Toyota NHRA Las Vegas Preview

HEAD OPENS SEASON ON HOT STREAK – Chad Head will arrive in Las Vegas this week fresh off a semi-final appearance at the Gatornationals and clearly establishing himself as a Funny Car playoff contender in 2016. The second-generation driver has put up some eye-opening stats behind the wheel of his Head Contracting Toyota Camry. Through the season’s first three races, 13 of his 18 passes have been 4.06 or better, including 11 of 18 (61%) in the 3.9-second range.

That strong showing has him eighth in the Funny Car standings, less than 40 points out of the top-five. What makes that even more impressive is that Head is one of just two drivers in the top-10 who drives for a one-car team. The remaining eight drivers all come from teams that run at least four full-time cars in the Mello Yello Drag Racing Series.

Of course, it’s not surprising that Head’s small team would be run in a business-like fashion. Prior to joining the family-owned operation, he had served as director of racing operations for the Alan Johnson Racing team, the director of operations for the Indy Racing League and earlier worked for the National Hot Rod Association as the manager of event planning.

PEDREGON SET FOR MILESTONE 500th START – Cruz Pedregon will be looking to make his 500th career Funny Car start this weekend. He will join John Force as the only two active drivers with 500 or more Funny Car starts. Pedregon’s 35 career Funny Car wins ties him for fifth all-time along with the legendary Don Prudhomme.

WORSHAM HOLDS RARE VEGAS DISTINCTION – Toyota Funny Car driver Del Worsham is the only driver in history to win in both Funny Cars and Top Fuel at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The reigning world champion drove his DHL Camry to victory in the 2014 Toyota Nationals Funny Car event in October, as well as the October 2011 Top Fuel event at the track.

Worsham’s certainly not the only Toyota driver to win at the Nevada facility, though. Overall, six of the nine Toyota drivers running this weekend have won at The Strip.

Camry drivers have been victorious in three of the last six races at the track. Cruz Pedregon won the spring event in 2013 and Alexis DeJoria triumphed in the spring of 2014 to go along with Worsham’s fall win. In Top Fuel, Richie Crampton won last year’s spring race. Antron Brown won in 2013 and 2011 and Doug Kalitta was victorious at last fall’s Toyota Nationals, as well as in 2004. In addition, Brown is currently the track record-holder with a low ET of 3.722 seconds.