Toyota Gazoo Racing North America NHRA Sonoma Post-Qualifying Report – 07.29.23

SECOND STRAIGHT TOYOTA SWEEP IN CHALLENGE RACES
Steve Torrence, Alexis DeJoria lead Toyota in qualifying action at Sonoma

SONOMA, Calif. (July 29, 2023) – Toyota drivers swept the Mission 2Fast2Tasty Challenge for the second consecutive weekend at Sonoma Raceway. Steve Torrence won on a holeshot in Top Fuel and J.R. Todd picked up the victory in Funny Car action.

Torrence was the top-qualifier for Toyota in the Top Fuel class, followed by Antron Brown in third. In Funny Car qualifying, Alexis DeJoria qualified second and Ron Capps slotted in the third spot.

Toyota Post-Qualifying Recap
NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series
Sonoma Raceway
Race 12 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

Mission Challenge Top Fuel Winner

Are things rolling along good for your team right now?

“Yeah, everything is going really well for us. The car has shown glimmers of hope throughout last year, mainly at the end of last year and this year. But the consistency is finally coming around. To win on a holeshot, that always makes you feel good as a driver. I apologized to Clay (Millican) down there at the end because I was a little bit long to getting in to stage. I’m not trying to play games and do stuff like that, so I apologized to him and said, ‘Hey, sorry I was not nearly as close as I thought I was, and it took me a while to bump in.’ But, with that being said that’s the best line that I’ve had all weekend. I’ve been pretty late on the tree, so I was just amped up. When you go up there, it’s not another round of qualifying, it’s a race win. We wanted to be eating some Tortilla chips tonight so that’s the best way to solidify that. It’s been a good season. Consistency has been on our side, now it’s just going rounds so that makes us feel good and this Capco Contractors Toyota dragster is coming around. Hopefully, we’re peaking at the right time. We’re not very far away from Indy and starting this points countdown again.”

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

FC Qualifying Result: 2nd

How important has the consistency of this team been this year?

“Consistent runs are always good. We were hoping to run a bit faster last night, but it just ate up the clutch. Our team is just excellent. Del (Worsham) and Nicky (Boninfante) have given me such a great car this season. We’ve had our best start to the season yet. We’re third in points and just racking them up and just missing a win. It just shows the perseverance in my team and Del Worsham and what he’s put into this car and everything we learned from last year. What to do, what not to do and lots of trials and tribulations. It’s really paid off.”

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

FC Qualifying Result: 8th

Mission Challenge Funny Car Winner

How exciting is it to pick up this Mission Challenge win today?

“Any win is a good win. I feel like we’ve let the last two slip away from us in Denver and then the final round in Seattle. It’s been a while since we’ve won anything so this is good momentum heading into race day and hopefully, we can finish it off tomorrow.”

Does this give your team good momentum?

“I hope that’s a good trend for us. Going back, Norwalk – around that time we went to the semifinals and I feel like we’ve been building momentum since then with our DHL Toyota GR Supra. Definitely have been knocking on the door of a win, but it goes to show how hard it is to win in Funny Car right now. Just when you think you’ve got it where you need it and it’s going to be your day, somebody like Tim Wilkerson jumps up and snatches it from you. Hopefully, we can ride this wave of momentum into the final again here at one of my favorite tracks here at Sonoma and win again. It would be really special to win here again in Funny Car.”

About Toyota

Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in North America for more than 65 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 63,000 people in North America who have contributed to the design, engineering, and assembly of nearly 45 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 more electrified vehicles on the road than any other automaker, Toyota currently offers 24 electrified options.