On-track debut of GR Supra Funny Car Set for Pomona with J.R. Todd and Alexis DeJoria
POMONA, Calif. (February 19, 2022) – The five Toyota Top Fuel dragsters all qualified in the top-10 for Sunday’s NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series kickoff at Auto Club Raceway in Pomona, California. The GR Supra Funny Car will make its inaugural race start with Toyota drivers J.R. Todd and Alexis DeJoria piloting the new bodies.
Toyota Post-Qualifying Recap
NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series
Auto Club Raceway at Pomona
Race 1 of 22
TOYOTA TOP FUEL QUALIFYING POSITIONS
| Name | Car | Qualifying Position | First Round Opponent |
| Brittany Force | Monster Energy Top Fuel Dragster* | 1 | R. August Jr. |
| Justin Ashley | Phillips Connect Toyota Top Fuel Dragster | 2 | J. Maroney |
| Doug Kalitta | Mac Tools Toyota Top Fuel Dragster | 5 | T. Schumacher |
| Steve Torrence | Capco Contractors Toyota Top Fuel Dragster | 6 | D. Foley |
| Shawn Langdon | DHL Toyota Top Fuel Dragster | 8 | J. Hart |
| Antron Brown | Matco Tools Toyota Top Fuel Dragster | 10 | L. Pruett |
TOYOTA FUNNY CAR QUALIFYING POSITIONS
| Name | Car | Qualifying Position | First Round Opponent |
| Ron Capps | NAPA Auto Parts Funny Car* | 1 | J. Force |
| Alexis DeJoria | Bandero Tequila Toyota GR Supra Funny Car | 5 | J. Campbell |
| J.R. Todd | DHL Toyota GR Supra Funny Car | 8 | B. Bode |
(*non-Toyota driver)
TOYOTA QUOTES
JUSTIN ASHLEY, Phillips Connect Toyota Top Fuel Dragster, Davis Motorsports
Qualifying Position: 2nd
Following your run in Q1 on Friday night, how did it feel to put down such a fast pass to post the provisional number one qualifier position?
“That run felt great. You have the whole off-season that is relatively quick since it is only two months, but at the end of the day it feels like it has been forever. It is exciting to be able to get back in this Phillips Connect Toyota dragster, to go down there on the first run of the season and go right to the top with a run as good as that in front of our new sponsor. That is exactly what we were looking for.”
DOUG KALITTA, Mac Tools Toyota Top Fuel Dragster, Kalitta Motorsports
Qualifying Position: 5th
How strong is this Mac Tools Toyota and what are your expectations for tomorrow’s race?
“The Mac Tools Toyota dragster in the third session there was .372 was an 0. So I’m not exactly sure where that puts us, but I feel real good for taking that baby into Sunday. It should be good. I love running at this place. Just a lot of confidence in my team. We’ll up there and hope to have a great day tomorrow.”
How is the communication going with the new crew chief line-up on this race car?
“The new calls are good. And we’re only going to get better. So you know we’ll just keep at it. Looking forward to driving this thing for sure tomorrow.”
SHAWN LANGDON, DHL Toyota Top Fuel Dragster, Kalitta Motorsports
Qualifying Position: 8th
You were in a must qualify position going into Q3, what happened in the first two qualifying runs and how do you feel about the pass you were able to put down in this session?
“Obviously, we had some mechanical issues on the first two runs. We had a clutch box malfunction and then we had a fitting break that let the clutch fluid out. We just had just some little malfunctions, but we just really went back up there and just really like Q1, there’s a lot left in the car, but it made a good run .374. That should get us in the top half of the field. And we just really kind of had to go back and go back to our testing notes. We got little notes, you know, just from a couple days testing and so we just kind of went to scenarios where you just trust the process and go with your gut instinct, and fortunately it paid off.”
Did you feel like this team finally got to show how strong the car is for this weekend?
“It’s not there yet, but it’s close.”