Toyota Racing NHRA Finals Preview

BROWN TAKES CHAMPIONSHIP TO POMONA – Antron Brown clinched his third Top Fuel world championship at the Toyota Nationals in Las Vegas and now heads to Pomona looking for a career-best eighth victory this weekend. To date, his seven victories match his previous best set on the way to the 2015 title and are more than double the next highest total from any driver this season (7-3). He will lead the series in wins for the fourth time in the last five seasons in 2016 and has averaged six wins a year over the past five seasons – more than the next two highest drivers combined.

Antron Brown: “We’ve won seven races last season and now we want to go to Pomona and try to win eight this year. We don’t go to a race just wanting to have fun – because you know what’s fun? Ending up in that winner’s circle. And as soon as we’re done at Pomona, we’re going to go back to the shop and figure out how to get better for next year.”

POINT RACE NOT OVER YET – Antron Brown may have clinched the Top Fuel title, but the battle for second will go down to the wire with Toyota drivers Doug Kalitta, Shawn Langdon and J.R. Todd all in the fight. Kalitta enters Pomona in third, but just 11 points out of second. Langdon trails by 59 points in fifth, while Todd is 72 points out of the second spot in sixth.

TOYOTA TOP FUELERS LOVE POMONA – Toyota Top Fuel drivers have won 12 of the last 14 races run at Pomona, including the last seven Auto Club NHRA Finals. Shawn Langdon has led the way with four victories at the track just 20 miles away from his hometown of Mira Loma – including sweeps of both the Winternationals and NHRA Finals in both 2013 and 2015. In addition to Langdon’s success at the track, Antron Brown, Doug Kalitta and J.R. Todd all have registered victories in Pomona.

WORSHAM LOOKS TO REPEAT AT NHRA FINALS – Del Worsham will be looking for his second straight win at the NHRA Finals this weekend after driving his DHL Camry to victory in Pomona last year to clinch his first Funny Car title. Worsham is one of just four drivers to win at Pomona in both Funny Car and Top Fuel, joining Kenny Bernstein, Don Prudhomme and Gary Scelzi.

AREND TO SUB FOR DEJORIA AT POMONA – Alexis DeJoria will be forced to sit-out the NHRA Finals due to a concussion suffered in Las Vegas. Veteran driver Jeff Arend will replace her at Pomona. Arend is best known for winning the first race for the TRD-designed Camry Funny Car in Chicago in 2012 as DeJoria’s Kalitta Motorsports teammate in the DHL Camry.