Post-Race #HeartlandNats

J.R. Todd Runner-Up at NHRA Topeka Nationals

J.R. Todd and the DHL Toyota Camry Funny Car team raced to their second consecutive final round today at the Menard’s NHRA Nationals at Heartland Motorsports Park. Todd and his DHL Toyota Camry team made a major move up in the tight Funny Car points jumping from sixth to third and less than two rounds out of first place.
 
“It was a good points day again,” said Todd. “We just came up short in the final, but I’d like to think that we’re paying the bank right now and, hopefully, saving the wins for when it counts. The most important time of the year is coming up in the Countdown. We made up some ground and we’re right in the thick of it. We’ve got two more races before the Countdown starts and when we won the championship in Indy, we got hot right around Indy. It’s getting right about that time of year. The DHL Toyota guys are doing a great job, as always. Just stay consistent and keep doing what we’re doing and the wins will come.”
 
They were strong all weekend starting with the No. 1 qualifier run on Friday night and three excellent round wins today. Todd took a competition bye run in the first round and used the opportunity to test the limits of the track surface. In the second round he was rewarded with a rematch of the Winternationals final round and a chance at redemption.
 
Todd took a sizable starting line reaction time advantage and that proved to be the difference for a hole shot win. His .059 versus .076 advantage gave him enough to combine with his 3.996 second elapsed time for the win against Ron Capps’ slightly quicker 3.994 second run. It was a great win to advance to another semifinal.
 
The semifinal race set up the No. 1 qualifier against Blake Alexander, the No. 5 qualifier. Once again Todd was first off the line and never trailed in the race. His 4.040 second time was a shade off his previous run but it was enough for the win to set up a showdown with sixteen time champion John Force in Todd’s fourth final round of the season.
 
Keeping his starting line streak alive Todd was first off the line and was pulling away for the win at half-track before his DHL Funny Car started hazing the tires. Force did not experience any issues on his run and he passed Todd just beyond the half-track mark. Todd’s 4.453 second run wasn’t enough to hold of his opponents 4.01 second run.
 
Statistics:
Qualified: No. 1 (3.884 sec., 332.67 mph)
Bonus points: +3 (Quickest of Q1)

Race Details:
 
First Round
Driver                                  Qual       R/T         ET           MPH  
J.R. Todd                            1             .088       5.527     128.21 (W)
Bye
 
Second Round
Driver                                  Qual       R/T         ET           MPH  
J.R. Todd                            1             .059       3.996     318.99 (W)
Ron Capps                          9             .076       3.994     317.49
 
Semifinal Round
Driver                                  Qual       R/T         ET           MPH  
J.R. Todd                            1             .080       4.040     315,64 (W)
Blake Alexander                   5             .110       5.222     159.29  
 
Final Round
Driver                                  Qual       R/T         ET           MPH  
J.R. Todd                             1             .058       4.453     199.29
John Force                           6             .081       4.019     321.04 (W)

Semifinal Finish for DHL and Shawn Langdon in Topeka

Shawn Langdon felt this weekend at Heartland Motorsports Park could be a strong opportunity to go rounds and build some momentum heading towards the NHRA Countdown. The DHL Kalitta Air Top Fuel dragster delivered with a semifinal performance today at the Menards NHRA Nationals. Langdon entered race day as the No. 7 qualifier and he bested Antron Brown and Billy Torrence before falling to Clay Millican in the semifinals.
 
In the opening round Langdon grabbed an amazing starting line advantage and never trailed in the drag race getting a win light in a wire to wire race. His .039 reaction time combined with his 3.900 second pass was too much for a tire smoking Brown to overcome.
 
In the quarterfinal Langdon and his reaction time advantage were a key component to victory. He got the jump on No. 2 qualifier Torrence and held on for a second win light of the day with the DHL Top Fuel dragster’s 3.812 second pass besting his opponents 3.822 second run.
 
Advancing to his fourth semifinal of the season solidified Langdon’s position in the top ten moving him up to fifth place. With two races remaining Langdon is not a mathematical lock yet but the DHL team will be racing for the championship when the Countdown begins following the U.S. Nationals.
 
In the semifinals facing Clay Millican Langdon was racing a tough veteran who was also strong on the starting line. Both drivers executed excellent reaction times leaving side by side but Langdon started to lose traction early. In the opposite lane Millican lost power just past half-track and coasted across the finish line for the win. It was a tough loss for Langdon and the DHL team but the two previous win lights and points have them moving in the right direction.
 
“Getting a couple of round wins here in Topeka was a good way to gain some momentum for our DHL team,” said Langdon. “Going out in the semis the way we did wasn’t ideal but we will regroup for Brainerd in just a few days. We’ve got a busy schedule ahead and just need to keep building one round at a time.”
 
Statistics:
Qualified: No. 7 (3.805 sec., 311.34 mph) 
Bonus points: 0

Race Details:

First Round
Driver                                  Qual       R/T         ET           MPH  
Shawn Langdon               7             .031       3.900     307.16 (W)
Antron Brown                      8             .072       4.914     155.78
 
Second Round
Driver                                  Qual       R/T         ET           MPH  
Shawn Langdon               7             .070       3.812     313.80 (W)
Billy Torrence                     2             .088       3.822     323.04
 
Second Round
Driver                                  Qual       R/T         ET           MPH  
Shawn Langdon               7             .041       7.121     85.03
Clay Millican                       6             .036       4.561     172.01 (W)

Tough Topeka Has Doug Kalitta Focused on String Finish

Doug Kalitta and the Mac Tools Top Fuel team were looking to pick up their third Top Fuel win at Heartland Motorsports Park today at the Menards NHRA Nationals. The team battled through two days of qualifying and entered race day as the No. 9 Top Fuel team with an eye on going rounds and continuing to hold their top ten position with two more regular season races following today.
 
Their first round match up with Clay Millican was a battle between two veterans with years of experience behind the wheel of these 11,000 horsepower race cars. Kalitta had a winning head to head record against Millican but on race day anything can happen. The Mac Tools Top Fuel dragster leapt off the starting line first and was leading as half-track approached but Millican was closing. In a losing effort Kalitta and the Mac Tools team made their quickest and fastest pass of the weekend, 3.804 at 317.64 mph but it was not enough to advance to the quarterfinals.
 
“We stepped it up on race day but we didn’t get the win,” said Kalitta. “We are going to dig deep for these last two regular season races and get ready for the Countdown.”
 
Kalitta maintains his position in the top ten with a healthy lead of over 150 points on the first driver outside the top ten. The next two races, Brainerd, Minnesota and Indianapolis, Indiana will be key to Countdown positioning for the perennial championship contender.
 
Statistics:
Qualified: No. 9 (3.815 sec., 289.63 mph) 
Bonus points: 0

Race Details: 

First Round
Driver                                  Qual       R/T         ET           MPH 
Doug Kalitta                      9             .056       3.804     317.64
Clay Millican                       6             .070       3.732     323.50 (W)