J.R. Todd and DHL Camry Finish Season with Quarterfinal Finish in Vegas

Las Vegas, NV – The DHL Toyota Camry Funny Car raced to a quarterfinal finish today at the Las Vegas NHRA Finals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Driver J.R. Todd will finish the season in sixth place just 16 points out of fifth place. Todd went into race day as the No. 9 qualifier and was facing veteran racer Tim Wilkerson the No. 8 qualifier.

Todd grabbed a starting line advantage and was pulling away off the starting line. Wilkerson caught up to the DHL Toyota Camry but began to haze the tires. He was hanging with Todd and then Todd began spinning his Goodyears as the finish line closed in. Todd and the DHL Camry were able to hold on for the win and a spot in the quarterfinals.

In the second round Todd paired up with the No. 1 qualifier Ron Capps. Once again Todd took the advantage off the stripe but before his DHL Funny Car got to the half-track he had lost a cylinder and he was slowing as Capps was on a smooth run for the win. It was a quick end to Todd’s race and season.

“I was surprised we didn’t run better in the second round,” said Todd. “We dropped a cylinder at the hit and that hurt us. We made a solid run in the first round against Wilkerson. This DHL Toyota Camry was ready to go rounds today. It just didn’t work out. This season was tough for everyone. I am proud of how my guys kept fighting. We got to a couple final rounds but we expect to win. We are going to get right back at it as soon as we get to the shop.”

With two final round finishes Todd stayed at the top of the Funny Car standings throughout most of the season.

Quotable:
J.R. Todd on finishing 2020 season: “This season was tough. We got off to a slow start and then we quit racing for months. Once we got started we found our groove but we just battled to hold onto some consistency. These DHL guys kept working hard it just didn’t work out for us.”

Statistics:
Qualified: No. 9 (3.975 sec., 326.24 mph)
Bonus points:  0

Race Details:

First Round
Driver                          Qual    R/T      ET        MPH
J.R. Todd                     9          .072     4.429   239.31 (W)
Tim Wilkerson             8          .086     4.457   244.56

Second Round
Driver                          Qual    R/T      ET        MPH
J.R. Todd                     9          .078     4.075   297.94
Ron Capps                   1          .082     3.953   325.45 (W)