ASHLEY, CAPPS BEGIN COUNTDOWN WITH STRONG QUALIFYING EFFORTS
Team Toyota’s top Countdown seeds each start second for eliminations
MOHNTON, Penn. (September 17, 2022) – Justin Ashley led Toyota in qualifying for the Pep Boys Nationals with a second-place effort in the Top Fuel class at Pennsylvania’s Maple Grove Raceway. Ashley is Toyota’s top-seed in the Top Fuel Countdown for the Championship and has earned four straight top-three qualifying efforts. Team Toyota’s Steve Torrence (fifth), Doug Kalitta (seventh) and Antron Brown (eighth) joined Ashley inside the top-half of the qualified field.
In Funny Car, Ron Capps closed the Saturday qualifying effort with his strongest run of the weekend – a 3.878 – to move him to second on the final qualifying grid. Capps earned three bonus points in the session to add to the bonus point he earned in Friday evening’s session. J.R. Todd also closed with a strong run to qualify his Toyota GR Supra Funny Car inside the top-half of the field in sixth.
Toyota Post-Qualifying Recap
NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series
Maple Grove Raceway
Race 17 of 22
TOYOTA TOP FUEL QUALIFYING POSITIONS
| Name | Car | Qualifying Position | First Round Opponent |
| Brittany Force* | Monster Energy Top Fuel Dragster | 1st (3.696) | Ferre |
| Justin Ashley | Phillips Connect Toyota Top Fuel Dragster | 2nd (3.703) | Chatterson |
| Steve Torrence | Capco Contractors Toyota Top Fuel Dragster | 5th (3.711) | Langdon |
| Doug Kalitta | CMR Roofing & Construction Toyota Top Fuel Dragster | 7th (3.724) | Pruett |
| Antron Brown | Matco Tools Toyota Top Fuel Dragster | 8th (3.731) | Hart |
| Shawn Langdon | DHL Toyota Top Fuel Dragster | 12th (3.801) | Torrence |
(*non-Toyota driver)
TOYOTA FUNNY CAR QUALIFYING POSITIONS
| Name | Car | Qualifying Position | First Round Opponent |
| Robert Hight* | AAA of Southern California Chevy Camaro FC* | 1st (3.867) | Bye |
| Ron Capps | NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota GR Supra Funny Car | 2nd (3.878) | Burkhart |
| J.R. Todd | DHL Toyota GR Supra Funny Car | 6th (3.912) | Green |
| Alexis DeJoria | Bandero Tequila Toyota GR Supra Funny Car | 10th (3.966) | Wilkerson |
(*non-Toyota driver)
TOYOTA QUOTES
RON CAPPS, NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota GR Supra Funny Car, Ron Capps Motorsports
FC Qualifying Result: 2nd
How do you approach race day?
“Great question. This place is historic for breaking your heart or making you feel so good. It’s the start of the Countdown obviously and so happy the fans came out like they did, it’s unbelievable. Robert (Hight) and I brag about it all the time. We have the two best seats in the house for some of the best runs, especially side-by-side stuff like this. Great job by Guido (Dean Antonelli) and John Medlen (crew chiefs) and the NAPA Auto Care team. Anytime I don’t see that whole car (Hight’s) out next to me, I know we’re running pretty well. The Countdown is going to be this same, exact stuff for all six races. All races and all qualifying. I hope I see a lot more of him (Hight) qualifying at the back of the pack. It’s going to be a lot of fun. Thank you to the fans, love you guys.”
JUSTIN ASHLEY, Phillips Connect Toyota Top Fuel Dragster, Davis Motorsports
TF Qualifying Result: 2nd
How were your qualifying efforts?
“It’s been a really good weekend for our team so far. Going into race day in the no. 2 position is really important just to try to position ourselves well. The way the depth of the Top Fuel field is – there is no easy matchups top-to-bottom, nonetheless, we feel good about where slotted in heading into race day. It’s the Countdown, so every run counts. Just proud of this Phillips Connect team. Mike Green, Tommy DeLago (crew chiefs) are doing a great job, and now that Friday and Saturday is behind us, we are focused on final eliminations.”
About Toyota
Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in North America for more than 60 years, and is committed to advancing sustainable, next-generation mobility through our Toyota and Lexus brands, plus our more than 1,800 dealerships.
Toyota directly employs more than 48,000 people in North America who have contributed to the design, engineering, and assembly of nearly 43 million cars and trucks at our 13 manufacturing plants. By 2025, Toyota’s 14th plant in North Carolina will begin to manufacture automotive batteries for electrified vehicles. With the more electrified vehicles on the road than any other automaker, more than a quarter of the company’s 2021 North American sales were electrified.
Through the Start Your Impossible campaign, Toyota highlights the way it partners with community, civic, academic and governmental organizations to address our society’s most pressing mobility challenges. We believe that when people are free to move, anything is possible. For more information about Toyota, visit www.ToyotaNewsroom.com.
