Toyota NHRA Phoenix Preview

KALITTA UP FRONT AGAIN – After an amazing performance at the Winternationals that saw Doug Kalitta run six consecutive passes in the 3.6s, he heads to Phoenix second in the Top Fuel point standings. He became the first driver in NHRA history to register more than two 3.6-second passes in a single race weekend. Of course, Kalitta running up front should come as no surprise as he’s now ranked in the top three in points after 25 consecutive races.

BROWN TAKES AIM AT THIRD STRAIGHT TITLE – Antron Brown enters Phoenix as the most dominant driver in any major form of auto racing in America over the past five years. After capturing his second consecutive Top Fuel title in 2016, he’s now won championships in three of the last five seasons. He’s also led the series in wins in four of those five campaigns and registered 30 Top Fuel wins – TWICE as many as the next highest driver’s (Tony Schumacher) total of 15. During those five seasons, Brown won six races or more four times – while just one other driver in the series registered as many as six race wins even once during that time-frame. Brown enters this weekend’s Arizona Nationals in third-place in the Top Fuel point standings.

Antron Brown: “One thing we learned at Pomona is that the 60s (3.6-second runs) are here to stay. If you want to have a car to win, you have to run in the 60s. With that being said, you go to work, keep your head down, you know what you’ve got to do, and I feel confident and love the guys I have in my corner in the whole Matco Tools/U.S. Army/Toyota team and I know they know how to get it down. We’re heading to Phoenix now and it’s time to ramp up the game.”

WORSHAM STARTS NEXT CHAPTER – A year after capturing the Funny Car world championship in 2015, Del Worsham shocked the racing world when he announced he was leaving Kalitta Motorsports to return to his family-run Worsham-Fink Racing team for the upcoming season. One of just three drivers to win both the Top Fuel and Funny Car championships, Worsham began a rebuilding process just two-and-a half months before the season with a team that had run only a partial schedule the past few seasons with a limited budget.

He started by signing a contract with long-time sponsor Toyota, followed by a six-race major sponsorship with Lucas Oil and then joining forces with the team’s original partner, John Fink, With little preparation time, the team went to Pomona hoping just to make the show, yet, came away not only qualifying, but with a first-round victory over Robert Hight. He heads to Phoenix in a tie for sixth place in the Funny Car standings.

DEJORIA RETURNS TO SITE OF FIRST FUNNY CAR WIN – In heading to Phoenix this weekend, Alexis DeJoria will be returning to the site of her very first Funny Car victory back in 2014 where she defeated Robert Hight in the final. The four-time Funny Car winner endured through a trying 2016 that saw her suffer a fractured pelvis at Sonoma and later a concussion at Las Vegas in October that forced her to miss a combined total of four races, DeJoria showed she’s back to full health for the ’17 campaign with little after-effects at the season-opener at Pomona. She placed in the top three in two of the three Funny Car qualifying sessions only to see the safety system malfunction and shut the car off early in the opening round of eliminations.

Alexis DeJoria: “I’m really looking forward to Phoenix. We’ve won there, and we’ve got some really good vibes and good juju going into the race.”