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Post-Race Report
Event 18: Thunder Valley Nationals
Race 5 of 7 Countdown races
Bristol Dragway
Bristol, Tenn.
October 17, 2021
J.R. Todd Jumps to Third in Points with Runner-Up Finish at Bristol Dragway
J.R. Todd and the DHL Toyota Camry raced to the final round and runner-up honors today at the 20th NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals at historic Bristol Dragway. The 2018 NHRA Funny Car champion re-inserted himself into the Funny Car championship chase moving from fifth place to third place in the Camping World championship point standings. Starting from the No. 12 qualifier position Todd took out the points leader and No. 3 qualifier Matt Hagan in a huge first round match-up. In the second round he trailered 16-time Funny Car champion John Force before outrunning Ron Capps another driver who ended the day as the points leader but is only 83 points ahead of Todd, with two races remaining. In a final round for the ages Todd squared off with Toyota Racing teammate Alexis DeJoria, the event No. 1 qualifier. At the end of the day even without a victory Todd understood the magnitude of the three win lights he did earn.
“There is nothing I would have done differently in that final,” said Todd. “You are not going to beat a .002 light and a 3.92 on the race track. That is unbelievable. All in all, a great day for the Yella Fellas. It just shows what kind of team I have behind me with everything that has gone on the last three races. It was a good points day, but I just wanted that one bad. The kind of day we had today is the day you dream about as a driver, and I just want to finish it off. There is nothing we could have done differently in the final.”
In the final Todd and DeJoria crossed the finish line side by side with elapsed times of 3.939 and 3.921 seconds at 327.66 and 326.32 mph, respectively. Throughout the day Todd and the DHL Toyota Camry Funny Car were consistently one of the quickest and fastest race cars. Todd’s opening round run of 3.924 seconds far outpaced Hagan’s 3.958 second run and Todd never trailed in that contest getting the jump off the starting line as well.
In the quarterfinal against Force Todd left first and outran Force winning with a 3.916 second pass to Force’s 4.118. In a critical semifinal against Capps, the new points leader, it was Todd once again with a powerful race car winning 3.921 to 3.972 seconds. The big wins and jump in points were reminiscent of Todd’s late Countdown charge in 2018 that led to his first championship. The veteran driver thinks there are some similarities but knows this season is its own journey.
“We were in a little better position in 2018,” said Todd. “Going into the Countdown this year I knew that we had a good enough car and team to contend for a championship. We have had some hiccups along the way, but we are still in the hunt. We have to keep our heads up and keep fighting.”
The two days of qualifying were tough for the team, but they never gave up on working towards a solid tune up for a tricky track. Entering the day as the No. 12 Funny Car did not deter the team from focusing on the task at had as well as the opportunity to control their own destiny.
“We stunk up the show in qualifying and that just goes to show you it really doesn’t matter out here on race day,” said Todd. “Honestly, it kind of worked in our favor getting the draws on the ladder that we had. That helped us because you can’t make up ground on these guys when they are going to the later rounds. We didn’t sandbag in qualifying but it just kind of worked out in our favor. At the end of the day, we want to come out here and make good solid runs every time down the track. These guys don’t give up and that showed today. I want to give them my all and there is nothing I would have changed in that final. Nine times out of ten we win that one.”
Todd will head to The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway third in the point standings and riding momentum to a track where he has a history of success.
Statistics:
Qualified: No. 12 (5.703 sec, 122.17 mph
Bonus points: 0
Race Details:
First Round
Driver Qual R/T ET MPH
J. R. Todd 12 .069 3.924 324.90 (W)
Matt Hagan 3 .084 3.958 326.16
Second Round
Driver Qual R/T ET MPH
J. R. Todd 12 .051 3.916 328.78 (W)
John Force 6 .063 4.118 324.59
Semifinal Round
Driver Qual R/T ET MPH
J. R. Todd 12 .072 3.921 327.82 (W)
Ron Capps 2 .050 3.972 318.99
Final Round
Driver Qual R/T ET MPH
J. R. Todd 12 .067 3.939 326.32
Alexis DeJoria 1 .002 3.921 327.66 (W)
Kalitta and Mac Tools Wrap Up Thunder Valley Nationals on Sunday
Doug Kalitta has raced to six final rounds at the Thunder Valley Nationals from historic Bristol Dragway. The Mac Tools Top Fuel dragster was looking for its fourth win at the track carved into the Tennessee mountainside on the Tennessee and Virginia border. Through two days of tough qualifying the veteran driver was able to make the field in the fifth Countdown playoff race as the No. 11 qualifier. Track conditions were tough for al the teams with several top teams struggling to make consistent and quick runs on Friday and Saturday.
Coming into race day the Mac Tools team faced the coolest temperatures of the year with the air temperature at 50 degrees and the track temperature just about 70 degrees. Facing fellow Countdown competitor Billy Torrence Kalitta, a 49-time Top Fuel national event winner, was giving up lane choice.
As the 11,000 horsepower dragsters staged it was Kalitta getting the lead off the starting line, and he was pulling away as the Mac Tools dragster approached half-track. Just as quickly his Goodyears started overpowering the track losing traction. Torrence stayed hooked up as Kalitta tried mightily to pedal his race car and track down his opponent.
“I have a good group behind me, and it is tough out here,” said Kalitta, from the top end after the tough loss. “Billy got by us, he tried to give it to us. That thing shook out there and I tried to pedal it. I just couldn’t quite catch him. We will be ready for the next one.”
In two weeks Kalitta and the Mac Tools team will be on track at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. With two runner-up finishes this season Kalitta will be trying to grab his fiftieth Top Fuel victory as the turn heads to the west coast for the final two Countdown playoff races.
Statistics:
Qualified: No. 11 (4.203 sec, 221.78 mph)
Bonus points: 0
Race Details:
First Round
Driver Qual R/T ET MPH
Doug Kalitta 11 .073 5.236 133.63
Billy Torrence 4 .094 4.120 201.34 (W)
Bristol Dragway Tough Track for Shawn Langdon and DHL Top Fuel
Throughout the Countdown playoffs Shawn Langdon and the DHL Kalitta Air Top Fuel team have been battling to find consistency. The team was looking for their third win from Bristol Dragway and a strong finish over the final three Countdown playoff races. On Friday and Saturday during qualifying the team worked to build a tune-up that would set them up for victory on race day. Their best effort sent them into Sunday eliminations as the No. 10 qualifier and a first round race with Justin Ashley.
Both drivers are battling in the Countdown to the championship and have been tough competitors with Langdon holding a 5-2 record over the second-year driver. Today the 2013 Top Fuel world champion made his best run of the weekend in a losing effort.
Langdon took a starting line advantage and held a lead as both dragsters accelerated down the track. Neither race car was giving up an inch as they closed in on the finish line. In one of the closest races of the first round it was Ashley getting the win by four thousandths of a second at over 330 mph. Langdon’s losing time of 3.739 seconds was the fourth quickest elapsed time of the round and would have advance him to the quarterfinals had he secured a different first round match-up.
“We made our best run of the weekend on race day and we just came up a little short,” said Langdon. “This DHL Kalitta Air team will keep working and fighting. We will be ready for Vegas in two weeks. The fans this weekend have been great.”
Statistics:
Qualified: No. 10 (3.763 sec, 329.91 mph)
Bonus points: 0
Race Details:
First Round
Driver Qual R/T ET MPH
Shawn Langdon 10 .056 3.739 327.43
Justin Ashley 5 .064 3.690 334.48 (W)
Unofficial NHRA Camping World Championship Standings:
Top Fuel
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