By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Kalitta Racing has enjoyed a remarkable run of success at Heartland Motorsports Park, dating back to the late Scott Kalitta's six Topeka wins.
J.R. Todd continued that dominance Saturday, wrapping up the No. 1 qualifying spot in Funny Car for Sunday's elminations in the Menards NHRA Nationals presented by PetArmor.
"It's definitely Scott Kalitta country, so hopefully we can work some of that magic in his car tomorrow,'' Todd said. "I feel like Scott doesn't get enough credit for everything he did. They dominated this place back in the '90s. He was one of my heroes as a kid and I'm pretty lucky to be driving his hot rod now.
"Looking at the track history from year's past, pretty much all the (Kalitta) cars have won here or really been successful, so hopefully I can add my name to that list. That would be pretty cool.''
J.R. Todd (right) drove his DHL Toyota Camry Funny Car to the No. 1 qualifying spot in the Menards NHRA Nationals. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Todd, a former Funny Car world champ, earned his second No. 1 of the season with his Friday night run of 3.884 seconds at 332.67 miles per hour in his DHL Toyota Camry Funny Car and will receive a bye in the first round of Sunday's eliminations (11 a.m.).
“You want to get every point you can, but the bigger picture is coming out of here with a trophy tomorrow,” Todd said after his qualifying effort. “We were the No. 1 qualifier and that’s nice and all, but it doesn’t mean a whole lot if you don’t finish the deal. Hats off to this team for digging deep and putting us on the pole and giving us those added points going into tomorrow.
"We’re going to have to work for it if we want it, and we definitely want it. We want to be in the hunt and I think we’ll be right there.”
Alexis DeJoria remained in the second position on the strength of her 3.894 from Friday, while Bob Tasca III also had his run from Friday hold up. He qualified third with a run of 3.905 at 328.86.
MENARDS NHRA NATIONALS
Sunday's pairings
Top Fuel -- 1. Brittany Force, 3.716 seconds, 329.02 mph vs. 14. Scott Palmer, 4.223, 215.10; 2. Billy Torrence, 3.717, 322.27 vs. 13. Terry Totten, 4.161, 244.03; 3. Mike Salinas, 3.739, 316.08 vs. 12. Kyle Wurtzel, 3.904, 305.84; 4. Steve Torrence, 3.747, 324.36 vs. 11. Leah Pruett, 3.897, 314.31; 5. Justin Ashley, 3.769, 324.05 vs. 10. Alex Laughlin, 3.846, 317.34; 6. Clay Millican, 3.798, 316.38 vs. 9. Doug Kalitta, 3.815, 289.63; 7. Shawn Langdon, 3.805, 311.34 vs. 8. Antron Brown, 3.808, 322.34.
Funny Car -- 1. J.R. Todd, Toyota Camry, 3.884, 332.67 vs. Bye; 2. Alexis DeJoria, Camry, 3.894, 329.67 vs. 15. Chris King, Toyota Camary, 5.776, 118.37; 3. Bob Tasca III, Ford Mustang, 3.905, 328.86 vs. 14. Robert Hight, Chevy Camaro, 5.004, 153.25; 4. Matt Hagan, Dodge Charger, 3.911, 325.14 vs. 13. Jack Wyatt, Charger, 4.319, 226.43; 5. Blake Alexander, Mustang, 3.920, 332.92 vs. 12. Jim Campbell, Charger, 4.070, 293.98; 6. John Force, Camaro, 3.944, 325.92 vs. 11. Paul Lee, Charger, 4.013, 277.60; 7. Cruz Pedregon, Charger, 3.962, 322.19 vs. 10. Tim Wilkerson, Mustang, 3.969, 301.67; 8. Chad Green, Mustang, 3.962, 320.05 vs. 9. Ron Capps, Charger, 3.968, 324.36.
Pro Stock -- 1. Troy Coughlin Jr., Chevy Camaro, 6.600, 205.07 vs. 16. Cristian Cuadra, Ford Mustang, 6.672, 206.23; 2. Greg Anderson, Camaro, 6.606, 206.67 vs. 15. Alan Prusiensky, Dodge Dart, 6.668, 205.38; 3. Erica Enders, Camaro, 6.612, 207.18 vs. 14. Fernando Cuadra Jr., Mustang, 6.644, 204.17; 4. Dallas Glenn, Camaro, 6.617, 207.82 vs. 13. Deric Kramer, Camaro, 6.644, 208.10; 5. Matt Hartford, Camaro, 6.621, 206.61 vs. 12. Aaron Stanfield, Camaro, 6.641, 206.73; 6. Kenny Delco, Camaro, 6.622, 207.24 vs. 11. Chris McGaha, Camaro, 6.640, 206.61; 7. Kyle Koretsky, Camaro, 6.622, 206.01 vs. 10. Rodger Brogdon, Camaro, 6.640, 206.67; 8. Bruno Massel, Camaro, 6.639, 202.58 vs. 9. Mason McGaha, Camaro, 6.640, 207.24.
