THREE-TIME LAS VEGAS WINNER J.R. TODD LOOKS FOR FOUR OF A KIND WITH DHL BREAST CANCER AWARENESS LIVERY

YPSILANTI, MI – Coming off one of his best races of the 2023 season, J.R. Todd hopes his DHL team’s “new combination” will combine with healthy desire to finish the season on a high note. The 2023 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Season resumes this weekend with the Nevada NHRA Nationals on The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, the fifth of six races making up the Countdown to the Championship NHRA Playoffs.

One race ago in Texas, Todd qualified No. 6 and reached the semifinals for his best Countdown showing to date. With three good qualifying runs and a strong performance on race day, Todd and team have high hopes for the season’s remaining races, in which it will compete with the DHL #AsOneAgainstCancer livery.

“Our Dallas race was definitely the best race we’ve had in a long time,” Todd said. “We qualified really well and made our best run there in Q4 (fourth qualifying session – 3.857 secs. at 330.32 mph) – it was the best run we’d made in a really long time. That’s definitely showing some promise going into the last two races of the year.”

Todd enters Las Vegas in sixth place in the NHRA Funny Car point standings. He trails fifth place by just 14 points but is nearly 100 points out of fourth. Regardless of where the points shake out, what matters most is competing in Las Vegas.

“I sure hope we can keep that going this week – we’ve run well in Vegas in the past,” Todd continued. “We kind of have a new combination compared to what we’ve run most of this season. I think it showed some signs of progress late in the weekend in Dallas so I’m hoping that carries over to Vegas. To me, fifth in points was a realistic goal, and we would have gotten there if we’d made the final in Dallas. That’s kind of where I have my sights set for now, and then with points and a half in Pomona, that always seems to shake things up. If guys go out early, and you have a good day, who knows where we could end up. A top-five finish is definitely my goal.

“Finishing the season on a positive not is definitely key looking at the season we’ve had. That win (in Sonoma) was definitely good and much needed, but overall, it hasn’t been the season we wanted so we’re hoping to finish with a trophy or two to close it out.”

2022 NHRA Nevada Nationals Recap: Qualified No. 4; defeated Cruz Pedregon and John Force before losing to Robert Hight in the semifinals.

J.R. Todd Career Stats: 296 events, 325 round wins, 20 wins, 45 final rounds, 14 No. 1 qualifiers

2023 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series Results To Date:

Gainesville: Qualified No. 6; defeated Blake Alexander, Robert Hight, Chad Green; lost to Matt Hagan in final.

Phoenix: Qualified 15th; lost to Alexis DeJoria in the first round.

Pomona: Qualified No. 5; lost to Alex Laughlin in the first round.

Las Vegas: Did not qualify.

Charlotte: Qualified No. 6; 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.

Denver: Qualified No. 7; defeated Tim Wilkerson and John Force before losing to Alexis Dejoria in the semifinals.

Seattle: Qualified No. 5; defeated Alex Laughlin, Cruz Pedregon and Chad Green before losing to Tim Wilkerson by .0522 seconds in the final round.

Sonoma: Qualified No. 8; defeated Blake Alexander, Bob Tasca, Matt Hagan and Chad Green earning his first win of the season.

Topeka: Qualified No. 7; defeated Chad Green and Ron Capps before losing to Matt Hagan in the semifinals.

Brainerd: Qualified No. 2; lost to Dale Creasy in the first round.

Indianapolis: Qualified No. 10; defeated Blake Alexander, Bob Tasca and Cruz Pedregon before losing to Ron Capps in the final round.

Reading: Qualified No. 11; lost to Matt Hagan in the first round.

Charlotte: Qualified No. 8; lost to Paul Lee in the first round.

St. Louis: Qualified No. 11; defeated Bob Bode, lost to Blake Alexander in the second round.

Dallas: Qualified No. 6; defeated Blake Alexander and Terry Haddock before losing to John Force in the semifinals.

Current Point Standings: Todd enters Las Vegas in sixth place in the NHRA Funny Car point standings. He trails fifth-place John Force by 14 points and leads seventh-place Chad Green by nine points with two races remaining in the season.

Todd Image Courtesy: Kalitta Motorsports