J.R. Todd No. 1 Qualifier at NHRA Topeka Nationals

TOPEKA, KS (August 14, 2021) — J.R. Todd and the DHL Toyota Camry Funny Car raced to the No. 1 qualifier at the NHRA Topeka Nationals at Heartland Motorsports Park. For the second time in 2021 and fifth time in his Funny Car career Todd will start from the No. 1 position. Todd secured the top spot with a stand-out run during the first qualifying session on Friday night, a 3.884 second pass that outpaced his Toyota Racing teammate Alexis DeJoria for the No. 1 position.
 
“We’ve been struggling to capitalize on the Friday night run that is usually pretty crucial for qualifying,” said Todd, who also has nine No. 1s in Top Fuel.  “We haven’t run that well (3.884 seconds) in a long time. It’s a testament to all the DHL Toyota guys for digging deep and not giving up. I feel like we’ve got some momentum coming from Pomona where we gained a lot of points on the cars in front of us. It was nice to get the three points Friday and, hopefully, we can keep pace with those guys heading into the Countdown. It’s a good time to start building momentum.”
 
Todd will receive a competition bye in the first round tomorrow. In the second round he will face the winner of the Chad Green versus Ron Capps match-up. Earlier this season he was No. 1 at the Southern Nationals in Atlanta and raced to the semifinals.