J.R. TODD AND DHL FUNNY CAR EXIT IN SECOND ROUND AT INAUGURAL NHRA POTOMAC NATIONALS

BUDDS CREEK, MD — J.R. Todd and the DHL Funny Car team had a competitive showing at the inaugural NHRA Potomac Nationals at Maryland International Raceway, advancing to the second round of eliminations before a mechanical issue ended their day just short of the quarterfinals.

Todd qualified eighth with a 4.001-second run at 325.77 mph in the final session Saturday. In the opening round, he defeated Blake Alexander to set up a second-round showdown with No. 1 qualifier Jack Beckman. Todd held the lead near the midpoint of the track before a dropped cylinder allowed Beckman to take the win light by 18 thousandths of a second.

“Wish we could have gone a few more rounds today, but the DHL team made some good runs this weekend,” said Todd. “It’s kind of an unknown when you go to a new place, and this place definitely has some character. That was a close race in the second round — we just came out on the wrong side of it.”

Despite the early exit, Todd remains in strong contention in the Funny Car points standings, sitting second just 16 points behind leader Ron Capps and holding a 24-point advantage over third-place Chad Green.

Todd has his eyes on a strong rebound at the next event. “We’re looking forward to getting up to Epping and seeing if we can have similar success to what we did there last year — that would get us some momentum heading into the summer races.”

The Kalitta Motorsports Funny Car team returns to action June 5-7 at the NHRA New England Nationals at New England Dragway in Epping, N.H. Fans can watch the finals broadcast replay on FS2 from 8-11 p.m. Eastern on Monday, June 1. For more information, visit www.teamkalitta.com.