J.R. Todd, DHL Funny Car
Finals Broadcast Replay (eastern time): 4-7 p.m. Monday, April 27 on FS2
Qualifying: J.R. Todd was the No. 4 qualifier at the NHRA 4-Wide Nationals. During the Friday night qualifying session, Todd needed just 3.933 seconds to reach the finish line at 329.10 mph. It was his third top-four qualifying result in the season’s first four races.
Eliminations: Todd defeated Hunter Green and Jeff Arend in the first round and defeated Chad Green and Alexis DeJoria in the semifinals with a brilliant 3.885-second effort at 336.40 mph, but the DHL GR Supra had problems after the run when the parachutes failed to deploy due to a broken cable. Todd worked the carbon fiber breaks as hard as he could but was unable to get the DHL GR Supra stopped before reaching the sand pit at the end of the track. He turned the wheel slightly to help slow the car before it entered the sand and kept the car out of the netting at the end of the sand pit. The DHL team went to its backup car for the final round, but the car dropped a cylinder ending Todd’s day.
When Todd advanced to the final quadrant, he earned a spot in next week’s Mission Foods Challenge. During Saturday’s qualifying sessions, the drivers who reached the final quadrant today will re-run the semifinals and final in separate pairs earning additional purse and championship bonus points.
Unofficial Point Standings: Todd leaves Charlotte in third place in in the NHRA Funny Car point standings. He trails second-place Matt Hagan by 25 points and leads fourth-place Chad Green by 25 points.
Todd on Charlotte: “It was another solid weekend in general; the DHL car was ripping and getting better as the day went on, and it was great to have people from DHL, Revchem, SoundGear and Dayco here supporting us this weekend. We made a hell of a run in the second round; it’s just unfortunate what happened with the chute cables, with the chutes not opening and going in the sand. We didn’t want to take a chance on running the primary car for the final round because we didn’t know if it was bent or tweaked or anything like that. We just really didn’t have time to check it over so we went to the spare car, which we ran in Gainesville (pre-season testing), and it ran really well. It’s just unfortunate to go up there and drop a cylinder in the final.
“I really thought we had something for those guys in the final round. I think if we ran our primary car, shoulda, woulda, coulda, but I think we’d have been in really good shape. Either way, the car is running really well, Dickie and Todd (Crew Chiefs Dickie Venables and Todd Smith) are doing a great job reading the track and conditions and we’re in the hunt, but at the same time, I hate losing ground to those to and front of us (Ron Capps, Matt Hagan).”
J.R. Todd Photo Courtesy: Kalitta Motorsports
Next Race: Team Kalitta will be back in action May 1-3, 2026 at the NHRA Southern Nationals in Adel, Ga. For additional information, please visit www.nhra.com. For additional information on Kalitta Motorsports, please visit www.teamkalitta.com.
The post J.R. Todd Advances to NHRA 4-Wide Finals first appeared on Team Kalitta Motorsports.
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Finals Broadcast Replay (eastern time): 4-7 p.m. Monday, April 27 on FS2
Qualifying: J.R. Todd was the No. 4 qualifier at the NHRA 4-Wide Nationals. During the Friday night qualifying session, Todd needed just 3.933 seconds to reach the finish line at 329.10 mph. It was his third top-four qualifying result in the season’s first four races.
Eliminations: Todd defeated Hunter Green and Jeff Arend in the first round and defeated Chad Green and Alexis DeJoria in the semifinals with a brilliant 3.885-second effort at 336.40 mph, but the DHL GR Supra had problems after the run when the parachutes failed to deploy due to a broken cable. Todd worked the carbon fiber breaks as hard as he could but was unable to get the DHL GR Supra stopped before reaching the sand pit at the end of the track. He turned the wheel slightly to help slow the car before it entered the sand and kept the car out of the netting at the end of the sand pit. The DHL team went to its backup car for the final round, but the car dropped a cylinder ending Todd’s day.
When Todd advanced to the final quadrant, he earned a spot in next week’s Mission Foods Challenge. During Saturday’s qualifying sessions, the drivers who reached the final quadrant today will re-run the semifinals and final in separate pairs earning additional purse and championship bonus points.
Unofficial Point Standings: Todd leaves Charlotte in third place in in the NHRA Funny Car point standings. He trails second-place Matt Hagan by 25 points and leads fourth-place Chad Green by 25 points.
Todd on Charlotte: “It was another solid weekend in general; the DHL car was ripping and getting better as the day went on, and it was great to have people from DHL, Revchem, SoundGear and Dayco here supporting us this weekend. We made a hell of a run in the second round; it’s just unfortunate what happened with the chute cables, with the chutes not opening and going in the sand. We didn’t want to take a chance on running the primary car for the final round because we didn’t know if it was bent or tweaked or anything like that. We just really didn’t have time to check it over so we went to the spare car, which we ran in Gainesville (pre-season testing), and it ran really well. It’s just unfortunate to go up there and drop a cylinder in the final.
“I really thought we had something for those guys in the final round. I think if we ran our primary car, shoulda, woulda, coulda, but I think we’d have been in really good shape. Either way, the car is running really well, Dickie and Todd (Crew Chiefs Dickie Venables and Todd Smith) are doing a great job reading the track and conditions and we’re in the hunt, but at the same time, I hate losing ground to those to and front of us (Ron Capps, Matt Hagan).”
J.R. Todd Photo Courtesy: Kalitta Motorsports
Next Race: Team Kalitta will be back in action May 1-3, 2026 at the NHRA Southern Nationals in Adel, Ga. For additional information, please visit www.nhra.com. For additional information on Kalitta Motorsports, please visit www.teamkalitta.com.
The post J.R. Todd Advances to NHRA 4-Wide Finals first appeared on Team Kalitta Motorsports.
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