J.R. Todd, DHL Funny Car​


Finals Broadcast Replay (eastern time): 5-8 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 10 on FS2

Qualifying: J.R. Todd was the No. 10 qualifier at the NHRA U.S. Nationals. His best qualifying attempt came during the first session Sunday afternoon, the fourth of five qualifying sessions, when he reached the finish line in 3.981 seconds at 327.74 mph.

During Sunday qualifying, Todd raced in the NHRA Funny Car Callout, a competition among the eight drivers who accrued the most qualifying bonus points since last year’s U.S. Nationals. Todd raced Austin Prock in the opening round; Prock had a brief lead, but Todd drove around him in the DHL GR Supra to take the first-round win with a 3.981-second effort at 327.74 mph. Matt Hagan had the quickest elapsed time among the first-round winners and called out Alexis DeJoria for the semifinals making Todd’s semifinal opponent Jack Beckman. In the semifinals, Todd and Beckman were in a tight race when the DHL GR Supra dropped a cylinder allowing Beckman to advance to the final round.

Eliminations: Todd’s first-round matchup with Jordan Vandergriff was, without a doubt, one of the greatest races of the season. Todd and Vandergriff ran identical 3.908-second elapsed times, but Vandergriff left the starting .0141 before Todd and won the race by .0141 seconds. Of the 16 drivers competing in the first round, Todd’s reaction time was fourth quickest, but Vandergriff’s was quickest. Todd’s run would have won six of the other seven first-round matchups.

Unofficial Point Standings: Todd leaves Indianapolis and completes the regular season in fifth place in in the NHRA Funny Car point standings. He will be the fifth seed in the Countdown to the Championship NHRA Playoffs which begin at the next race.

Todd on Indianapolis: “You always hate to lose in the first round but especially when we make a run that would have won a lot of races. We just have to put ourselves in a better position in qualifying. Overall, the DHL GR Supra team is headed in the right direction, and we’re looking forward to starting the Countdown in a couple weeks. Thanks to PJH, SealMaster and Mobil 1 for supporting us. I have all the confidence in the world in Dickie, Todd (Crew Chief Dickie Venables and Todd Smith) and the Yella Fellas.”

J.R. Todd Photo Courtesy: NHRA

Next Race: Team Kalitta will be back in action Sept. 18-20, 2026 at the Dodge NHRA Great Lakes Nationals in Martin, Mich. For additional information, please visit www.nhra.com. For additional information on Kalitta Motorsports, please visit www.teamkalitta.com.



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