run, placing in the top two for the sixth time in the season’s first 11 races. She will face fellow Camry driver Chris King to open eliminations as she pursues her first win this season after advancing to the semifinals or finals in three of the last four events.
TOYOTA NHRA: Topeka Preview
Topeka, KS – Brown Set To Clinch Playoff Berth…Antron Brown can clinch his berth in the Countdown to the Championship playoffs by advancing to the second round on Sunday as he pursues his fourth Top Fuel world championship. Currently second in the point standings, Brown has now advanced to the semifinals or beyond in nine of the last 12 events, including a pair of wins. He previously won in Topeka in 2017 when he defeated Steve Torrence in the finals and was the runner-up in 2016.
Todd In Hunt For Top Seed In Funny Car…J.R. Todd enters this weekend’s Menards NHRA Nationals less than three rounds out of the series point lead with three races remaining in the regular season. The DHL Camry driver is coming off his second runner-up finish of the season at Pomona, to go along with his season-opening win at the Gatornationals.
Todd, Camry Advance To NHRA Winternationals Finals; Brown Reaches Top Fuel Semis
POMONA, CA – J.R. Todd drove his DHL Toyota Camry to the Funny Car final round at Sunday’s Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona before eventually falling to Ron Capps, while Antron Brown advanced to the Top Fuel semifinals as the top finishing Toyota drivers on the day. It was the third final round appearance of the year for Todd and he leaves Pomona just 57 points out of the top spot in the Funny Car championship race.
The 2018 Funny Car world champion opened the day with a match-up against fellow Camry driver Jeff Diehl. He had a slight lead at the tree, but Diehl started to drop cylinders right off the line and lifted early as Todd registered a strong pass for the win, giving him lane choice over Robert Hight in round two. Once again, Todd had the starting line advantage and held off a charging Hight for the close hole shot win with the two running the exact same ETs. That set up a semifinal against Jim Campbell where Todd had an .047 lead at the starting line and led wire-to-wire to send him to the finals against Ron Capps. With track temperatures at 138 degrees, Todd had an .018 advantage on the tree, but dropped cylinders before the midway point, with Capps taking the lead early and driving to the victory. For the day, Todd had a quicker reaction time than all four of his opponents.
Langdon, DeJoria Top Toyotas In NHRA Winternationals Qualifying
POMONA, CA – Shawn Langdon qualified his DHL Toyota dragster fifth in Top Fuel, with Alexis DeJoria earning the sixth spot in her Bandero Camry Funny Car to lead Toyota into Sunday’s Lucas Oil NHRA WinterNationals at the Auto Club Raceway at Pomona.
The fifth marks Langdon’s best qualifying effort of the season. He will begin Sunday’s eliminations against Jim Maroney. Langdon enters race day fourth in the Top Fuel point standings.
Just one spot and .001 seconds behind Langdon was Kalitta Motorsports teammate Doug Kalitta, who will face Clay Millican after placing sixth. Antron Brown will start from the 11th seed and will take on point leader Steve Torrence in round one to complete the Toyota Top Fuel contingent.
Lucas Oil NHRA Winternationals
Pomona, CA – Kalitta Looks To Extend Winternationals Streak…Doug Kalitta will be looking to extend his Winternationals winning streak to four this weekend. In addition to winning in 2020 (over Austin Prock), 2019 (over Steve Torrence) and 2018 (over Tony Schumacher), Kalitta also was the event runner-up in both 2016 and 2017, giving him an 18-2 round win-loss record at one of the sport’s biggest events over the past five years. In addition, Kalitta won the 2019 NHRA Finals, giving him three straight overall wins at the Auto Club Raceway. Should he win the Winternationals, the Mac Tools Toyota driver would become just the fifth driver in history to register 50 career Top Fuel wins. Along with the 50-win milestone, a win would put Kalitta just two victories away from tying Antron Brown and Joe Amato for third all-time.
SoCal Connection Looking For Hometown Success…After advancing to the Funny Car semifinals or finals in each of the last three races, Alexis DeJoria and the Orange, California-based DC Motorsports team will look to score their first victory since opening shop for the pandemic-shortened 2020 season at their home track. The Winternationals were the very first drag racing event DeJoria ever attended at age 16 as a Venice Beach native. Team owner and two-time world champion Del Worsham elected to keep the team in his hometown, making it the last full-time NHRA team based in the area. Both DeJoria and Worsham will be looking for their first Winternationals victory. In addition to advancing to four semis or beyond in the last six races, their Bandero ROKiT Toyota Camry has qualified in the top two in five of nine races this season.
Toyota Drivers DeJoria, Brown Advance To Semis At NHRA Sonoma Nationals
SONOMA, CA – Alexis DeJoria drove her Bandero ROKiT Toyota Camry to the semifinals in n Funny Car, while Antron Brown did the same in his Matco Tools Toyota in Top Fuel as the top finishing Toyotas at Sunday’s NHRA Sonoma Nationals at Sonoma Raceway.
DeJoria opened the day with Cruz Pedregon in round one. Pedregon had a lead off the tree, but DeJoria took the lead at the 330’ mark and then pulled away for the victory in running an outstanding 3.942. In round two, she would race Tim Wilkerson. DeJoria had a solid starting line advantage on the way to a decisive win to send her to her fourth semifinal in the last six races.
In the semifinals, DeJoria would square off with Matt Hagan, who she faced in the final round last weekend in Denver. The two ran similar times through the 660-foot mark, but DeJoria would drop a cylinder as Hagan pulled away for the victory.
DeJoria’s Camry Rockets to Second In Funny Car; Brown Third in Top Fuel In NHRA Sonoma Qualifying
SONOMA, CA – Alexis DeJoria continued her amazing qualifying run in Funny Car with a 3.898-second pass at 325.61 mph to qualify second in her Bandero Toyota Camry, while Antron Brown registered a 3.724-second pass at 326.71 to earn the third seed in Top Fuel as the top qualifying Toyota drivers for Sunday’s NHRA Sonoma Nationals at Sonoma Raceway.
DeJoria has now qualified in the top two in five of nine races this season and been in the top five in 12 of the last 14 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series events. After advancing to the finals last weekend in Denver, she is will be looking for her first victory since coming out of retirement in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. DeJoria will face Cruz Pedregon in the opening round on Sunday.
TOYOTA NHRA: Sonoma Nationals Preview
Sonoma, CA – DeJoria Looks To Take Next Step In Sonoma…After advancing to the semifinals in Norwalk, followed by a runner-up finish in Denver, Alexis DeJoria is looking to take the next step into Winner’s Circle this weekend in Sonoma. After some early season struggles, the Bandero Toyota driver has earned the third-highest point total in the Funny Car ranks over the last five races – trailing only John Force and Matt Hagan (by one point). If she can claim the Wally this weekend, it would be her first victory since coming out of retirement in last year’s shortened season. In addition to advancing to the semis or beyond in three of the last five races, DeJoria has qualified in the top two in four of the season’s first eight races.
Brown Hoping To Get Back On Track…After a first-round exit in Denver, Antron Brown is hoping to get back on track in northern California this weekend. The long-time Toyota driver has notched four previous Sonoma wins and should he win this weekend, he would tie Doug Kalitta’s track record at five. Brown’s enjoyed immense success on the Western Swing during his career, earning 11 Top Fuel wins. He enters this weekend’s action second in the points and has advanced to the semifinals or beyond in six of the last nine races. A victory at Sonoma would put him in position to clinch his berth in the Countdown at Pomona next week.
