Tag: JR Todd

Herrera secures first NHRA Western Swing sweep since 2009

Points leader Gaige Herrera became the first rider in Pro Stock Motorcycle history – and the first NHRA competitor since 2009 – to sweep the three-race NHRA Western Swing, racing to the victory on Sunday at Sonoma Raceway at the 35th annual Denso …

Points leader Gaige Herrera became the first rider in Pro Stock Motorcycle history – and the first NHRA competitor since 2009 – to sweep the three-race NHRA Western Swing, racing to the victory on Sunday at Sonoma Raceway at the 35th annual Denso NHRA Sonoma Nationals.

Justin Ashley (Top Fuel) and J.R. Todd (Funny Car) also won the 12th of 21 races during the 2023 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series season.

In the final round, Herrera put together a run of 6.775s at 198.12mph on his Vance & Hines/Mission Foods Suzuki to defeat defending world champion Matt Smith, who broke on the starting line. Herrera, who was also the No. 1 qualifier, collected his sixth win in what has been a dominant 2023 campaign, rolling to consecutive wins in Denver, Seattle and then Sonoma on Sunday.

He reached the finals with wins against Ryan Oehler, Marc Ingwersen and Karen Stoffer, putting together an incredible three-race stretch in the first season Pro Stock Motorcycle ran the full Western Swing. Herrera also notched a Mission #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge win and a victory in the Pro Stock Motorcycle All-Star Callout over the past three weeks, becoming just the eighth different competitor in NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series history to sweep the Western Swing.

“I can’t even put this into words,” Herrera said. “To be able to do this and accomplish what we have over the past three weeks, it’s incredible. The Denver win got us the momentum and the drive to keep pushing forward to get the sweep, and to do it, I never thought I would add my name to that part of history.

“I try to focus on the big picture, but as soon as go on the starting line, I’m focused on what I need to do. The class is tough, but I’ve got one bad machine right now. The team has my back and I was able to do my job today. I’m not a big person to show emotion, but when that win light came on, I was screaming and yelling in my helmet, and all that. To do what all of this, I’m out of words. I don’t talk much as it is, but this is just an incredible feeling.”

Smith advanced to the finals for the second time this season and 73rd time in his career with victories against Lance Bonham, Steve Johnson and Eddie Krawiec.

In Top Fuel, Justin Ashley moved back into the points lead with his fifth victory of the season, slipping past Antron Brown in the finals with a run of 3.778s at 328.78mph in his Phillips Connect/Toyota dragster. It gives the young standout his first career victory at Sonoma Raceway and the 10th win in his career, ending the Western Swing on a positive note.

He reached the finals with round wins against Doug Kalitta, No. 1 qualifier Austin Prock and Josh Hart, defeating Brown by just 0.001s in the championship round in what was a thrilling side-by-side run. The victory gives Ashley a 32-point lead over Steve Torrence heading into the final three races of the regular season.

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“It was tough out there,” said Ashley, who also earned his 100th career round win in the semifinals. “The competition is so tough right now in Top Fuel and it feels like four final rounds every time you get up there. The margin of error is so small and it takes a real team effort to get a win like this. I was happy to win such a close race against Antron and that’s the way to close out a weekend like this at Sonoma Raceway.

“We just had a great car on race day. This team just doesn’t flinch and they’ve got such a good handle on the car. We’re just focused on what we need to do each and every time and that speaks volumes with the culture and leadership we have. We’ve got a lot of championship-winning people on this team and that makes a big difference.”

Brown reached the final round for the third time in 2023 and the 133rd time in his career, getting past Mike Salinas, defending world champ and defending event winner Brittany Force and Torrence.

Todd put together a weekend to remember in Funny Car, making a clean sweep at Sonoma Raceway with his victory over Chad Green in the final round. The former world champion also broke a 52-race winless streak on Sunday, knocking off Green with a run of 3.972s at 322.81mph in his DHL Toyota GR Supra. Todd, whose last win before Sunday came at the season-opener in Gainesville in 2021, won the Mission #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge on Saturday and then used that momentum a day later to collect his 20th overall win and his fourth at Sonoma Raceway.

