Toyota
Kalitta, DeJoria Lead Toyota In Qualifying for NHRA Finals
LAS VEGAS, NV – Doug Kalitta placed third in Top Fuel, while Alexis DeJoria did the same in Funny Car to lead Toyota in qualifying for 
Sunday’s NHRA Finals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Kalitta kept his championship hopes alive with a 3.746-second pass in the final qualifying session to place third and earned two bonus points in the process. He takes on Justin Ashley in Sunday’s eliminations. Kalitta enters tomorrow’s event likely needing a win to have a shot to take home his first Top Fuel title.
Right behind Kalitta was Antron Brown in fourth and Shawn Langdon in fifth as Toyota drivers captured three of the top five qualifying positions in Top Fuel.
Brown placed in the top four in each of the day’s two qualifiers. He was third in the opening session and fourth in the later run with a 3.762. He squares off with Don Schumacher Racing teammate Tony Schumacher in an all-Toyota opening round. Schumacher, who qualified 11th, won the most recent NHRA event in Houston last weekend.
Schumacher Wins Thriller At NHRA SpringNationals
BAYTOWN, TX –Tony Schumacher defeated Steve Torrence by .002 seconds to win the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series’ SpringNationals at Houston Raceway Park, Sunday. His victory is the fourth of the season for a Toyota NHRA driver and Schumacher’s first since returning to the seat of a Top Fuel dragster in July after being sidelined since the end of the 2018 season.
After qualifying second on Saturday, Schumacher opened his day with a first-round win over Cameron Ferre, then followed it up with victories over Doug Foley and Billy Torrence to advance to the finals against point leader Steve Torrence.
Both cars turned in strong reaction times with Torrence having a slight advantage, but Schumacher ran him down by the 330’ foot mark. The two raced side-by-side through 600 feet, separated by just .001 seconds. The eight-time world champion then held off his rival with a margin of victory of just .002 seconds, winning with a 3.669-second pass at 330.63 mph – the quickest pass of the weekend.
Schumacher Leads Toyota In Qualifying for NHRA SpringNationals
Five Toyota Nitro Drivers Qualify In Top Five
BAYTOWN, TX – Tony Schumacher continued his amazing qualifying run in placing second with a 3.685-second pass at 330.07 mph to lead Toyota in qualifying for Sunday’s NHRA SpringNationals at Houston Raceway Park. Schumacher was one of five Toyota drivers to qualify in the top five in the Nitro ranks.
Schumacher was second-quick in each of the day’s qualifying sessions. He’s now finished no worse than second in any session over the past three races, including earning number one qualifier honors in St. Louis. He will open Sunday’s eliminations against Cameron Ferre.
“It was a great day of qualifying with two good laps,” said Schumacher, who lives just a few hours away in Austin. “Right now, we have one more race next weekend and I want to drive my best, I want the Okuma/Sandvik Coromant Toyota to perform its best and to show what we’re good at and capable of. That’s winning drag races. It’s Texas and our friends and family are here. The crowd is outstanding. They gave us a great racetrack and we’re looking forward to Sunday.”
Kalitta, Langdon Advance To Semis In NHRA At Texas Motorplex
ENNIS, TX – Top Fuel drivers Doug Kalitta and Shawn Langdon each advanced to the semifinals to lead Toyota at the AAA Texas NHRA FallNationals at the Texas Motorplex, Sunday.
In the opening round, Kalitta was matched up against fellow Toyota Top Fuel driver Antron Brown. Brown had an advantage on the tree, but Kalitta ran him down by the 330’ mark, registering a 3.713-second run at 328.38 mph. In round two, he ran the quickest pass of the session with a 3.723 in defeating Justin Ashley, which set-up a semifinal showdown with Billy Torrence. Kalitta had the better reaction time, but would smoke the tires early, giving Torrence the win, 3.746-4.180.
After qualifying fourth on Saturday, Langdon opened his day with an easy win over Kebin Kinsley, 3.742-4.217. With the victory, he would face Leah Pruett in round two. Langdon had a commanding lead at the tree and never trailed to advance to the semifinals where he would take on series point leader Steve Torrence. Langdon registered a .020 reaction time advantage, but Torrence had caught him by 60’ feet and led the rest of the way, winning by .040 seconds. Torrence would go on to win Sunday’s event.
Schumacher Top Toyota In Qualifying for NHRA FallNationals
DeJoria Drives Camry To Fifth in Funny Car
ENNIS, TX – Tony Schumacher ran an opening round 3.700-second pass to place third in Top Fuel to lead Toyota in qualifying for Sunday’s AAA Texas NHRA FallNationals at the Texas Motorplex in suburban Dallas. Alexis DeJoria earned the fifth seed in Funny Car as the top Camry with a 3.895-second run.
After returning to the seat of a Top Fuel car in Indianapolis in July for the first time since 2018, Schumacher has found his groove down the stretch. He won the pole at the most recent event in St. Louis and was second-quick in both of Saturday’s session to earn four bonus points. He will face Joey Haas in round one on Sunday.
“I just love the Texas Motorplex,” said Schumacher, who resides in Austin. “This place has been a gift to me. Billy Meyer built a superior track back in the day and it’s still one of the best. The stadium seating, I’ve got 30 friends here, many who have never seen a drag race. The all-concrete surface is amazing. For Okuma, Sandvik and Toyota, we’re all family here in Texas. The car is running great. The crew is starting to gel. This is just outstanding. I have two cowboy hats from the past and it be great to add another.”
