J.R. Todd Reaches Semifinals

J.R. Todd, DHL Funny Car

Finals Broadcast Replay: 10 p.m.-1 a.m. Wednesday, June 12, 2024 on FS2

Qualifying: J.R. Todd was the No. 3 qualifier at the NHRA New England Nationals – it equaled his best qualifying position of the season. During the Friday-evening session, Todd posted a 3.865-second run at 327.74 mph to take the No. 3 position.

Eliminations: Todd and the DHL Toyota team defeated Dave Richards and Bob Tasca before losing to John Force in the semifinals. It was the sixth time in seven races this season that Todd advanced to at least the semifinals.

When Todd advanced to the semifinals, he earned a spot in the Mission #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge next week in Bristol, Tenn. During Saturday’s qualifying sessions in Bristol, the drivers who reached the semifinals in Epping will re-run the semifinals and final earning additional purse and championship bonus points.

Unofficial Point Standings: Todd leaves Epping in fourth place in the NHRA Funny Car point standings. He trails third-place Matt Hagan by 10 points and leads fifth-place Bob Tasca by 47 points.

Todd on Epping: “It was a good weekend for the DHL GR Supra team – we qualified well and made it to the semis which means we get to race in the too fast, too tasty deal (Mission #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge) at Bristol which is always the goal. We’re still behind those Force cars quite a bit so we have some work to do going into Bristol, but at the end of the day, it’s nice to be going rounds and earning points for DHL, Revchem and SealMaster.  

“Gotta give a big shout out to Lobster Joe (Joe Poulin, Wyndham Rental Company) and his crew for taking care of us this weekend. We needed an air compressor for our DHL rig, and they came in clutch there and fed us last night at the Lobster dinner (Eddie’s Lobsterfest) in honor of our buddy, Eddie (Scott Kalitta), that we miss.”

J.R. Todd Image Courtesy: NHRA