The Kalitta Funny Car started the day with round wins against Blake Alexander, No. 1 qualifier Bob Tasca III and points leader Matt Hagan, finishing the day with a victory against Green. After coming close to a victory on the Western Swing, including a runner-up last weekend in Seattle, Todd was thrilled to close the deal in Sonoma and get Kalitta Motorsports back on the winning track.

“It’s been a long road to get here,” Todd said. “We’re getting a good handle on it and the consistency is coming around. When you’re going down the track like we are, it just gives everyone more confidence. I keep saying Funny Car is the toughest class in the sport and it’s definitely not easy. When you go two-plus years without winning, you don’t know if it’s going to happen again.

“This is my favorite track on the tour. I love coming here and anytime you can win here, it’s special. I caught myself going down the track; I don’t think I’ve had the gas pushed down that hard. I was trying to shove it through the floorboard. I was just wanting those win lights to come on and when that win light comes on in the final, it’s just instant relief. To come back and win a week after a runner-up (in Seattle), it’s just awesome.”

Green advanced to his first career final round on Sunday, knocking off Cruz Pedregon, Paul Lee and back-to-back world champ Ron Capps. Hagan leaves the Western Swing with a 19-point lead over Capps.

The NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series returns to action on Aug. 11-13 with the 34th annual Menards NHRA Nationals presented by PetArmor at Heartland Motorsports Park in Topeka, Kan.

Herrera does a Saturday double at NHRA Sonoma Nationals

Pro Stock Motorcycle points leader Gaige Herrera continued his dominant season on Saturday at Sonoma Raceway, winning the first-ever NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle All-Star Callout as part of this weekend’s 35th annual Denso NHRA Sonoma Nationals. In the …

Pro Stock Motorcycle points leader Gaige Herrera continued his dominant season on Saturday at Sonoma Raceway, winning the first-ever NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle All-Star Callout as part of this weekend’s 35th annual Denso NHRA Sonoma Nationals.

In the Mission #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge, Steve Torrence (Top Fuel) and J.R. Todd (Funny Car) both won the bonus event in Sonoma. Austin Prock (Top Fuel) and Bob Tasca III (Funny Car) each qualified No. 1 at the 12th of 21 races during the 2023 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series season.

In the final round of the Pro Stock Motorcycle All-Star Callout, Herrera went 6.756s at 196.42mph on his Vance & Hines/Mission Foods Suzuki to defeat Angie Smith and collect yet another win in a bonus event in 2023. Adding in his three wins in the Mission #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge, that gives the points leader four specialty race wins. Herrera’s Friday pass of 6.728s at 199.94mph held up to hand him a seventh No. 1 qualifier this season. On Sunday, he’ll also look to become the first rider in Pro Stock Motorcycle history to sweep the three-race NHRA Western Swing.

“It’s been amazing,” Herrera said. “I was out of breath after that. It was a big one and I wanted it really bad. There’s nothing like winning a Wally, but to win this first Callout for the class is pretty cool. It’s awesome for the whole team and I’m so happy right now. The amount of effort this team puts into these bikes is really amazing and it’s all paid off.

“This is special because a win like this takes a lot as a team. You get bragging rights and something like this is good for the sport and the class. We’re in a great position (to sweep the Western Swing). I’ve got all the confidence in the world in my team. I’m very excited and we’ll see what happens.”

Matt Smith qualified second thanks to his 6.729s at 200.23mph from Friday, while Eddie Krawiec’s 6.771s at 199.1mph put him third.

In Top Fuel, Torrence won his second straight Mission #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge, following up his impressive Seattle weekend by beating Clay Millican on a holeshot in the finals of the bonus race in his Capco Contractors/Toyota dragster. Torrence went 3.7888s at 326.08mph, using a 0.067s reaction time to best Millican’s run of 3.781mph. Torrence moved back into the points lead with his Seattle sweep and will look to continue that momentum with another double-up event on Sunday in Sonoma.

“Everything is going really well for us right now,” Torrence said. “The car has showed glimmers of hope throughout last year, mainly at the end of the year and now this year. The consistency is finally coming there. To win on a holeshot, that always makes you feel good as a driver. That was the best light I’ve had all weekend. I’ve been pretty late on the tree and I was just amped up.

“When you go up there, it’s not just another round of qualifying, it’s a race win. We’re going to try to finish this Western Swing with a win and keep this momentum going.”

