J.R. TODD, DHL TEAM REGROUP WITH COUNTDOWN TEST SESSION, RUN DHL #AsOneAgainstCancer LIVERY

YPSILANTI, Mich. (Oct. 10, 2023) –?J.R. Todd will have a duel focus this weekend at Texas Motorplex: promoting breast cancer awareness with the DHL #AsOneAgainstCancer livery and logging some round wins to get his team headed back in the right direction. Todd and his DHL Toyota Team entered the NHRA Playoffs riding a solid wave of momentum after climbing to fifth in points and preparing to announce themselves as title contenders, but then, things changed.?The NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series resumes this weekend at the NHRA FallNationals in Ennis, Texas, the fourth of six races that make up the Countdown to the Championship NHRA Playoffs.

When things aren’t going as planned for any team, it’s time to practice. On its way back to its Michigan race shop, the DHL GR Supra team made a stop in Indianapolis to test and prepare for the second half of the Countdown. At the playoff midpoint, the team has one round win to show for its Countdown efforts – a far cry from the impressive performance of regular season’s final three months so this test session could not have come at a better time.?

“We went down the track three out of four runs (in testing) so that was good,” Todd said. “We have something to work on for Dallas – that’s for sure. I just hope conditions are somewhat similar to what we had in testing in Indy, but either way, we were struggling to get down the track cleanly the last three races so that was something we needed to work on. I think doing that in testing should give us something to work with going into the next race.”

The last three races definitely altered the outlook – to go from regularly winning rounds and contending for race wins to struggling to get down the track is frustrating at best…especially when it happens during the most-important part of the season.?

“You wait all season long for this part of the year – it’s what you gear up for and earn all those points for, and then to go in the Countdown fifth is kind of where you want to be to make up some ground on the championship favorites,” the 2018 Funny Car champion said. “We didn’t make that happen so it’s frustrating, but you can’t quit or give up. You go out there and do the best you can.?

“In my mind the only way we have a chance to win the championship for DHL, Revchem, Toyota and SealMaster is to win the next three races, and those top four guys have to falter. We definitely backed ourselves into a corner in those first two Countdown races. We probably needed to win St. Louis to have a good shot at it, but it’s not over until someone tells us it’s over. Either way, we just need to go out there and try to win – that’s always the gameplan.?

“The pressure is not on us at this point – I’d rather be in that top four where they’re really mixing it up. It’s gonna go down to Pomona unless one of them falters, but for us, we have nothing to lose so it kind of changes your mindset. Those top four are probably pretty tense with the competitive juices flowing whereas, for us, we have nothing to lose so we’ll go out there and try to win.”?

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LANGDON, KALITTA AIR CAREERS TEAM ENTER DALLAS?

CONFIDENT AFTER COUNTDOWN TEST SESSION

YPSILANTI, Mich. (Oct. 10, 2023) –?Shawn Langdon is confident. He and his Kalitta Air Careers Toyota team have just two round wins in the Countdown, but now, he has reason to be confident entering the season’s final three races.?The NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series resumes this weekend at the NHRA FallNationals in Ennis, Texas, the fourth of six races that make up the Countdown to the Championship NHRA Playoffs.

Langdon entered the last race near St. Louis after having made a modest move up the point standings, but a first-round loss, to eventual runner-up Leah Pruett, relegated him back to 11th?in points – right where he was when the Countdown began. Having not had the Countdown they hoped they’d enjoy, the Kalitta Air Careers team tested in Indianapolis on the way back to Michigan from St. Louis, and now, the team is more confident than it’s been in some time.?

“We were able to make some decent runs in testing so we’ll take what we learned there, apply it in Dallas and hopefully do well this weekend,” the 2013 Top Fuel champion said. “A lot is different when you get to a national event from testing, but you try to have a gameplan going into testing, try some things, hopefully make some good runs and go into the next race with some confidence. We have a lot of confidence.”

And that is something Langdon hasn’t said very often this season. Except for a runner-up finish at the season’s second race and two western swing semifinals, the Kalitta Air Careers team struggled. It’s not for a lack of effort – things just haven’t come together, but the good news is that three opportunities remain to end the season on a positive note.?

?“Our main focus is getting our car back in the top 10, hopefully we’ll be able to do that, and then see how far we can go for all the great people who support us like Kalitta Air, Toyota, Revchem and Safety-Kleen,” Langdon added. “Winning the championship is a pretty big stretch at this point, but anything’s possible. If we could win the last three races, we’d have a good shot at it, but we’ll have to take it race-by-race, see how these next couple of races go and do the best we can.”?