KALITTA, DEJORIA EARN FINAL ROUND BERTHS IN DENVER
Team Toyota has strong performance with six semi-finalists
MORRISON, Colo. (July 16, 2023) – Doug Kalitta earned his first final round appearance of the season with a strong weekend. The 49-time event winner started second and defeated Terry Totten, Josh Hart and Steve Torrence before coming up just short against Clay Millican. Steve Torrence and Shawn Langdon also earned multiple round wins for Team Toyota.
In Funny Car, all three Toyota GR Supras advanced to the semi-finals with Alexis DeJoria taking her ride to the final round before coming home in second to points leader Matt Hagan.
Toyota Post-Race Recap
NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series
Bandimere Speedway
Race 10 of 21
TOYOTA TOP FUEL FINISHING POSITIONS
| Name | Car | Final Result | Round-by-Round |
| Doug Kalitta | Mac Tools Toyota Top Fuel Dragster | Finalist | W. 3.876 v. 4.043(T. Totten) W. 3.860 v. 3.878(J. Hart) W. 3.861 v. 3.885(S. Torrence) L. 4.454 v. 3.872(C. Millican) |
| Steve Torrence | Capco Contractors Toyota Top Fuel Dragster | Semi-Finals | W. 3.817 v. 4.431(J. Ashley) W. 3.903 v. 3.943(A. Brown) L. 3.885 v. 3.861(D. Kalitta) |
| Shawn Langdon | SealMaster Toyota Top Fuel Dragster | Semi-Finals | W. 3.891 v. 5.081(G. Carrillo) W. 4.041 v. 4.127(R. Passey) L. 4.009 v. 3.859(C. Millican) |
| Antron Brown | Matco Tools Toyota Top Fuel Dragster | Second Round | W. 3.823 v. 4.006(B. Hull) L. 3.943 v. 3.903(S. Torrence |
| Justin Ashley | Phillips Connect Toyota Top Fuel Dragster | First Round | L. 4.431 v. 3.817(S. Torrence) |
TOYOTA FUNNY CAR FINISHING POSITIONS
| Name | Car | Final Result | Round-by-Round |
| Alexis DeJoria | Bandero Tequila Toyota GR Supra Funny Car | Finalist | W. 4.089 v. 4.201(C. Green) W. 4.818 v. 5.887(C. Pedregon) W. 4.245 v. 4.383(J. Todd) L. 4.217 v. 4.135(M. Hagan |
| J.R. Todd | DHL Toyota GR Supra Funny Car | Semi-Finals | W. 4.051 v. 4.462(T. Wilkerson) W. 4.066 v. 4.931(R. Hight) L. 4.383 v. 4.245(A. DeJoria) |
| Ron Capps | NAPA Auto Parts Toyota GR Supra Funny Car | Semi-Finals | W. 4.029 v. 4.174(T. Haddock) W. 4.037 v. 4.073(J. Force) L. 4.057 v. 4.107(Holeshot Loss – M. Hagan) |
TOYOTA QUOTES
DOUG KALITTA, Mac Tools Toyota Top Fuel Dragster, Kalitta Motorsports
Final Result: Finalist
How are you feeling after the final round?
“Yeah, that is kind of how we left it. We’ve got a lot of momentum going into Seattle, but getting to the final was a big deal for us. We were just a little short on getting the win, but really proud of my guys. It was a hell of an effort that they put in. We had a lot of support from our Toyota friends and Mac Tools. It was disappointing a little bit, because it was the last race in Denver and we were hoping to get the win, but it’s all good. We went to the final and were contending for the win. We will keep digging and making progress.”
ALEXIS DEJORIA, Bandero Tequila Toyota GR Supra Funny Car, DC Motorsports
Final Result: Finalist
How was your race?
“That was a hard loss right there. Going up against (Matt) Hagan, it was a rematch from two years ago. I really wanted that trophy for the guys and myself and our whole team. It is the last trophy here at Bandimere, so I guess it is quite fitting for the Dodge team to get it, but that’s not why we came here. We came here to win, and we were gunning all weekend. We had some wild rides, but that Toyota 200th win is still on the table, and we are also a part of the Mission Foods 2Fast2Tasty for the next race. This was our third final of the year, and there are many races left. It’s tough. You go up there and you try to do your best. I almost redlit – I almost double-stepped and redlit and caught myself – and just ended up having a bad light. We had a hurt piston early on, and then pan pressure got a little too high at the top end and it shut it off. Our incrementals were better than Hagan’s most of the run. That’s hard, but we will be grateful for all of the runs we got to run out here. All of the times we got to run out here and all of the races we had. Working with the Bandimeres, just has been really awesome. I’m going to miss this race track. I’m going to miss going up and hiking Red Rocks every morning before the races. I’m going to miss all of these fans out here. Hopefully, they do end up building another track, who knows if that is going to happen, but I’m really grateful for the time that we’ve had.”
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