J.R. Todd ran a 3.982-second pass at 325.69 mph in his DHL Toyota Camry Funny Car to earn the number one qualifier honors for Sunday’s Lucas Oil NHRA Southern Nationals at the Atlanta Dragway. The pole position is his first of the season and the 13th of his Camping World Drag Racing Series career.
Todd’s pole-winning pass came in Saturday’s first session as cars in both Nitro classes battled tricky conditions on the hot track. The 2018 Funny Car world champion will open up Sunday’s eliminations against fellow Camry driver Alexis DeJoria, who saw her streak of seven consecutive top-five qualifying efforts snapped after failing to make a clean pass on Saturday. She will start from the 14th position.
Antron Brown led the Toyota Top Fuel contingent by qualifying eighth with a 4.331-second run. He will square off with fellow Toyota driver Doug Kalitta, who registered a 4.389-second run in qualifying ninth. Shawn Langdon’s top pass was a 4.783, good for 11th, setting up a first-round match with Leah Pruett.
Sunday’s Camping World Drag Racing Series eliminations will be televised on FS1 on tape-delay at 11:30 p.m. EDT.
Quotes:
J.R. Todd, DHL Toyota Camry: “I’m really proud of all of these DHL Camry guys. Those were some tough conditions out there today and we came out in the first run and made a great pass. Hopefully, we can keep this going tomorrow and take home the last Wally from the Southern Nationals.”
Toyota Lucas Oil NHRA Southern Nationals Qualifying
| Funny Car | Qual. | Rd. 1 Opponent | Q1 Time/Speed | Q2 Time/Speed |
| J.R. Todd | 1st | Alexis DeJoria | 3.982/325.69 (3) | 4.442/201.82 |
| Alexis DeJoria | 13th | J.R. Todd | 8.386/82.21 | No Time |
| Top Fuel | ||||
| Antron Brown | 8th | Doug Kalitta | 4.821/153.60 | 4.331/191,76 |
| Doug Kalitta | 9th | Antron Brown | 4.685/162.85 | 4.389/195.08 |
| Shawn Langdon | 11th | Leah Pruett | 4.783/154.79 | 5.368/125.86 |
* (Qualifying Points Earned in Session)
Toyota Racing PR
