YPSILANTI, Mich. (July 24, 2024) – J.R. Todd and his DHL GR Supra team found something they’d lost last weekend in Seattle: consistency. The 2024 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Season resumes July 26-28, 2024 at the Denso NHRA Sonoma Nationals in Sonoma, Calif.
For the first time in quite a while, Todd’s DHL Funny Car went down the race track consistently with four strong runs in qualifying followed by more on race day. It was a welcome development that ended with cylinders dropped in the semifinals, but it was progress for the driver ranked fourth in the Funny Car standings.
“It was definitely a good turn-a-round from where we’ve been this season,” Todd said. “We struggled a little bit keeping the thing running on eight cylinders, and that definitely cost us in the semifinals. All in all, it was a good weekend. It felt good. It’s nice to be able to throw down and make runs when you need to. We just have to fine tune it with it dropping cylinders, and hopefully, we’ll be in good shape the rest of the season. Conditions are gonna be good in Sonoma so we’ll definitely have to run hard there.”
Which is exactly what they did last year when Todd ended a lengthy winless streak with a Sonoma Raceway win followed by the traditional Sonoma winner’s circle glass of wine. It was his fourth wine-country win.
“It was good because we’d struggled for however long and hadn’t had a win so it was nice to reward the guys,” the 2018 Funny Car champion said. “You never know if or when your next win is gonna come so after all the struggles, it was nice to finally get another one. Any win is special. I’ve definitely had success at Sonoma in the past, and it’s definitely my favorite track on the tour so it’s always good to return as the defending winner. We went into that race last year with a little momentum from Seattle like we will this week so hopefully, we can parlay that into another win this weekend.”
Race Information: Denso NHRA Sonoma Nationals Sonoma Raceway; Sonoma, Calif.
TV Schedule (All times eastern):
- 2Fast2Tasty Challenge: 6-7 p.m. Saturday, July 27 on FOX
- Qualifying Show: 2-4 p.m. Sunday, July 28 on FS1
- Finals: 4-7 p.m. Sunday, July 28 on FOX
2023 Denso NHRA Sonoma Nationals Recap: Qualified No. 8; defeated Blake Alexander, Bob Tasca, Matt Hagan and Chad Green.
Funny Car Career Stats: 309 events, 21 wins, 26 runner-up, 344 round wins, 14 No. 1 qualifiers.
2024 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series Results To Date (wins in italics):
- Gainesville: Qualified No. 6; defeated Blake Alexander, Ron Capps, Bob Tasca and Austin Prock.
- Pomona: Qualified No. 11; defeated Cruz Pedregon and Paul Lee; lost to Matt Hagan.
- Phoenix: Qualified No. 5; defeated Cruz Pedregon and John Force before losing to Austin Prock.
- Las Vegas 4W: Qualified No. 3; defeated D. Wilkerson, D. Richards before losing to M. Hagan and R. Capps
- Charlotte 4W: Qualified No. 12; defeated Ron Capps and Buddy Hull in the first round, Cruz Pedregon and John Force in the semifinals before beating John Force but losing to Matt Hagan and Daniel Wilkerson in the final round.
- Chicago: Qualified No. 12; lost to Alexis DeJoria.
- Epping: Qualified No. 3; defeated Dave Richards and Bob Tasca before losing to John Force.
- Bristol: Qualified No. 11; defeated Terry Haddock, Ron Capps, John Force; lost to Austin Prock.
- Richmond: Qualified No. 7; lost to Matt Hagan.
- Norwalk: Qualified No. 2; defeated Chris King; lost to Ron Capps.
- Seattle: Qualified No. 4; defeated Buddy Hull and Bob Tasca; lost to Austin Prock.
J.R. Todd Image Courtesy: NHRA
Article Read Speed
