Toyota
Toyota NHRA Winternationals Preview
TOYOTA NHRA DRIVER LINE-UP INCLUDES FIVE PAST NITRO CHAMPS – Nine Toyota-sponsored drivers will 
take to the track this weekend at Pomona, including five past NHRA Nitro champions.
Reigning champ Shawn Langdon and Khalid alBalooshi return for Al-Anabi Racing. Antron Brown, the 2012 titlist, will again campaign for Don Schumacher Racing and rookie Richie Crampton will run for Morgan Lucas Racing in a four-car Toyota Top Fuel contingent.
The Toyota Camry Funny Car line-up includes three past Nitro champions in two-time Funny Car titlists and brothers Cruz and Tony Pedregon, as well as 2011 Top Fuel champion Del Worsham. Worsham will team with Alex DeJoria at Kalitta Motorsports. In addition, Chad Head is expected to run his first full season after impressing in a partial schedule last year.
TOYOTA MOTOR SALES NAMED OFFICIAL CAR OF NHRA
GLENDORA, CA – NHRA officials announced today that Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. has signed a multiyear agreement to be the official car of NHRA, beginning with the 2014 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series season.
“Since 2002, Toyota has been an integral part of NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing at the league, title-rights, and team level,” said Gary Darcy, NHRA senior vice president of sales and marketing. “Toyota’s expansion of its sponsorship with NHRA reaffirms the return-on-investment for our sponsors and the accessibility to our fans that only NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series events can deliver.”
LANGDON’S STORY BOOK SEASON GIVES TOYOTA FOURTH STRAIGHT TOP FUEL TITLE; TOYOTA NHRA DRIVERS COMBINE FOR 18 WINS IN ‘13
TORRANCE, CA – Shawn Langdon’s run to winning his first Top Fuel title highlighted a year that saw Toyota-sponsored drivers win 18 
races and capture 18 number one qualifying positions during the 2013 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series.
Langdon’s story book season began by winning the prestigious Winternationals in Pomona, just 20 miles from his childhood home in Mira Loma, Calif., and ended with another Pomona victory in the NHRA Finals, capturing the title at the same track he first attended as a toddler. Those wins were just part of a brilliant campaign that saw the Al-Anabi Racing Toyota driver lead the series in victories (seven), number one qualifiers (seven) and win-loss record in elimination rounds (54-17, .760%).
TOYOTA’S LANGDON SWEEPS POMONA TO COMPLETE CINDERELLA SEASON
POMONA, CA – Shawn Langdon opened the 2013 season by winning at his home-track in February’s Winternationals and he completed Toyota Logoa Cinderella championship campaign by winning today’s NHRA Finals at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona, just 20 miles from his child-hood home.
Langdon, who clinched his first Top Fuel title on Saturday in qualifying, defeated Steve Torrence, David Grubnic and Clay Millican to advance to today’s finals, where he edged Doug Kalitta for his series leading seventh win of the season.
“It was icing on the cake to win here today,” said Langdon, who grew up in nearby Mira Loma. “I can’t even start to describe the emotion. I’m so proud of this team. It’s phenomenal to win and clinch the championship here in Pomona in front of so many friends and family here. There’s nothing this Al-Anabi Racing team can’t accomplish. I’m just glad to be a part of the magic.”
LANGDON CLINCHES TITLE; BERNSTEIN #1 QUALIFIER AT POMONA
by qualifying second for Sunday’s Auto Club NHRA Finals at the Auto Club Raceway at Pomona. Langdon topped two of the weekend’s four qualifying sessions to earn the six bonus points that pushed him over the top in his pursuit for the world championship.Toyota NHRA Pomona Finals Preview
LANGDON RETURNS HOME LOOKING FOR TITLE – For Shawn Langdon, Pomona and racing have been synonymous. He attended his first races as a toddler at Pomona. In elementary school, his father would use a trip to the Winternationals as a reward for good grades. By 14, he was behind the wheel of his own NHRA Junior Dragster, winning his first national championship with the dream of one day becoming a champion in Top Fuel.
