Toyota Gazoo Racing North America NHRA Phoenix Post-Race Report 2.27.22

NUMBER ONE QUALIFIER AND SEMI-FINAL SHOWING HIGHLIGHT TGRNA IN ARIZONA
Kalitta Claims Number One Qualifier, Torrence Makes Semi-Final Appearance

CHANDLER, Ariz. (February 27, 2022) – As the NHRA made it’s second stop of the season at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park outside Phoenix, Arizona, TGRNA (Toyota Gazoo Racing North America) claimed the number one qualifier with Doug Kalitta in his Toyota Top Fuel dragster and Steve Torrence drove his Toyota Top Fuel dragster to the semi-finals.

Toyota Post-Race Recap
NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series
Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park
Race 2 of 22

TOYOTA TOP FUEL QUALIFYING POSITIONS

NameCarFinal ResultRound-by-Round
Steve TorrenceCapco Contractors Toyota Top Fuel DragsterSemi-finalL v. Salinas (5.981 v. 3.693)W v. Force (3.710 v. 3.709) HoleshotW v. Foley (3.686 v. 12.043)
Shawn LangdonDHL Toyota Top Fuel DragsterRound 2L v. Salinas (3.726 v. 3.692)W v. Brown (3.699 v. 3.742)
Justin AshleyPhillips Connect Toyota Top Fuel DragsterRound 1L v. Schumacher (4.026 v. 3.892)
Antron BrownMatco Tools Toyota Top Fuel DragsterRound 1L v. Langdon (3.742 v. 3.699)
Doug KalittaMac Tools Toyota Top Fuel DragsterRound 1L v. Passey (5.606 v. 4.318)

TOYOTA FUNNY CAR QUALIFYING POSITIONS

NameCarFinal ResultRound-by-Round
Alexis DeJoriaBandero Tequila Toyota GR Supra Funny CarRound 2L v. Hagan (3.941 v. 3.864)W v. Todd (3.944 v. 4.303)
J.R. ToddDHL Toyota GR Supra Funny CarRound 1L v. DeJoria (4.303 v. 3.944)

TOYOTA QUOTES

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

Final Result: Semi-Finals

What happened in the semi-finals to eliminate you from today’s race?

“I’m not for certain, but we don’t typically smoke the tires on a hit like that. So I’m sure that we might have had something malfunction. The track has been spectacular all day and you’ve seen it, you’ve seen it in the numbers. We’ll get in here and figure out what it was. We’re working on a new setup, trying to just improve. We’ve been in the same spot for the last four years and the cars been so consistent and so predictable. But we’ve got to build on that and we’ve got to try to step up our game because everybody else has. Good day for us all together. The Capco Toyota car — we’re just going to try to keep marching on. We go to Gainesville and we’re number one seed in that Pep Boys Callout. So we’re going to try to win that first and then we’ll concentrate on the race second.”

As the number one seed for the Callout, what is your game plan?

“We’ll analyze our competition pretty thoroughly and make a decision based on that. I think that they also said that maybe second round was going to be called out. So there’s no way to try to manipulate the ladder. You’ve just got to go out and do the best you can, but I’m pretty confident in our cars with what we learned in the last three weeks of running the car, so I feel like we’re headed in the right direction. I’m pretty confident.”

DOUG KALITTA, MAC TOOLS Toyota Top Fuel Dragster, Kalitta Motorsports

Final Result: Round 1

After qualifying number one, unfortunately eliminated in round one. What happened and what can you take out of the weekend moving forward?

“I couldn’t be happier with the effort from our Mac Tools team for this weekend’s race. To get the number one qualifier for the first time in a few years was definitely a step in the right direction. Of course round one didn’t go anywhere near what we wanted and had to try to pedal the car to the line, but it just wasn’t enough. Overall, we’re encouraged by our performance this weekend and I expect good things heading to Gainesville.”

JUSTIN ASHLEY, Phillips Connect Toyota Top Fuel Dragster, Davis Motorsports

Final Result: Round 1

What happened in round one?

“Each time I get in this Phillips Connect Vita C Shot Toyota dragster I tend to experience something new. That pedal job was a great learning experience for me. I felt it shake the tires and I was able to get back on it. I looked over to the left hand lane and saw Tony out in front of me and I was just about to lift. I noticed he started mixing up cylinders and I said to myself ‘let’s just stay on it and see if we can catch him.’ We just ran out of real estate. Every experience is valuable and that was one of them.”

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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.

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of SpeedwayMedia.com

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