Qualifying: J.R. Todd was the No. 11 qualifier at the Amalie Motor Oil NHRA Gatornationals. With qualifying shortened to only two rounds due to Saturday rain, Todd’s best qualifying attempt came late Friday when he made a 4.052-second pass at 265.17 mph.
Eliminations: Todd, new Crew Chief Dickie Venables and the rest of the DHL Toyota team endured a long wait to officially open the 2025 season making their first pass of the year some five hours after racing began due to rain showers followed by a power outage affecting all of Alachua County. When Todd’s time finally came, a battle of two tire-smoking cars ensued. Todd and Bob Bode both pedaled their respective cars multiple times before Bode’s regained traction allowing him to win the race.
Unofficial Point Standings: Todd leaves Gainesville tied with Terry Haddock for 12th place in in the NHRA Funny Car point standings. The two trail 11th place Cruz Pedregon by one point following the season’s opening race.
Todd on Gainesville: “As a driver, you hate to lose like that; I need to be a little more patient letting the DHL car calm down and do a better job rolling back into the throttle. I’m always mad at myself not coming out on the winning end of those. Track conditions definitely weren’t ideal, but it was the same for everybody. We’re still getting our DHL GR Supra dialed in with this new setup, and we all know it’s gonna take some time – it’s a process. We’ll be ready to take the next step in a couple weeks in Phoenix. Thanks to DHL, Dayco, Revchem, SealMaster – all the people who help get this car on the track.”
J.R. Todd Photo Courtesy: Kalitta Motorsports
The post J.R. Todd Races Tire Smoking Opponent first appeared on Team Kalitta Motorsports.
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Eliminations: Todd, new Crew Chief Dickie Venables and the rest of the DHL Toyota team endured a long wait to officially open the 2025 season making their first pass of the year some five hours after racing began due to rain showers followed by a power outage affecting all of Alachua County. When Todd’s time finally came, a battle of two tire-smoking cars ensued. Todd and Bob Bode both pedaled their respective cars multiple times before Bode’s regained traction allowing him to win the race.
Unofficial Point Standings: Todd leaves Gainesville tied with Terry Haddock for 12th place in in the NHRA Funny Car point standings. The two trail 11th place Cruz Pedregon by one point following the season’s opening race.
Todd on Gainesville: “As a driver, you hate to lose like that; I need to be a little more patient letting the DHL car calm down and do a better job rolling back into the throttle. I’m always mad at myself not coming out on the winning end of those. Track conditions definitely weren’t ideal, but it was the same for everybody. We’re still getting our DHL GR Supra dialed in with this new setup, and we all know it’s gonna take some time – it’s a process. We’ll be ready to take the next step in a couple weeks in Phoenix. Thanks to DHL, Dayco, Revchem, SealMaster – all the people who help get this car on the track.”
J.R. Todd Photo Courtesy: Kalitta Motorsports
The post J.R. Todd Races Tire Smoking Opponent first appeared on Team Kalitta Motorsports.
Continue reading...