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Prock hung onto his first No. 1 qualifier this year in his Montana Brands/Rocky Mountain Twist Chevrolet dragster thanks to his 3.704s at 331.36mph from Friday. He also put together a strong final run to close out qualifying on Saturday as he looks for his second win this season. Torrence finished second in qualifying with a 3.706s at 329.67mph and Antron Brown’s 3.721s at 329.75mph has him third.

“The No. 1s are very cool,” Prock said. “This is only my second in my career and this is my third season. They’re very hard to come by. When you qualify No. 1, it all goes to the race team. It shows that your crew chiefs and crew out did everybody out there and that’s very special. This was the first No. 1 qualifier for Chris Cunningham and Joe Barlam as a tandem so that was really special. Everybody is really proud of how this team is working and hopefully we can turn this into four round wins tomorrow.”

Todd enjoyed his biggest moment of the 2023 Funny Car season on Saturday, picking up his first win in the Mission #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge with a run of 3.977s at 322.81mph in his DHL Toyota GR Supra. Blake Alexander broke on the starting line, but Todd made a solid pass to claim the victory in the bonus race – his first win of any kind since winning the season-opener at Gainesville in 2021. After racing well thus far on the Western Swing, including a runner-up in Seattle, Todd broke through in a major way on Saturday, also defeating Chad Green in the bonus race. He’ll look for a double-up weekend, which would further the team’s momentum this year.

“Any win is a good win,” Todd said. “I feel let the last two slip away from us in Denver and the final round in Seattle. It’s been a while since we’ve won anything so this is good momentum headed into race day and hopefully we can finish it off tomorrow. I feel like we’ve been building momentum since [Norwalk] with our DHL Toyota GR Supra.

“We’ve definitely been knocking on the door of a win. It just 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 (Seattle winner) jumps up and snatches it from you. So, hopefully we can ride this wave of momentum into the final again at one of my favorite tracks. It would be really special.”

Tasca drove to his fourth No. 1 qualifier this season during the final session thanks to run of 3.938s at 324.05mph in his Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Mustang, making a huge move after struggling during the first three sessions. He wasn’t able to make a run under the lights on Friday, but more than made up for to close out qualifying as he looks to defend his Sonoma victory on Sunday. Alexis DeJoria finished second in qualifying with a 3.942s at 326.56mph and Ron Capps’ 3.942s has him third heading into eliminations.

“That was critical data for us,” Tasca said. “Now we know we can push when we need to and we can pull back if we have to. I’m so impressed with what we’ve done and I’m looking forward to tomorrow. I love racing here. It’s one of my top five tracks and I always seem to do well here. I’m ready for tomorrow and I know my guys are going to be ready. We can run on a hot and cool track and this team is just going to keep getting better and better.”

Eliminations for the Denso NHRA Sonoma Nationals begin at 10:30 a.m. PT on Sunday at Sonoma Raceway.

INSIGHT: How Kalitta Motorsports rolled with multiple Winternationals punches

A little after 1:30pm local time on April 1, J.R. Todd and John Force collided in the second round of NHRA Funny Car qualifying for the Winternationals at In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip. At first glance, it looked like Force got the worst, and his …

A little after 1:30pm local time on April 1, J.R. Todd and John Force collided in the second round of NHRA Funny Car qualifying for the Winternationals at In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip.

At first glance, it looked like Force got the worst, and his John Force Racing machine was heavily damaged. The wild incident happened in seconds as Force lost control of his car, veered into Todd’s (left) lane and collided with Todd when their parachutes tangled. Todd was then along for the ride as Force’s car crossed back into the right lane and hit the wall head-on.

Both drivers walked away, and both competed the next day. But the story goes much deeper for Kalitta Motorsports.

To the naked eye, it might have looked like Todd’s car, his primary car, escaped with minor damage. In reality, both the body and chassis were badly damaged, and for the rest of the day, the team began making plans to get it back to Indianapolis, where Precision Built Race Cars (PBRC) could get to work on repairs.

Kalitta Motorsports was initially scheduled to stay out west between Pomona and Las Vegas. So, a decision had to be made whether to leave the hospitality trailer and equipment on the West Coast while two team members drove to Indianapolis to drop off the chassis before going to the race shop in Ypsilanti, Mich.

How did the car get to Indianapolis? With help from a friend and a touch of old-school racing transportation.

