Final Round and Semi-Final Round Appearances Highlight Toyota Outing in Epping
EPPING, N.H. (June 5, 2022) – The Toyota dragster and GR Supra Funny Cars showed strength at the New England Dragway on Sunday afternoon. Justin Ashley drove his top fuel dragster to the final round, but lost to race-winner Mike Salinas by six one-hundredths of a second. Toyota driver Shawn Langdon also made a semi-final round appearance in Epping. The GR Supra Funny Cars of J.R. Todd and Ron Capps also made their way into the semi-finals aiding in a solid points day for both drivers. Steve Torrence earned his first number one qualifier since joining Team Toyota this season, but was eliminated in round one.
Toyota Post-Race Recap
NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series
New England Dragway
Race 8 of 22
TOYOTA TOP FUEL FINISHING POSITIONS — Race Winner: Mike Salinas
| Name | Car | Final Result | Round-by-Round |
| Justin Ashley | Phillips Connect Toyota Top Fuel Dragster | Final Round | W. 3.743 vs. D. Mercier (6.139) W. 3.786 vs. BYE W. 3.750 vs. S. Langdon (3.776) L. 3.782 vs. M. Salinas (3.729) |
| Shawn Langdon | DHL Toyota Top Fuel Dragster | Semi-Finals | W. 3.762 vs. J. Hart (no time) W. 3.787 vs. D. Kalitta (5.270) L. 3.776 vs. J. Ashley (3.750) |
| Doug Kalitta | Mac Tools Toyota Top Fuel Dragster | Round 2 | W. 3.742 vs. C. Ferre (10.412) L. 5.270 vs. S. Langdon (3.787) |
| Steve Torrence | Capco Contractors Toyota Top Fuel Dragster | Round 1 | L. 5.816 vs. S. Farley (4.062) |
| Antron Brown | Matco Tools Toyota Top Fuel Dragster | Round 1 | L. 3.875 vs. A. Prock (3.68) |
TOYOTA FUNNY CAR FINISHING POSITIONS — Race Winner: Matt Hagan
| Name | Car | Final Result | Round-by-Round |
| Ron Capps | NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota GR Supra Funny Car | Semi-Finals | W. 3.974 vs. J. Campbell (12.153) W. 3.946 vs. J. Force (4.012) L. 4.092 vs. R. Hight (3.927) |
| J.R. Todd | DHL Toyota GR Supra Funny Car | Semi-Finals | W. 4.118 vs. B. Alexander (4.626) W. 4.019 vs. C. Pedregon (4.670) L. 3.981 vs. M. Hagan (3.963) |
| Alexis DeJoria | Bandero Tequila Toyota GR Supra Funny Car | Round 2 | W. 3.973 vs. T. Wilkerson (4.128) L. 3.988 vs. R. Hight (3.933) |
TOYOTA QUOTES
JUSTIN ASHLEY, Phillips Connect Toyota Top Fuel Dragster, Davis Motorsports
Final Result: Final Round
How did your car run throughout the race weekend?
“The car ran really well all weekend and especially today, on Sunday. And it’s important to stack those round wins, especially early in the season just to keep adding points and accumulating, especially as we get close to the Countdown. Our objective for every race is to put this Toyota dragster in the winner’s circle and unfortunately we didn’t do it this time, but we got a lot of data and a lot of information that we can learn from and we’re already looking forward to Bristol.”
How hard was this semi-final to get to for you this weekend?
“It’s been a little bit difficult, but you kow that’s racing. That’s why you race on Sunday and not necessarily Friday and Saturday. Just really proud of our Phillips Connect team. Shawn (Langdon) is tough. He’s another Team Toyota car and we’re going to do our best and put our best foot forward.”
SHAWN LANGDON, DHL Toyota Top Fuel Dragster, Kalitta Motorsports
Final Result: Semi-Finals
After a strong appearance to the semi-final round, what ultimately cost you a trip to the finals?
“We had a solid DHL Toyota dragster this weekend for sure and I would have liked to have made a final round appearance – I definitely think we had something for them today. Unfortunately we blew a blower belt on that semi-final run otherwise I think it would have been a close race to get into the final round.”
How impotant is lane choice in the semi-final round here at Epping?
“I think both lanes are pretty equal here. The last few runs, we’ve been consistent and run 3.76 and 3.79 between both lanes. We kind of struggled there for a while with clutch wear and I think Connie (Kalitta) and Jason (McCulloch) and Kurt (Elliott) have done a good job of getting that back and now we have a good car. We’ll try to pick up on the next run and I’m sure Justin (Ashley) will throw down in the next round too so we need to step it up. For DHL, Toyota and Mac Tools, RevChem and everybody – it’s good to be in the semis, it’s been a while.”
RON CAPPS, NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota GR Supra Funny Car, Ron Capps Motorsports
Final Result: Semi-Finals
How do you feel about getting the win in Round 2 over John Force?
“It’s still weird. I stood next to him the other night doing an interview during qualifying and as a kid, I was up in the grandstands watching him dominate when I was a younger guy. So now to stand next to him or take it a step further, to stage next to him on the biggest stage in the world. That was a big match. The GR Supra, we’re just getting more and more of a handle on it and it’s got so much more potential and it gets better gas mileage so thank you Toyota. That was a big matchup in the points and everything. Everybody wants that first Toyota Supra win. That GR badge is a big deal. If we can get that first win, that would be huge.”
J.R. TODD, DHL Toyota GR Supra Funny Car, Kalitta Motorsports
Final Result: Semi-Finals
After making it to the semi-finals, what more did you need to get into the final round?
“Bummed the win light didn’t come on, but from the way we started the weekend to now, that’s a win in itself. Probably one run short of where we needed to be, but proud of these guys on this DHL GR Supra team – proud of all of their hard work. They overcame a lot of struggles this weekend and we picked up some points today. I just want to win one of these bad.”