Post-Race #FallNats

Stampede of Speed Semifinal Finish Boosts J.R. Todd and DHL Camry Funny Car

 In a strong performance J.R. Todd raced to the semifinals during the Stampede of Speed at the Texas Motorplex’s NHRA Fall Nationals. The DHL Toyota Camry took out Tim Wilkerson and No. 1 qualifier Robert Hight before dropping a tough race to Matt Hagan. Through four rounds of qualifying the DHL Toyota Camry driven by Todd made strong runs including the quickest pass of the third session which was good for three qualifying bonus points. Todd moved into race day as the No. 8 qualifier
 
In a repeat of the first round of St Louis’ NHRA Midwest Nationals two weeks ago Todd outran veteran driver Tim Wilkerson. At that race it was Todd as the No. 9 qualifier getting the win but today, he was able to choose his lane as the No.8 Funny Car. The race was recognized during the Stampede of Speed opening ceremonies as the marque match-up and it lived up to the hype. Both race cars left together and were side by side the whole way down the all-concrete racetrack. Todd was able to get the win light with the quickest run of the entire event, a blistering 3.867 second pass at 331.36 mph. Wilkerson was right beside him with a strong 3.886 second pass at over 330 mph. It was the best race of the first round and catapulted Todd to a second round race against No. 1 qualifier Hight.
 
The quarterfinal race was a rematch of the Gatornationals final round that saw Todd pick up a season opening win in Gainesville, Florida. That race was a tire smoking pedal fest that went Todd’s way for the victory. Today it was another battle of driving skills as Todd and Hight left together and each race car drove into tire smoke but Todd was able to race further down track before running into trouble. The DHL Toyota Camry Funny Car was able to hold off Hight for the win with a winning time of 4.796 seconds to Hight’s losing 5.955 seconds.
 
In the next round Todd was giving up lane choice to his opponent. Todd staged his DHL Funny Car and activated the Christmas Tree starting system. Before the tree flashed amber Todd hit the throttle but he did not red-light instead double stepping the throttle and throwing off his start. The lack of smooth momentum knocked his racecar out of balance. Todd was forced to watch his opponent pull away for the win with a 3.904 second run at 331.04 mph.
 
“It was just a long light and lack of focus,” said Todd, on the semifinal race. “I have to apologize to my whole DHL Toyota team. I haven’t been driving the way I need to be. We have a tall mountain to climb after that, but it’s not over yet.”
 
Todd will head to Bristol Dragway and the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals fifth in points. He is just 21 points out of third place.
 
Statistics:
Qualified: No. 8 (3.924 sec, 3328.14 mph
Bonus points: +3 (Quickest of Q3)

Race Details:
 
First Round
Driver                                  Qual       R/T         ET           MPH  
J. R. Todd                           8             .087       3.867     331.36 (W)         
Tim Wilkerson                      9             .073       3.886     330.31  
 
Second Round
Driver                                  Qual       R/T         ET           MPH  
J. R. Todd                           8             .070       4.796     205.19 (W)
Robert Hight                        1             .071       5.955     220.98
 
Semifinal Round
Driver                                  Qual       R/T         ET           MPH  
J. R. Todd                           8             .007       7.983     71.40
Matt Hagan                          4             .081       3.904     331.04 (W)

Kalitta and Mac Tools Race to Quarterfinals at Texas Fall Nationals 

Doug Kalitta and the Mac Tools Top Fuel team rolled into the 36th annual Texas NHRA Fall Nationals this weekend looking for their third Top Fuel victory at the iconic Texas Motorplex. The first super-track built in 1986 has been the scene of several successful race days for the 49-time Top Fuel winner. This weekend Kalitta was looking improve on his Texas performance with his first win in the 2021 Countdown. Earlier this season Kalitta raced to a runner-up finish at the Houston national event. Through four rounds of qualifying the Mac Tools Top Fuel dragster made consistent passes and went into race day as the No. 10 qualifier in a very stout 16-car qualified field.
 
In the first round Kalitta was racing rival Antron Brown, the No. 7 qualifier, and fellow Countdown competitor.  Understanding the magnitude of the race Kalitta jumped off the starting line with a stellar .037 reaction time. His dragster ran into trouble almost immediately, but the veteran driver was able to get his 11,000-horsepower dragster back under control and continue storming towards the finish line. While Kalitta was hooked back up and charging Brown was trying to get his dragster under control, but he was never able to get enough traction to mount a serious charge at Kalitta. The win moved Kaitita to the quarterfinals and a match-up with point leader Steve Torrence. His round win was the only upset of the day in the first round of Top Fuel.
 
In the quarterfinals racing Torrence, most recent winner, Kalitta was giving up lane choice but not an aggressive attitude. Both race cars took off and were accelerating at break-neck speeds just before Kalitta’s dragster over-powered the track. Torrence was on a smooth run and Kalitta had no option but to watch him pull away for the win.
 
“We didn’t have as long of a day as I would have liked in the Mac Tools dragster,” said Kalitta. “We got a round win in a wild race and then it warmed up a little on us in the second round. We just got a little too aggressive, but we will be ready for Bristol in a couple days. Really appreciate all the fans that came out this weekend to the Stampede of Speed. It was a great event.”
 
Statistics:
Qualified: No. 10 (3.765 sec, 324.05 mph) 
Bonus points: 0

Race Details: 

First Round
Driver                                  Qual       R/T         ET           MPH 
Doug Kalitta                      10           .037       4.504     187.83 (W)
Antron Brown                       7             .053       4.556     210.44
 
Second Round
Driver                                  Qual       R/T         ET           MPH     
Doug Kalitta                      10           .068       5.093     144.07 
Steve Torrence                    2             .025       3.752     324.51 (W) 

Shawn Langdon and DHL Top Fuel Leave Texas Motorplex Focusing on Bristol 

The DHL Kalitta Air Top Fuel dragster and driver Shawn Langdon were looking to the Texas NHRA Fall Nationals at the Texas Motorplex as a chance to begin to advance towards the Camping World Top Fuel championship. Through two days of qualifying that included two runs on Friday and two runs on Sunday the team had considerable data to move into race day. The 2013 Top Fuel world champion wound up No. 9 in the sixteen Top Fuel field and would face veteran driver Clay Millican in the first round.
 
Langdon got the jump off the starting line with a stellar .020 reaction time, but his DHL Kalitta Ait Top Fuel dragster started to smoke the tire almost immediately. In the lane beside Langdon Millican was on a smooth run that got him to the finish line with a winning time of 3.766 seconds.  Langdon and the team’s efforts over the course of the weekend continued to gather data that they will use over the next three races of the Countdown.
 
We are really battling over here with this DHL Kalitta Air team,” said Langdon. “This team know how to win and we just need to stay focused on the positives and build on our good runs. There are three races left in the Countdown and we want to make the most out of those races.”
 
Heading to the Thunder Valley Nationals Langdon will be looking to pick up his third win at Bristol Dragway next weekend.
 
Statistics:
Qualified: No. 9 (3.754 sec, 321.88 mph) 
Bonus points: 0

Race Details:

First Round
Driver                                  Qual       R/T         ET           MPH  
Shawn Langdon               9             .020       4.626     171.66
Clay Millican                       8             .050       3.766     327.27 (W)