YPSILANTI, Mich. (Sept. 14, 2025) – Although the first playoff race didn’t go as planned, 2018 NHRA Funny Car champion J.R. Todd remains in the thick of the battle for the 2025 Funny Car crown. The 2025 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Countdown to the Championship NHRA Playoffs continue with the second of six playoff races Sept. 19-21 at the NHRA Carolina Nationals in Concord, N.C.
Todd entered the Countdown as the No. 6 seed; the DHL GR Supra team made four consistent qualifying runs in Pennsylvania last weekend but couldn’t carry that consistency into race day. Todd smoked the tires almost immediately in the first round, and Ron Capps cruised to victory. Todd dropped one spot to seventh in points but trails sixth-place Cruz Pedregon by just 26 points and fifth-place Matt Hagan by 36 points; he is only 91 points out of first place with five races remaining in the season.
“It would have been nice to have made up some ground on those that went out early last weekend, but that’s the way it goes,” Todd said. “We can’t dwell on that, so we put it behind us and just go to Charlotte and try to win the race. From here on out, we need to make our best runs possible and race is hard as we can. All things considered, we’re in pretty good shape, but you still don’t want to put yourself in a little bit of a hole. We need to race as hard as we can, go to the later rounds and probably get a little help along the way.”
Todd has three runner-up finishes at zMAX Dragway, and he’d like nothing more than to notch his first zMAX Dragway win and make a move up in the standings. He’s been clear all season about the DHL GR Supra team being a work in progress, but now is the time to for this team to apply what it’s learned. A strong showing in the first four-wide playoff race in NHRA history would go a long way towards a significant move in the standings.
“Any win in the countdown is definitely a big win,” Todd said. “It would be a good momentum boost going into the remaining races because if we’re gonna win a championship, we need to need to start making it happen. We’ve shown this year we have a team capable of making consistently strong runs. The Friday night qualifying run is the key everywhere we go. We have to make that run count like we did last weekend. Hats off to my DHL guys – they work hard and don’t give up.”
Race Information:
NHRA 4-Wide Carolina Nationals zMAX Dragway; Concord, N.C.
TV Schedule (All times eastern):
2024 NHRA Carolina Nationals Recap: Qualified No. 6; lost to Daniel Wilkerson.
J.R. Todd Career Stats: 333 events, 22 wins, 27 runner-up, 363 round wins, 14 No. 1 qualifiers.
2025 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series Results to Date:
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Todd entered the Countdown as the No. 6 seed; the DHL GR Supra team made four consistent qualifying runs in Pennsylvania last weekend but couldn’t carry that consistency into race day. Todd smoked the tires almost immediately in the first round, and Ron Capps cruised to victory. Todd dropped one spot to seventh in points but trails sixth-place Cruz Pedregon by just 26 points and fifth-place Matt Hagan by 36 points; he is only 91 points out of first place with five races remaining in the season.
“It would have been nice to have made up some ground on those that went out early last weekend, but that’s the way it goes,” Todd said. “We can’t dwell on that, so we put it behind us and just go to Charlotte and try to win the race. From here on out, we need to make our best runs possible and race is hard as we can. All things considered, we’re in pretty good shape, but you still don’t want to put yourself in a little bit of a hole. We need to race as hard as we can, go to the later rounds and probably get a little help along the way.”
Todd has three runner-up finishes at zMAX Dragway, and he’d like nothing more than to notch his first zMAX Dragway win and make a move up in the standings. He’s been clear all season about the DHL GR Supra team being a work in progress, but now is the time to for this team to apply what it’s learned. A strong showing in the first four-wide playoff race in NHRA history would go a long way towards a significant move in the standings.
“Any win in the countdown is definitely a big win,” Todd said. “It would be a good momentum boost going into the remaining races because if we’re gonna win a championship, we need to need to start making it happen. We’ve shown this year we have a team capable of making consistently strong runs. The Friday night qualifying run is the key everywhere we go. We have to make that run count like we did last weekend. Hats off to my DHL guys – they work hard and don’t give up.”
Race Information:
NHRA 4-Wide Carolina Nationals zMAX Dragway; Concord, N.C.
TV Schedule (All times eastern):
- Qualifying Show: 10 a.m.-Noon Sunday, Sept. 21 on FS1
- Finals: Noon-3:30 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 21 on FS1
2024 NHRA Carolina Nationals Recap: Qualified No. 6; lost to Daniel Wilkerson.
J.R. Todd Career Stats: 333 events, 22 wins, 27 runner-up, 363 round wins, 14 No. 1 qualifiers.
2025 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series Results to Date:
- Gainesville: Qualified No. 11; lost to Bobby Bode.
- Phoenix: Qualified No. 9; defeated Daniel Wilkerson before losing to Bob Tasca.
- Pomona: Qualified No. 7; lost to Daniel Wilkerson.
- Las Vegas: Qualified No. 4: defeated Bobby Bode, Jack Beckman, lost to Matt Hagan, Paul Lee.
- Charlotte: Qualified No. 11; defeated Dan Wilkerson, Bob Tasca; lost to Austin Prock, Ron Capps.
- Chicago: Qualified No. 4; lost to Cruz Pedregon.
- Epping: Qualified No. 10; defeated Cruz Pedregon, Phil Burkart, Alexis DeJoria and Spencer Hyde.
- Bristol: Qualified No. 6; defeated Spencer Hyde; lost to Ron Capps
- Richmond: Qualified No. 3; defeated Buddy Hull and Hunter Green; lost to Austin Prock.
- Norwalk: Qualified No. 12; lost to Matt Hagan.
- Seattle: Qualified No. 3; defeated Cruz Pedregon; lost to Alexis Dejoria.
- Sonoma: Qualified No. 11; lost to Hunter Green.
- Brainerd: Qualified No. 5; defeated Paul Lee, Ron Capps and Jack Beckman; lost to Austin Prock.
- Indianapolis: Qualified No. 7; lost to Bob Tasca.
- Reading: Qualified No. 5; lost to Ron Capps.
The post J.R. Todd in the Thick Of NHRA Countdown Battle first appeared on Team Kalitta Motorsports.
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