J.R. TODD ENTERS FINAL DENVER RACE FOLLOWING TWO SEMIFINALS IN LAST THREE RACES

YPSILANTI, MI – It has been an “interesting” season for DHL Toyota Funny Car driver J.R. Todd. Plenty of highs and lows, but with semifinal appearances in two of the last three races, it appears Todd and team are moving in the right direction and perhaps headed to a winner’s circle in the near future. The NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series resumes this weekend with the Dodge Power Brokers NHRA Mile-High Nationals in Morrison, Colo., July 14-16, 2023.

Why not Denver? It’s where Todd earned his first professional win in 2006, and he won again there in 2014 although both in Top Fuel. Todd reached the semifinals at the delayed New Hampshire eliminations and then again at the last race in Norwalk, Ohio where the Indiana native knocked off John Force and Ron Capps before losing a tight race to Matt Hagan in the semifinals.

“I’m hoping we can carry that momentum from the semifinals at New Hampshire and Norwalk to a win soon, and it would be nice to get one on the Western Swing at Bandimere Speedway since it’s the last race there,” Todd said. “It’s definitely a track where I’ve always enjoyed going – it’s the most scenic place we race on the tour, and the Bandimere family does such a great job with our races. I really hate to see it go, but with it being the last time there, it would be a really good one to win especially since it’s also the site of my first professional win.”

But momentum can be fickle, and racing at 5,800 feet above sea level is not only tricky but also difficult to understand unless you’ve walked the hill up the staging lanes or climbed the steps up to the pit area.

“To put it in perspective for someone who’s never been there, when you’re there at the track walking around, you can very easily get out of breath so that gives you an idea how hard it is to run one of these race cars up there,” Todd added. “Typically, we race close to sea level or somewhere where there’s a lot of oxygen. Up there, you’re robbed of that free horse power so you have to stand all over the tune-up to make it go down the track. It seems like it’s more like surviving the weekend, getting out of there without any damage and hopefully some round wins.

“I’m sure there will be some emotions there this weekend with the last race. It’s a special place to me because I got my first professional win there. I raced Junior Dragsters there; Shawn (Langdon) and I competed in the same race there in 1996 so I’ve been going to that race track for a long time. That’s one of the tracks that kind of has the ‘family feel’ like Norwalk. You always hate to see race tracks go, but hopefully, the Bandimere family will come back with a new race track in the future that’s bigger and better than what they have now.”

Race Information:
Dodge Power Brokers NHRA Mile-High Nationals
Bandimere Speedway; Morrison, Colo.
TV Schedule:

Qualifying 1: 7-8:30 p.m. Friday, July 14 on FS1
Qualifying 2: 10:30-11:30 a.m. Sunday, July 15 on FS1
Finals: 4-7 p.m. Sunday, July 15 on FOX
2022 NHRA Mile-High Nationals Recap: Qualified 10th; defeated Tim Wilkerson before losing to John Force in the second round.

J.R. Todd Career Stats: 286 events, 308 round wins, 19 wins, 42 final rounds, 14 No. 1 qualifiers

2023 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series Results To Date:
Gainesville: Qualified sixth; defeated Blake Alexander, Robert Hight, Chad Green; lost to Matt Hagan in final.
Phoenix: Qualified 15th and lost to Alexis DeJoria in the first round.
Pomona: Qualified fifth and lost to Alex Laughlin in the first round.
Las Vegas: Did not qualify.
Charlotte: Qualified No. 6 but lost to Robert Hight and Mike McIntire in the first round.
Chicago: Qualified No. 3; lost to Bob Tasca in the first round.
Epping: Qualified No. 8; defeated Cruz Pedregon and Matt Hagan before losing to John Force in the semifinals.
Bristol: Qualified No. 7; lost to John Force.
Norwalk: Qualified No. 7; defeated John Force and Ron Capps before losing to Matt Hagan in the semifinals.

Current Point Standings: Todd enters Denver ninth place in the NHRA Funny Car point standings. He trails eighth-place John Force by 75 points and leads 10th-place Cruz Pedregon by four points.