Kalitta Takes Toyota To NHRA WWTR Top Fuel Winner’s Circle
MADISON, IL – Toyota Top Fuel driver Doug Kalitta registered a dominating performance in winning the NHRA Midwest Nationals at World Wide Technology Raceway, Sunday. Kalitta’s closest margin of victory on the day was .045 seconds, with his four winning passes averaging 3.710 seconds.
The Mac Tools Toyota driver defeated teammate Shawn Langdon in the opening round with a 3.731-second run and then ran even quicker in round two, knocking off T.J. Zizzo with a 3.709. In the semifinals against fellow Toyota driver Tony Schumacher, Kalitta would end up running an unopposed 3.711 after Schumacher appeared to have his throttle stick during his burnout.
In the finals, he would square off with championship rival Steve Torrence. Kalitta took the lead by the 60-foot mark and pulled away to the victory with his best run of the weekend, a 3.690-second pass at 322.58 mph. With the win, Kalitta closed to within two points of Torrence in the championship with just three races remaining.
Schumacher Puts Toyota On Pole At NHRA Midwest Nationals; DeJoria Drives Camry To Second in Funny Car
MADISON, IL – Tony Schumacher ran a blistering 3.680-second pass at a track record 332.93 mph to win the Top Fuel pole position for Sunday’s NHRA Midwest Nationals at World Wide Technology Raceway in suburban St. Louis.
Schumacher’s pole-winning time was a whopping .035-seconds quicker than the next quickest pass of the day. It marks his 88th career number one qualifier and his first since returning to the seat of a Top Fuel car at Indianapolis in July and his first with Toyota sponsorship. He will open eliminations up against Kebin Kinsley.
“It was a strange day all together,” said Schumacher, the all-time leader in Top Fuel wins. “We were in the car, did the burnout and backed up and then got shut off because of rain. I talked to Mike (Green) after we re-warmed it up and we knew we’d be out first and we didn’t think the conditions would be any better. Then you go out and run a great number like that and it tends to set off the crew chiefs in the back and they start turning screws and knobs. It was a great run. I probably drove it further than I should have. It was by far not a straight run. For Sandvik, Okuma and Toyota and our ‘new’ old team, they did a heck of a job. We’re proud to go into race day number one. Great job by the whole team. We have a good car. We needed to get down the track. Now we have data and we’ll be racing in similar conditions. We’re going to try and win this race.”
Three Toyotas Advance to Second Round at NHRA Gatornationals
GAINESVILLE, FL – Alexis DeJoria advanced to the second round in Funny Car, while Antron Brown and Shawn Langdon did the same in Top Fuel to lead Toyota at today’s Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals at Gainesville Raceway.
After matching a season-best fifth in qualifying on Saturday, DeJoria drove her ROKiT Toyota Camry to a first-round win over Jim Campbell with a solid 4.051-second pass. In round two, she matched up against Ron Capps and registered another solid run, but fell just short, losing 3.968-4.014.
In Top Fuel, Brown qualified third and then defeated Cameron Ferre in the first round with his best pass of the weekend with a 3.821. In the second round against Terry McMillen, Brown had an .019 advantage at the tree, but was up in smoke early with McMillen taking the win.
Brown’s Third Leads Toyota in NHRA Gatornationals Qualifying
GAINESVILLE, FL – Antron Brown qualified third in Top Fuel with a 3.831-second pass at 320.36 mph to lead Toyota in preparation for Sunday’s Amalie Motor Oil Gatornationals at Gainesville Raceway.
Brown jumped to the top of the field with his run in Saturday’s qualifying final session before eventually placing third, just .003 seconds out of the second spot. He will open up Sunday with a match-up against Cameron Ferre.
“The first lap it just dropped a hole (cylinder) at the step and we just shut it off,” said the three-time world champion, who registered his best qualifying result of the season. “The second lap was just what we were looking for with that .83. It puts us in the thick of things right where we want to be at. We always come out and want to qualify in the top three. Tomorrow we’re going to take off like what we did in qualifying and make a good first round lap and take it one round at a time. We’re here at the Gatornationals and we want to have some fun. This is where it all started for me way back in ’98 (in Pro Stock Motorcycle). I remember it like yesterday, the start of my career. And tomorrow we want to get our year started and go some rounds and maybe end up in the winner’s circle. I’m really pumped up and excited.“
Brown’s Third Leads Toyota in NHRA Gatorationals Qualifying
GAINESVILLE, FL – Antron Brown qualified third in Top Fuel with a 3.831-second pass at 320.36 mph to lead Toyota in preparation for Sunday’s Amalie Motor Oil Gatornationals at Gainesville Raceway.
Brown jumped to the top of the field with his run in Saturday’s qualifying final session before eventually placing third, just .003 seconds out of the second spot. He will open up Sunday with a match-up against Cameron Ferre.
“The first lap it just dropped a hole (cylinder) at the step and we just shut it off,” said the three-time world champion, who registered his best qualifying result of the season. “The second lap was just what we were looking for with that .83. It puts us in the thick of things right where we want to be at. We always come out and want to qualify in the top three. Tomorrow we’re going to take off like what we did in qualifying and make a good first round lap and take it one round at a time. We’re here at the Gatornationals and we want to have some fun. This is where it all started for me way back in ’98 (in Pro Stock Motorcycle). I remember it like yesterday, the start of my career. And tomorrow we want to get our year started and go some rounds and maybe end up in the winner’s circle. I’m really pumped up and excited.“
