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Post-Race Report
NHRA Northwest Nationals
Race 13 of 22 national events
Pacific Raceways
Kent, Wash.
July 31, 2022
J.R. Todd Races DHL GR Supra to Runner-Up at Northwest Nationals
J.R. Todd and the DHL Toyota GR Supra made the most out of the last stop on the Western Swing racing to a runner-up finish at the NHRA Northwest Nationals. Todd qualified No. 7 and defeated Blake Alexander, No. 1 qualifier Bob Tasca III, earned a competition bye in the semifinals before losing a near photo finish to Robert Hight in the final round. It was Todd’s second final round appearance and first in Funny Car at Pacific Raceways. He previously won the Northwest Nationals Top Fuel title in 2015. Today he was 10 feet from adding a Funny Car title to his resume.
In the opening round Todd was first off the line and never trailed in the race against Alexander. His DHL Toyota GR Supra improved over their best qualifying effort posting a strong 3.955 second pass at 325.14 mph to advance to the quarterfinals. His pass was the third quickest run of the opening session and set the 2018 NHRA Funny Car champion up with a race against the No.1 qualifier in the next round.
“It seems like it came together there in Q3 and then again in first round,” said Todd. (Crew chiefs) Todd (Smith) and Jon (Oberhofer) just keep picking away at it and trying stuff. I also have to give a shout out to the track here at Pacific Raceways and NHRA for this track. They’re doing a hell of a job with the track temp and the track is hanging in there. The fans sitting in those aluminum seats, they’re the brave ones out here. Thanks for spending your hard-earned money to come out here and watch us try to put on a good show.”
In a dominating second round race Todd took a starting line advantage and never trailed in the race against the No. 1 qualifier. His DHL Toyota GR Supra Funny Car was glued to the middle of the groove and his win with a 3.980 second pass earned him a competition bye in the semifinals. In the next round Todd took full advantage of knowing he would race again in the final blasting down the right lane with a 3.985 second pass. The solid performance numbers showed the packed house at Pacific Raceways the final round would be a clash between two strong Funny Cars.
Todd squared off with Hight for the fourth time in a final round holding a 2-1 lead with the most recent final going his way, the 2021 NHRA Gatornationals victory. Today, in a race decided by .02 seconds at over 320 mph Todd missed his 11th Funny Car win by approximately ten feet. He made his second quickest pass of the weekend, 3.978 seconds, in the runner-up effort.
“This DHL team has really been working hard to get our GR Supra to the point of consistently going rounds and today we were able to do that,” said Todd, who is sitting in sixth place in the Funny Car point standings. “Really proud of our whole team and all the effort these guys put into today and this whole weekend. It’s hot out here and it was hot on the race track, but they never gave up. I would have loved to have gotten the win, but it was a close race and we know we’re right there knocking on the door. We’ll get one soon.”
Todd and the DHL Toyota GR Supra Funny Car team will be back in action at the NHRA Topeka Nationals in two weeks.
Langdon Takes DHL Toyota Dragster to Quarterfinals in Seattle
The DHL Toyota Top Fuel dragster and Shawn Langdon raced to the quarterfinals today at the NHRA Northwest Nationals. The No. 6 qualifier took out Mike Salinas in the opening round before losing a close race to eventual winner Tony Schumacher in round two. Through two races of the western swing Langdon and his DHL team have been making solid efforts racing to a runner-up finish in Denver and a semifinal finish last weekend in Sonoma. The success on the three-race stretch has moved Langdon up to seventh in points and essentially two rounds out of fifth place.
Today at Pacific Raceways Langdon took his opening round win on a single pass after Salinas was unable to stage his Top Fuel dragster. Salinas and Langdon executed their burnouts, but Salinas was unable to shift his racecar into reverse and was pushed back to the starting line by his team. Langdon staged and Salinas could not take the tree giving Langdon a single which he powered to the finish line stripe in 3.796 seconds and major improvement over his qualifying time. He earned lane choice in the quarterfinals for his strong effort.
Facing the eight-time Top Fuel champion Schumacher in the quarterfinals Langdon and his DHL Toyota Top Fuel dragster made another strong run on a hot race track. He tripped the beams with a 3.797 second pass, but it was not enough to advance him to his third consecutive semifinal round of the swing.
“We really stepped it up today on a hot race track with this DHL Toyota dragster,” said Langdon. “We made a lot of progress over the three races of the western swing and really since our semifinal in Epping we have been running really well. I am looking forward to these last three races of the regular season to see how high in the top ten we can move up.”
Mac Tools and Doug Kalitta Rack Up Quarterfinal Finish at Seattle
The Mac Tools Toyota Top Fuel dragster and driver Doug Kalitta had a strong day at the NHRA Northwest Nationals racing to a quarterfinal finish. Through two days of qualifying Kalitta earned three qualifying bonus points after posting the second quickest pass of the second session and the third quickest pass of the final session. Heading into elimination Sunday Kalitta was facing a first round race against Alex Laughlin.
The veteran driver grabbed a starting line advantage with a .065 reaction time and never trailed in the race. His Mac Tools dragster made another quick run lighting up the scoreboard with a 3.837 second pass at 322.11 mph for the win.
In the second round Kalitta was once again first off the line with a strong 3.827 second pass, his quickest of the weekend, in a losing effort. The perennial championship contender took the positives from the weekend as he wrapped up another Western Swing.
“This Mac Tools Toyota dragster has been running really well all season and this weekend we battled some really hot track conditions,” said Kalitta, a 49-time Top Fuel national event winner. “My guys gave me a great race car today and we stepped it up in the second round. That was a close race and we can build on all our runs for these last three races of the regular season.”
Kalitta, who is sitting eighth in the Top Fuel point standings, will look to make a move up in the top ten over the final three races before the Countdown starts.
About Kalitta Motorsports:
Based in Ypsilanti, Mich., Kalitta Motorsports is a Top Fuel and Funny Car drag racing team in the NHRA (National Hot Rod Association) Camping World Drag Racing Series. The team was founded and is owned by drag racing icon Connie “the Bounty Hunter” Kalitta. Celebrating over 60 years of Kalitta Motorsports, Connie has been involved in the sport as a driver, tuner, and an owner. Kalitta Motorsports is one of the most successful teams in the history of auto racing with seven world championships and over 100 national event titles in five different professional drag racing sanctioning bodies since it was established by Connie in 1959.
