J.R. Todd is in the thick of a battle for his second NHRA Funny Car title, but the time for this team to perform and make a push is right now. The 2024 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series Countdown to the Championship NHRA Playoffs resume Sept. 20-22, 2024 at the Betway NHRA Carolina Nationals in Concord, N.C., the second of six playoff races.
The 2024 regular season was good overall for the 2018 NHRA Funny Car champion. He won the season-opening race, advanced to at least the semifinals at six of the season’s first eight races and led the point standings following the first three races. Since that time, he’s hovered around fourth in points yet unable to catch the teams at the top of the standings.
“We’ve been a little behind on performance for the last four races, and we have to find something here soon or won’t be able to do any better than fourth and fifth place,” Todd said. “The guys in front of us are consistently going to the later rounds so it’s that much harder to catch them because they don’t mess up. You’re gonna have to win and hope they mess up early. We’re not in a must-win situation yet, but we’re getting close.”
Todd has three runner-up finishes at zMAX Dragway, and he’d like nothing more than to notch his first win at the suburban Charlotte track and make a move up in the standings. Despite a second-round loss in the first Countdown race last weekend, Todd is fourth in points, 28 points behind third place and 41 points behind second place. A significant move is, indeed, possible, but the team needs to return to the form it showed earlier in the season to have a chance of climbing in the standings. This driver knows not only the level of excellence required to perform at that high level but also that his DHL GR Supra team can absolutely get it done.
“I have the desire to win every time I sit in the race car,” Todd said. “I know we’re a better team than what we’re showing right now. We just need to go out there and perform. That’s what keeps you going. Knowing you have a team capable of winning and beating these guys. We’re just not showing it. The Friday night qualifying run is the key everywhere we go. You have to make that run count, and we seem to miss it by a little bit on those runs. Hats off to my DHL guys – they work hard. They don’t give up, and we’re not one to quit. It’s not over till it’s over.”
This story was originally published on September 18, 2024. 