“Del [Worsham] and I have a great relationship, personal and professional,” said Kalitta Motorsports general manager Chad Head. “Anytime we both get screwed up, we always come to each other and go, ‘What do we do? Here’s what I think.’ I was going down a path and Del goes, ‘Why would you do that? Just take my Tundra and my open trailer … put your guys in it and go home, and get this car to Indianapolis.’

“So, Saturday night, we hashed that out and that’s what our two hospitality guys got in Sunday afternoon and headed east. It takes everybody to try to make the best plans you can; you’ve got to use the people around you, and that’s what I tried to do.”

Incredibly, the story doesn’t end there.

With Todd’s primary car on the road, the 2018 world champion went into Sunday’s eliminations driving his backup. Todd didn’t drive it long.

In the first round of eliminations, Todd’s car blew to literal pieces before the finish line. Todd again climbed out and walked away.

Kalitta Motorsports was now down two cars, and the team’s workload got much heavier. Any plans team members had during the off-week between Pomona and Las Vegas were gone, with it becoming an all-hands-on-deck effort from all to rebuild its fleet of cars.

“We’re fortunate to have three complete race cars,” Head said. “We travel with two, and we have one at the race shop (for) this situation. You never dream of this situation happening, but last year we made the investment, and we built a third car exactly for this reason. So, our efforts and the financial part of it really paid off in doing what did

“So, we basically were left with our third car in line — which is a great race car, no issues at all — but it was at the shop. Getting our primary car back to Indianapolis to those who constructed the car ASAP was pivotal. Every hour, every minute counted to get that car back to Indianapolis.”

The front half of Todd’s chassis was destroyed in the Saturday qualifying crash. The car’s body is likely headed to life as a show car because of how much patchwork it will require.

The backup car was destroyed in the Sunday explosion. While the body was a complete loss after the explosion, Kalitta Motorsports will look closer at how much work needs to be done on the chassis in the coming days, as the focus has been on getting the primary back in action.

To better understand what has gone into Kalitta Motorsports and Todd getting to Las Vegas for this weekend’s Four-Wide Nationals, here is a day-by-day timeline picking up with the rest of the team departing Pomona for Michigan and the hauler then departing the team shop to head back west to Las Vegas.

Monday, April 3

The team haulers depart Pomona for the race shop in Ypsilanti, Mich. The hospitality team members, who left Pomona Sunday, arrived in Indianapolis Monday night with the primary car from the Saturday crash.

Tuesday, April 4

PBRC begins its work on the primary chassis. The two team haulers arrive at the race shop in Michigan at midnight.

Wednesday, April 5

By 2 p.m., the third chassis — now to become the backup — is scaled and ready to go. By the end of the day, the fabrication department has two new Supra bodies prepared to be fitted into the chassis. Also, by the end of the day, the primary chassis repair is completed by PBRC in Indianapolis.

Thursday, April 6

In the morning, a Kalitta box truck leaves for PBRC in Indianapolis and returns that evening with the repaired primary chassis.

Friday, April 7

Now back in the race shop, the primary chassis is at the attention of the whole race team in the morning, who works to get it scaled. By 6 p.m., the chassis is ready for the clutch, safety systems, and all the electronics to be installed.

Saturday, April 8

A day of clutch, safety systems, and electronics are installed in the chassis.

“Everything was done Saturday night,” Head said.

Sunday, April 9

The team has the day off for Easter.

Monday, April 10

The race shop is cleaned, and the team haulers reloaded to completion by 2pm.

Tuesday, April 11

Kalitta Motorsports team haulers depart for Las Vegas, where they are expected to arrive Wednesday.

“The effort and the team camaraderie as far as Kalitta Motorsports,” Head said when asked about the biggest thing to know from the last week. “It started with Connie 60-plus years ago and it continues today, and everybody wants to work as hard as they can for Connie. The coordination — it started with our two hospitality and Del helping us out, and then it went into the chassis manufacturer there in Indianapolis and then the entire staff at Kalitta Motorsports in Ypsilanti. We have a traveling crew, but we also have a shop crew, so this was a really total team effort. I think it shows preparation.

“The last couple of years, our team hasn’t produced the results that we would like to see, that Connie would like to see, or our partners would like to see. But we’re prepared, and we’re working really hard to get that trophy.

“This would be a pretty cool weekend to do it.”