Reigning Funny Car world champion J.R. Todd drove his DHL Toyota Camry to his first win of the season in Sunday’s DENSO Spark Plugs Four-Wide Nationals. The triumph marked his third consecutive win at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and his ninth in the last 38 NHRA events.
Todd defeated Jim Campbell and Gary Densham in the first round and then eliminated Matt Hagan and Jeff Diehl in round two. That set up a final round quadrant of Todd, Tim Wilkerson, Tommy Johnson Jr. and Jack Beckman. Todd had a great jump at the start and moved into the lead by the 330’ mark. By 660’, it was a two-car battle between Todd and Johnson with Todd holding a .023 second advantage. That was as close as Johnson would get, though, as Todd registered a 3.970-second run, with a margin of victory of .032 seconds.
“It seems like these DHL Toyota Camrys always run well here,” said Todd after securing the sixth win for a Kalitta Camry in the last 11 Las Vegas events. “The whole team has a really good handle on this place, especially my crew chiefs Todd Smith and Jon Oberhofer. It seems like the more we come here, the better grip they get on this place. We struggled early this year with cold tracks and shaking the tires. I knew that it was eventually going to warm up and, sure enough, it was hot and nasty here today.”
In Top Fuel, Doug Kalitta advanced to the final round today on the way to finishing third. The Top Fuel point leader knocked off Terry McMillen and Steve Chrisman in the opening round. In round two, Kalitta eliminated Steve Torrence and teammate Richie Crampton to advance to the finals. He defeated both McMillen and Torrence on holeshots, giving Kalitta six holeshot victories in nine round wins this season.
In the finals, Kalitta took the lead early and led up until the 330’ mark before smoking the tires on the way to a third-place finish. Kalitta has now advanced to the semifinals or beyond in three of the season’s first four races.
“It was a big win in the first round,” said Kalitta. “Four-wide is kind of cool and different. I was hoping to have a great day with this Mac Tools Toyota dragster. I was hoping to get another hole shot win in that final quad. I am still trying to win a four wide. It is a crazy deal. It is fun, but a little chaotic and your adrenaline is running through you when you roll up there. Bruton Smith is hands-down the best track owner and that is the biggest reason I support this race. I love the guy for what he has done for the sport.”
Crampton advanced to the second round with victories over Scott Palmer and Cameron Ferre with an impressive 3.69-second run. His second-round run came to an end after spinning the tires.
Both Antron Brown (Top Fuel) and Shawn Langdon (Funny Car) were unable to make clean passes down the track and each was eliminated in their opening round run.
The 2019 Mello Yello Drag Racing Series will be back in action next weekend at Houston Raceway Park for the NHRA SpringNationals, April 12-14.
| Funny Car | NHRA Las Vegas Four-Wide Nationals Results | Qual/Finish |
| J.R. Todd | DHL Toyota Camry Funny Car | 4/Winner |
| Shawn Langdon | Global Electronic Technology Toyota Camry FC | 8/Rd. 1 |
| Top Fuel | ||
| Doug Kalitta | Mac Tools Toyota Top Fuel Dragster | 7/Finals (3rd) |
| Richie Crampton | CRAFTSMAN Toyota Top Fuel Dragster | 6/Rd. 2 |
| Antron Brown | Matco Tools Toyota Top Fuel Dragster | 9/Rd. 1 |
2019 Toyota Wins (3)
Top Fuel (2) – Kalitta, Pomona1, Crampton, Gainesville
Funny Car (1) – Todd, Las Vegas1
Notes:
– J.R. Todd’s victory today is his first of the season and the ninth of his Funny Car career – all coming in the last 38 events. It also marks his third consecutive victory at The Strip and the sixth for a Kalitta Motorsports Toyota Camry Funny Car in the last 11 Las Vegas races, including four of the last six spring events.
– J.R. Todd has now advanced to the final round in eight of the last 11 Mello Yellow Drag Racing Series Funny Car events with five victories.
– J.R. Todd’s win is the third for a Toyota-sponsored car in NHRA competition this season as he joins teammates Doug Kalitta (Pomona) and Richie Crampton (Gainesville) – both in Top Fuel.
– Doug Kalitta has now advanced to the semifinals or beyond in three of the first four events this season. By advancing to the finals today, Kalitta maintains his Top Fuel point lead after four races.
Driver Quotes:
J.R. Todd, DHL Toyota Camry Funny Car:
On winning three in a row here at The Strip:
It’s all Kalitta Motorsports. It seems like these DHL Toyota Camrys always run well here. The whole team has a really good handle on this place, especially my crew chiefs Todd Smith and Jon Oberhofer. It seems like the more we come here, the better grip they get on this place. We struggled early this year with cold tracks and shaking the tires. I knew that it was eventually going to warm up and sure enough, it was hot and nasty here today. That’s been an equalizer for us.”
Tell us about that final run and your path to Winner’s Circle today:
“That 3.97 was pretty stout. The 4.03 in the second run – I definitely stole some away there and I didn’t mean to do that. It was probably a 4.01, which was right in the hunt with everyone. (Tim) Wilkerson was really good all weekend. I expected him to step it up and throw down in the final, but you never count out Todd Smith and Jon O. Give them enough shots at it and they’re going to figure it out and sure enough we got our act together this weekend.”
You seem to have a lot of success in four-wide racing, is there a reason?
