Todd, SealMaster team earn first no.1 qualifier of the season with a top five all-time pass

POMONA, Calif. (November 12, 2016) – J.R. Todd, driver of the SealMaster Toyota Top Fuel dragster claimed his first no.1 qualifier of the season earlier today at the Auto Club Finals.

Friday saw team SealMaster make two nice runs and had Todd seeded sixth heading into Saturday. With the sun beating down on the Auto Club Raceway at Pomona surface, crew chiefs Connie Kalitta and Rob Flynn were not afraid. Todd drove the SealMaster ride straight down the strip in an incredible 3.680 seconds at 327.82 MPH. That run not only reset Todd’s career-best and the Auto Club Raceway at Pomona track record, but also tied the fifth-best run in NHRA Top Fuel history.

“That surprised me. When I drove by the scoreboards and saw the 3.68, I thought that was pretty impressive from Connie, Rob and all of the SealMaster Toyota guys,” said Todd. “This thing has been trying to run really well for a long time now and here these last couple races it has really come together. Hopefully we are going in the right direction for 2017 in this SealMaster Toyota machine.”

This is Todd’s first no.1 qualifier of the season, first at Auto Club Raceway and ninth of his career. For Kalitta Motorsports, it is the team’s ninth no.1 qualifier of the season and 96th in the team’s history. With this no.1 spot, all full-time Team Kalitta drivers have earned a no.1 qualifier and a win this season.

Additionally, Doug Kalitta qualified second in his Mac Tools Top Fuel dragster giving Team Kalitta the sweep of the top two positions in qualifying for the first time since they qualified one-two in Dallas of 2014.

Todd will race Troy Buff in round one of eliminations of the Auto Club Finals.