KALITTA AND DEJORIA LEAD TEAM TOYOTA IN ROUTE 66 NATIONALS QUALIFYING

Justin Ashley and J.R. Todd both win Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty challenge

JOLIET, Ill. (May 18, 2024) – Defending Top Fuel world champion, Doug Kalitta, was the top performing Toyota Dragster during qualifying for the Route 66 NHRA Nationals in Joliet, Illinois. The Michigan native claimed the No. 3 qualifying spot, laying down a swift 3.750 elapsed time during the Friday evening session. Kalitta was closely followed by teammate, Shawn Langdon, who posted the fourth best time. Antron Brown and Steve Torrence were next of the Toyota Dragsters, placing sixth and seventh overall heading into Sunday.

Though he was the 14th overall qualifier in Top Fuel, Justin Ashley powered his Toyota Dragster to another victory in the Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty challenge Saturday afternoon. This is Ashley’s second challenge win of 2024, as he was also triumphant back at Phoenix in April.

In Funny Car, Alexis DeJoria powered her GR Supra Funny Car to the fifth overall qualifying spot for Sunday’s eliminations, followed by Ron Capps in sixth and J.R. Todd in 12th. Todd followed Justin Ashley’s suit by winning the Funny Car Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty challenge, also getting his second challenge win of the season.

Toyota Post-Race Recap
NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series
Route 66 NHRA Nationals
Route 66 Raceway
Race 6 of 20

TOYOTA TOP FUEL QUALIFYING POSITIONS 

TOYOTA FUNNY CAR QUALIFYING POSITIONS 

TOYOTA QUOTES

DOUG KALITTA, Applied Innovation Toyota Top Fuel Dragster, Kalitta Motorsports

TF Qualifying Result: 3rd

How would you describe your day today and what you expect tomorrow?

“Our second run was nice and smooth. Looks like Alan (Johnson, crew chief), Mac (Savage, assistant crew chief) and the guys came up with a nice combination. Think we had a 3.81 time, which was quickest of the session. Yeah, pretty excited for tomorrow. The track will be just as hot, so hopefully that will play right in our hands.”

JUSTIN ASHLEY, SCAG Power Equipment Toyota Top Fuel Dragster, SCAG Racing

TF Qualifying Result: 14th

How did you pull off a Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty challenge victory in these conditions?

“Well, that was a great last lap! The conditions out there were real tricky, and the good thing about it is we can take what we just did and apply it to tomorrow. It’s going to be even trickier tomorrow, but we have extra motivation this weekend from everybody at SCAG Power Equipment. The pitbox, the stands, pretty much everything in between was filled, so just feeling really good heading into tomorrow. Thank you Mission Foods for all that you do.”

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

FC Qualifying Result: 5th

What are your thoughts heading into tomorrow with similar conditions?

“Tomorrow is supposed to be hotter, and last year when we were here, we couldn’t make it down the track one time. So, we’re already winning so far, we’re already ahead of the game. We’ve made three out of four solid runs, so I’m really looking forward to Sunday. We got something for the hot weather. We’ve got speed and are really good in the hot weather. We were able to handle it today with the help of Chuck Worsham (Del Worsham’s father), who came out of retirement today so his son (Del) could go to his daughter’s graduation. We’re a strong team, been through a lot, and we persevere. Excited for tomorrow.”

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

FC Qualifying Result: 12th

With this Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty challenge win today, does that bode well for your team tomorrow?

“I hope so! We didn’t qualify where we wanted to be in the DHL GR Supra, but when conditions are like this, I’m not sure qualifying really matters. It puts you on a sheet, but we don’t race on paper. When it gets hot and nasty like this, it seems like Todd (Smith, co-crew chief) and John (Oberhofer, co-crew chief) have a good notebook to follow up on. We never make it easy on ourselves, but it’s nice to win another Mission Foods race. We appreciate the money they put up for it, but more importantly, the bonus points. Those are going to come in handy later in the year. Hopefully we can make a lot more of these before the Countdown starts.”

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