“There’s nothing you can really do to prepare yourself for the four-wides. You really don’t even change your routine. You just make yourself aware of where you are on the track – what lane you’re in, who you are racing. You just go up there and do what you do and hit the gas pedal when the light goes on. For whatever reason, we’ve done well in the four-wides – here and in Charlotte. I guess I can’t say I’m not a fan of it because I’ve got two Wallys I’ve won so far. It’s different. The fans seem to like it and it packs the stands here in Vegas and if that’s what we need to do to put some butts in the seats, I’m all for it. We need to do whatever we can to take the sport to the next level.”
How is racing here compared against racing in Charlotte?
“Racing here is different than Charlotte because of the altitude here. You’ve got to really stand on the tune-up and that’s where I think it plays into Kalitta Motorsports. They just have a handle on the altitude here and when you’ve got to really stand on it because you spin the blower a lot faster here. It’s different than Charlotte. I like it. The track is really smooth. They did an awesome job prepping the track. Charlotte has some different characteristics to it. Both are really good. Bruton Smith doesn’t mess around when it comes to building tracks.”
You’ve won 9 of your last 38 Funny Car events. Are you feeling at home in a Funny Car?
“Yes and no. I think I still have a lot of work to do in the car, especially when it comes to pedaling it and things like that. We came out and blew the tires off in the first round. I’m really hard on myself in keeping our DHL Toyota in the groove. Anytime it smokes the tires, I’m the first one to blame myself. It was spinning pretty good in the first round. I lifted and pedaled it, but I probably should have just run right through it. I pedaled it and it backfired the super charger. But it was good enough to hang on and turn on the win light and get us into the second round. That was our lucky break for the day. I robbed us there in the second round. The crew chiefs really had my back in the final round. That was awesome and a hell of a way to cap it off.”
Las Vegas holds a special distinction for you doesn’t it?
“This weekend is the fifth year anniversary of getting the call from the old man, Connie Kalitta, On Friday night, I was at home at Indy, eating chicken wings, drinking beer and watching March Madness with my parents and he calls me up and asks me if I can get on a plane and drive his car Saturday. That’s where it all started and I can’t thank him enough.”
Any chance you’re going to bring that hat back in the fall and save Chris Powell and the LVMS some money out here on your hats?
“No way. i want to collect as many of these things as I can. I think they can afford some new hats. No, Chris Powell and his staff, they have it going on at this place. With as many fans as they had this weekend, they can afford more hats.”
Any last thoughts?
“There was one thing I wanted to mention. Chad Langdon, Shawn’s dad, just had a liver transplant and it was kind of touch-and-go there for a while. I hear he’s going to be released from the hospital soon. So there will be a little bit of a recovery for him, but it’s a bit of a miracle what happened with him. We’ve been thinking of him. I’m glad it’s all worked out and looking forward to having him back at the track with us.”
Richie Crampton, DHL Toyota Top Fuel Dragster: “It was a good day. The four-wides can be a little bit of a wild-card. We had a really good run in the first round, then we just spun the tires on the second run. It would have been nice to bring home a second straight Wally, but all in all, it was a good weekend for the DHL/Toyota team. Winning at least one round is crucial. That’s what crippled us last season. First-round losses just ruin you in the points. Minimizing those first round losses is the key to having a chance for a successful run in the Countdown. Right now, we’re still mid-pack in the top-10 and it feels good. Now, we’ll start setting our sights on Houston and running at sea level.”
Doug Kalitta, Mac Tools Toyota Top Fuel Dragster: “It was a big win in the first round. Four-wide is kind of cool and different. I was hoping to have a great day with this Mac Tools Toyota dragster. I was hoping to get another hole shot win in that final quad. I am still trying to win a four wide. It is a crazy deal. It is fun but a little chaotic and your adrenaline is running through you when you roll up there. Bruton Smith is hands-down the best track owner and that is the biggest reason I support this race. I love the guy for what he has done for the sport.”
Antron Brown, Matco Tools Toyota Top Fuel Dragster:“We just need someone to throw us a bone. The engine has been flawless all weekend long and for it to drop a hole on the first run, we’re just kicking ourselves in the butt. We threw away a great opportunity to advance to another round. This is a race that we felt we had the opportunity to win. Houston is on our radar now and we have to unleash and unload. We need to be in attack mode and it’s game on right now. We’re ready and we’re thankful to have another race next weekend.”
| Toyota DriversFunny Car | Points Behind Leader (363) | 2019Wins | 2019W-L | Career Races | CareerWins | Career W-L |
| 4. J.R. Todd | 280 (-83) | 0 | 6-3 | 204 | 17 | 217-185 |
| 11. Shawn Langdon | 176 (-187) | 0 | 2-4 | 236 | 14 | 265-219 |
| Top Fuel | (319) | |||||
| 1. Doug Kalitta | 319 (Leader) | 1 | 9-3 | 493 | 45 | 661-441 |
| 5. Richie Crampton | 233 (-86) | 1 | 5-3 | 107 | 9 | 93-99 |
| 10. Antron Brown | 184 (-135) | 0 | 2-4 | 410 | 66 | 704-341 |
Toyota Drivers NHRA Las Vegas Four-Wide Eliminations Round-by-Round
| Top Fuel | Rd 1 Win-Loss | Rd 2 Win-Loss | Finals Win-Loss |
| Kalitta | W – 3.780 | W – 3.790 | L – 4.333 |
| Crampton | W – 3.769 | L – 4.903 | |
| Brown | L – 4.072 | ** | ** |
| Funny Car | Rd 1 Win-Loss | ||
| Todd | W – 4.349 | W – 4.030 | W – 3.970 |
| Langdon | L – 4.538 | ** | ** |
Toyota Racing PR
