TOYOTA TAKES TWO NUMBER TWO QUALIFIERS IN VEGAS FOUR-WIDE WEEKEND
Steve Torrence and Alexis DeJoria Claim Number Two Qualifier Spots

LAS VEGAS (April 15, 2023) – Steve Torrence posted a time of 3.712 in Friday afternoon’s first round of qualifying and his time held through three more rounds to claim the number two qualifying spot for tomorrow’s first four-wide race of the NHRA season at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Fellow Toyota dragster drivers Justin Ashley (fourth) and Shawn Langdon (sixth) also qualified in the top-half of the field.

In Funny Car competition, Alexis DeJoria drove her GR Supra to the number two qualifier position for the second consecutive weekend with a time of 3.933, which she was able to consistently run through the next two rounds. Ron Capps qualified fourth with his GR Supra and after nearly two weeks filled with repairs and logistical challenges to get to Las Vegas, J.R. Todd and his Kalitta Motorsports team unfortunately failed to qualify for Sunday’s event.

Toyota Post-Qualifying Recap
NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series
The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Race 4 of 21

TOYOTA TOP FUEL QUALIFYING POSITIONS

(*non-Toyota driver)

TOYOTA FUNNY CAR QUALIFYING POSITIONS

(*non-Toyota driver)

TOYOTA QUOTES

STEVE TORRENCE, Capco Contractors Toyota Top Fuel Dragster, Torrence Racing

TF Qualifying Result: 2nd

How do you feel going into Sunday’s first four-wide of the season as number two qualifier?

“We’ve got confidence going into tomorrow. Today we were trying some things with what we did on Friday. I think that obviously it wasn’t the right direction and we didn’t make it down both runs. Not because we smoked the tires, but we had some issues in the engine. We’ll go back to our normal deal for tomorrow and have a good race car and hopefully carry some momentum. We’ve had a consistent race car all year. We kicked ourselves in Pomona in the second round, but these Capco Boys and this Toyota dragster, we can rebound pretty quick. That’s what we do. We just go out and race our race and try to get to the winner’s circle. Tomorrow is only three round and I feel confident we can with three of those in a row.”

ALEXIS DEJORIA, Bandero Tequila Toyota GR Supra Funny Car, DC Motorsports

FC Qualifying Result: 2nd

How do you feel about your qualifying effort in Vegas as you prep for tomorrow’s race?

“Three out of four runs, made it down the track – 3.933s with a really consistent car. We always do well here in Vegas. It’s fun for us to come out here and we really like coming out here. It is hot out there, but we’ve gotten some really great points over the last three rounds of qualifying. That’s good. Didn’t get any taken away from crossing anything so we’re in the good side right now. Just excited for tomorrow. Hoping to get my first four-wide win for the team.”

J.R. TODD, DHL Toyota GR Supra Funny Car, Kalitta Motorsports

FC Qualifying Result: DNQ

How will you look back at this weekend after the work it took to get this car on track and then not making the field to compete on Sunday?

“Definitely a forgettable weekend. I put the blame on me. I should have done a better job earlier in the weekend and keeping the thing in the groove and not come down to Q4 to get in the show. All in all, I feel bad for my guys., All the work they put in this past week to get this DHL GR Supra back on track. All the guys back at PBRC (Precision Built Race Cars) and everybody at Kalitta Motorsports and back at the fab shop for busting their ass to get us back out here. This is a tough pill to swallow, but I’m sure we’ll stay and run on Monday to get this thing figured out. It’s still early in the season and there’s a lot of racing left.”

What will you tell your team?

“I told these guys, I’m sorry. They deserve better than this and I wanted to get them a win this weekend. That’s the way I can pay them back.”

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