Alexis DeJoria Takes GR Supra to Number Two Qualifier in Funny Car
POMONA, Calif. (April 1, 2023) – Justin Ashley drove his Toyota Top Fuel dragster to the number one qualifier position in the third round of qualifying on Saturday afternoon at In-N-Out Raceway in Pomona, California. With Ashley’s run at 3.707 seconds, he also won the second round of the Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty Challenge for a $10,000 bonus for his Davis Motorsports team.
In Funny Car competition, Alexis DeJoria drove her GR Supra to the number two qualifier position with her time of 3.883 holding from Friday afternoon’s qualifying session. Fellow Toyota driver J.R. Todd qualified in the fifth position during round two of qualifying but was involved in an on-track accident after crossing the timing lines and was forced to a backup car and body for the remainder of the race weekend. Defending World Champion, Ron Capps was on the outside of the top-16 qualifiers after two rounds of qualifying, but a time of 3.943 in the final round moved him to the eighth position.
Toyota Post-Qualifying Recap
NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series
In-N-Out Pomona Dragstrip
Race 3 of 21
TOYOTA TOP FUEL QUALIFYING POSITIONS
| Name | Car | Qualifying Position | First Round Opponent |
| Justin Ashley | Phillips Connect Toyota Top Fuel Dragster | 1st (3.707) | K. Baldwin |
| Antron Brown | Matco Tools Toyota Top Fuel Dragster | 2nd (3.730) | D. Kalitta |
| Steve Torrence | Capco Contractors Toyota Top Fuel Dragster | 6th (3.736) | J. Hart |
| Shawn Langdon | DHL Toyota Top Fuel Dragster | 7th (3.758) | T. Schumacher |
| Doug Kalitta | Mac Tools Toyota Top Fuel Dragster | 11th (3.793) | A. Brown |
(*non-Toyota driver)
TOYOTA FUNNY CAR QUALIFYING POSITIONS
| Name | Car | Qualifying Position | First Round Opponent |
| Cruz Pedregon | Snap-On Tools Funny Car | 1st (3.865) | J. Force |
| Alexis DeJoria | Bandero Tequila Toyota GR Supra Funny Car | 2nd (3.883) | J. Arend |
| J.R. Todd | DHL Toyota GR Supra Funny Car | 5th (3.935) | A. Laughlin |
| Ron Capps | NAPA Auto Parts Toyota GR Supra Funny Car | 8th (3.943) | P. Lee |
(*non-Toyota driver)
TOYOTA QUOTES
JUSTIN ASHLEY, Phillips Connect Toyota Top Fuel Dragster, Davis Motorsports
TF Qualifying Result: 1st
How much does a number one qualifying position in the third round fall on the driver’s shoulders?
“On my team it really doesn’t, it’s this team. Our Phillips Connect team is very, very resilient. We struggled in Gainesville and came back and had a great win last week in Phoenix. This Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty Challenge, we want to win this. We’re in Phillips Connect hometown and we’re just really happy to qualify number one. Mike Green and Tommy DeLago, they’re doing such a great job. Now we can enjoy this win for a very short time. Go back, relax and then try to win another one tomorrow.”
RON CAPPS, NAPA Auto Parts Toyota GR Supra Funny Car, Ron Capps Motorsports
FC Qualifying Result: 8th
Were you concerned on the final pass about making it into the field?
“A little bit. I had all the confidence in the world, but I was hearing some weird things in the car when I was backing up from the burnout. There’s a reason we’re World Champions. There’s a reason you build that trust, when you see a NAPA Auto Care on the side of the road, you pull in there and that’s what these guys are all about. Guido wanted to give it that little more get up and go and it’s too bad he couldn’t because we could have thrown down a nice .80. The calmness came from the Toyota guys – Slugger (Labbe) and the track specialists and everybody up there with the nod that everything was going to be alright. That was it. My family, we have 70 or 80 people packed together up there and I did not want to stand around tomorrow and sign autographs. Great job boys.”