Toyota NHRA Winternationals Preview
TOYOTA BOASTS STAR-STUDDED LINE-UP IN ’18 – Four past world champions are included in the seven-driver 
Toyota NHRA line-up for 2018, with each of the seven having won at least seven times in NHRA Nitro competition.
Overall, the group has combined for eight world championships and 198 Nitro victories. Leading the way is Antron Brown with 49 wins, followed by Doug Kalitta with 43, Del Worsham with 39, Cruz Pedregon 35, Shawn Langdon 14, J.R. Todd 11 and Richie Crampton with seven. Each of the seven drivers has finished third or above in the championship in either Top Fuel or Funny Car with Brown earning three championships, Pedregon and Worsham each with two titles and Langdon has one.
BROWN LOOKS TO BOUNCE BACK IN ’18 – For most drivers a fourth-place finish in Top Fuel would be a great season, but for Antron Brown, anything less than a championship is somewhat disappointing. After winning three world championships in the past six years and earning the highest winning percentage of any active Nitro driver, Brown and his Matco Toyota team have become accustomed to winning. So much so that at his current pace, he is on his way, arguably, to becoming the greatest Top Fuel driver of all-time. Brown’s 71.3% win percentage out-paces each of the two drivers considered the best of all-time in John Force and Tony Schumacher. Even more amazing is that since 2012, he’s won more than twice the number of races (34) than the next highest Top Fuel driver (16) in that time period. How dominant has the long-time Toyota driver been? Since 2011, he has won six races or more in a season five times, while no other Top Fuel driver has done it more than once during that timespan.
Antron Brown: “At the end of the day, we had a very competitive season last year and made it to 10 final rounds. But we got into the Countdown and our timing was off. We struggled with a lot of problems we don’t usually have. Now it’s time for a new chapter for this team and time to get better. This is a new beginning for us and it’s going to be fun and exciting and we’re coming after them.”
LANGDON TRANSITIONS TO FUNNY CAR – After winning the 2013 Top Fuel world championship, Shawn Langdon begins a new chapter in his career as he makes the move over to Funny Car competition in 2018 in the Global Technology Toyota Camry. If the NHRA Spring Training session in Phoenix is any indication, Langdon will definitely be a fast learner. He narrowly missed running his first 3.8 second pass, but did register a 3.90 as he made 13 passes in the four-day test, among the highest of any Funny Car driver on hand.
Shawn Langdon: “Our goal is to win and compete for the championship at the end of the year. I’m looking to be a contender right out of the gate. Winning the title is the main goal. My crew chiefs Nicky (Bonifanti) and Tommy (DeLago) know how to tune the car. If I can minimize my mistakes as a driver and minimize the learning curve that’s going to be the key to our success.”
TODD FEELING AT HOME IN CAMRY FUNNY CAR – Much like Shawn Langdon is doing this season, J. R. Todd tackled a new challenge a year ago when he made the move from Top Fuel to Funny Car after placing fourth overall in Top Fuel in 2016. After an early learning curve, Todd went on to become just the 16th driver in NHRA history to win in both Top Fuel and Funny Car when he was victorious at Laguna. He wasn’t done, though, as he went on to win the biggest event in the sport – the U.S. Nationals on Labor Day weekend.
J.R. Todd: “It definitely feels different simply because I’m more comfortable inside the car. This time last year I was pretty nervous. I didn’t know at all what to expect and I was just learning every run down the track. I’m still learning, but before I just wanted to get comfortable and work on things like my reaction time. Now I’m thinking what can I do inside the car to make myself better. It’s amazing what running a year in these cars can do for you. They’ll still ground you, though.”