And it was at his home-track where his dream season would begin. Langdon opened the year by winning the prestigious Winternationals at Pomona. As the season advanced, he went on clinch the regular season crown and number one seed for the Countdown with a victory at the coveted U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis. After struggling in the Countdown opener in Charlotte, Langdon has roared back with three number one qualifiers and registered a series-leading sixth victory at Reading to go along with a runner-up finish in Dallas and a semi-final showing last weekend in Las Vegas. The result is a commanding 102-point lead heading into the Finals at Pomona.
BROWN, TOYOTA ARE BIG WINNERS IN VEGAS AT TOYOTA NATIONALS
LAS VEGAS, NV – Antron Brown defeated Clay Millican in the finals to win today’s NHRA Toyota Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and keep his championship hopes alive with one race remaining.
Brown defeated Bob Vandergriff, Tony Schumacher and Brandon Bernstein before matching up with Millican to earn his second victory in the last three races. The 2012 Top Fuel world champion has climbed back up to second place in the title chase after falling to ninth after not qualifying for the Countdown to the Championship opener in Charlotte.
LANGDON PUTS TOYOTA ON POLE AT LAS VEGAS’ TOYOTA NATIONALS
LAS VEGAS, NV – Shawn Langdon won the Top Fuel pole with a blistering 3.778-second pass in qualifying for Sunday’s NHRA Toyota Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway as he extended his series point lead to 99 heading into tomorrow’s eliminations.
Langdon topped three of the weekend’s four qualifying sessions and was second in the fourth to earn 11 of the 12 bonus points available. It’s the seventh time this season that Langdon has been the number one qualifier.
“The Al-Anabi team did a phenomenal job, preparing the car and making great runs throughout qualifying,” said Langdon. “It’s a big weekend for us with Toyota being the event sponsor and we want to put on a great show for them.”
Toyota NHRA Preview Toyota Nationals
LANGDON CLOSER TO SECURING TOP FUEL TITLE – Shawn Langdon will take an 83-point lead over his closest competitor into this weekend’s Toyota’s Nationals as he looks to secure his first NHRA Top Fuel title. Langdon leads the series in wins and top qualifiers (six each). He’s in the midst of a six-driver battle with two races remaining in the Countdown to the Championship playoffs. Fellow Toyota drivers Morgan Lucas and Antron Brown remain in the chase in fourth and fifth-place, but will need to make up ground this weekend or risk being eliminated prior to the finale in Pomona.
Lucas won the Countdown opener, but lost in the first round as the top qualifier in Reading to fall 125 points behind. Brown, who didn’t qualify at Charlotte, has since bounced back strong, climbing from 10th to fifth (129 points back) after winning St. Louis and advancing to the finals in Reading. A possible 260 points are still available barring an unlikely new national ET record.
LANGDON WINS ALL-TOYOTA TOP FUEL FINAL IN READING; BROWN, HEAD RUNNERS-UP
Reading, PA – Shawn Langdon won an all-Toyota Top Fuel final by defeating Antron Brown with a 3.779-second pass to win today’s 
NHRA Auto-Plus Nationals at Maple Grove Raceway in Reading, Penn.
The victory was a series-high sixth for Langdon and stretches his point lead to 83 with just two races remaining in the Countdown to the Championship playoffs. He defeated Leah Pruett, Bob Vandergriff and Doug Kalitta before matching up with Brown in the finals.
After failing to qualify at the Countdown opener in Charlotte, Brown has now rebounded to reach the finals in each of the last two races after winning in St. Louis a week ago. The 2012 Top Fuel champion had fallen to 10th in the title chase, but has climbed back up into fifth place. Brown won elimination rounds against Billy Torrence, Brandon Bernstein and Spencer Massey to reach the finals.
