Toyota Dragsters Qualify Second and Third in Gainesville
GAINESVILLE, Fla. (March 12, 2023) – Ron Capps picked up where he left off last season by claiming the number one qualifier spot for Sunday’s NHRA season kickoff race at Gainesville Raceway. The reigning 2022 Funny Car Champion ran his quick lap of qualifying in the final round on Saturday with a pass at 3.874 seconds. Toyota teammates J.R. Todd (sixth) and Alexis DeJoria (ninth) will also start amongst the top-10 qualifiers.
In Top Fuel, Steve Torrence (second) and Doug Kalitta (third) both posted times of 3.723 in their Toyota dragsters. Antron Brown (sixth), Justin Ashley (ninth) and Shawn Langdon (11th) will line-up to start the 2023 season Sunday morning.
Toyota Post-Qualifying Recap
NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series
Gainesville Raceway
Race 1 of 21
TOYOTA TOP FUEL QUALIFYING POSITIONS
| Name | Car | Qualifying Position | First Round Opponent |
| Brittany Force* | Monster Energy Top Fuel Dragster | 1st (3.699) | Massey |
| Steve Torrence | Capco Contractors Toyota Top Fuel Dragster | 2nd (3.723) | Palmer |
| Doug Kalitta | Mac Tools Toyota Top Fuel Dragster | 3rd (3.723) | Massey |
| Antron Brown | Matco Tools Toyota Top Fuel Dragster | 6th (3.734) | Langdon |
| Justin Ashley | Phillips Connect Toyota Top Fuel Dragster | 9th (3.768) | Salinas |
| Shawn Langdon | CMR Construction and Roofing Toyota Top Fuel Dragster | 11th (3.776) | Brown |
(*non-Toyota driver)
TOYOTA FUNNY CAR QUALIFYING POSITIONS
| Name | Car | Qualifying Position | First Round Opponent |
| Ron Capps | NAPA Auto Parts Toyota GR Supra Funny Car | 1st (3.874) | Haddock |
| J.R. Todd | DHL Toyota GR Supra Funny Car | 6th (3.900) | Alexander |
| Alexis DeJoria | Bandero Tequila Toyota GR Supra Funny Car | 9th (3.954) | Pedregon |
(*non-Toyota driver)
TOYOTA QUOTES
RON CAPPS, NAPA Auto Parts Toyota GR Supra Funny Car, Ron Capps Motorsports
FC Qualifying Result: 1st
What does it mean to start the season off with the P1 qualifying spot?
“Obviously after last year to get the pole in Pomona and to win the championship was great, but to start the season off, we had a plan in testing and Guido and the guys on this 2023 GR Supra body, you just want to come out and do okay. To come out here and make a statement. It’s very tight in qualifying. The speed was up. I can’t say enough about our Toyota people and all the help we get with our NAPA folks – just a team effort.”
How do you feel going into tomorrow’s race?
“You never want to be cocky about tomorrow. It’s nice to have the number one spot and have the choice. The yellow hats are great for number one qualifier, but those trophies at the end of Sunday are more important. You sleep better on Saturday night for sure.”
STEVE TORRENCE, Capco Contractors Toyota Top Fuel Dragster, Torrence Racing
TF Qualifying Result: 2nd
How do you feel about your car’s performance in qualifying and chances for tomorrow’s race?
“Great day for the Capco Toyota dragster. We went out and we were a little too conservative in the Callout first round. Went up there this round and really made some improvements. I still think there’s a lot of room to improve, just looking at the time slip, but we’ll go from there. I’m excited going into race day – I feel like we have a really good car. Better than I’ve had in a year. Confident and moral and everything is really high over hee on the team and we’re ready to go.”