J.R. Todd qualified fifth with a 3.883-second run at 331.20 mph in his DHL Toyota Camry Funny Car, while teammate Richie Crampton registered a 3.696-second pass to place fifth in Top Fuel to lead Toyota in preparation for Monday’s NHRA U.S. Nationals at Lucas Oil Raceway in Indianapolis.
Todd will be looking to become the first Funny Car driver in history to win three consecutive U.S. Nationals titles on Monday after putting together four runs of 3.923-seconds or better In his five qualifying passes. The reigning Funny Car world champion earned three bonus points during the weekend. He’s set to square off with Cruz Pedregon in round one of eliminations.
Fellow Camry Funny Car driver Shawn Langdon registered two 3.8-second passes on the weekend on the way to qualifying seventh. He will race Tommy Johnson Jr. in round one.
In Top Fuel, Crampton had his best qualifying weekend of the 2019 season at a crucial time as he attempts to clinch his berth in the Countdown to the Championship playoffs. The DHL Toyota dragster driver ran the quickest pass of Sunday’s final session on the way to earning a season-best seven qualifying points as he made three passes of 3.704 or better. If Crampton can defeat his first-round opponent, Austin Prock, he will secure his spot in the Countdown.
Antron Brown qualified one spot behind Crampton in sixth with his best recorded pass of 3.698. Unfortunately, his best pass overall of the weekend – a 3.678 – was voided do to a problem with the scoring system. He will race Jordan Vandergriff on Sunday.
Doug Kalitta laid down five consecutive passes of 3.747 or better in qualifying eighth. He will have lane choice in round one tomorrow against Clay Millican in a match-up with playoff seeding implications between the drivers who currently sit third (Kalitta) and fourth in the Top Fuel point standings.
Monday’s Mello Yello Drag Racing Series eliminations will be televised live on FS1 from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., before switching over to the FOX Network beginning at 1:00 p.m. (EDT)
| Toyota Drivers | U.S. Nationals Qualifying |
| Funny Car | Starting Position (Opponent) |
| J.R. Todd | 5th (Pedregon) |
| Shawn Langdon | 7th (Johnson) |
| Ray Martin | 13th (Capps) |
| Top Fuel | Starting Position (Opponent) |
| Richie Crampton | 5th (Prock) |
| Antron Brown | 6th (Vandergriff) |
| Doug Kalitta | 8th (Millican) |
Toyota Session-by-Session Qualifying
| Funny Car | Q1 Time/Speed | Q2 Time/Speed | Q3 Time/Speed | Q4 Time/Speed | Q5 Time/Speed |
| Todd | 3.883/331.20 (2) | 3.916/312.06 | 5.014/151.19 | 3.923/326.32 | 3.905/330.63 (1) |
| Langdon | 3.887/330.63 (1) | 3.897/327.11 (1) | 5.284/138.05 | 4.000/263.41 | 3.944/326.87 |
| Martin | No time | * | 3.962/325.22 | 4.021/318.02 | No time |
| Top Fuel | |||||
| Crampton | 3.738/325.53 | 3.696/326.32 (1) | 3.702/326.24 | 3.730/325.77 (2) | 3.704/331.58 (4) |
| Brown | 3.729/328.06 | No Time | 3.698/329.02 | 3.787/320.81 | 6.588/103.35 |
| Kalitta | 3.743/327.19 | 3.737/329.67 | 3.706/332.25 | 3.747/331.53 (1) | 3.733/324.90 |
(#) – Bonus Points Earned
Bold= Driver’s quickest pass during qualifying
Toyota Racing PR
