After a nearly perfect start to the season eight months ago, J.R. Todd and his DHL team look to close the season the way it began. The 2024 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series Countdown to the Championship NHRA Playoffs conclude Nov. 15-17, 2024 at the In ‘n Out Burger NHRA Finals in Pomona, Calif., the last of six playoff races.
Todd won the season-opening race in Gainesville, Fla., winning the historic NHRA Gatornationals with his teammate, Shawn Langdon, winning the Top Fuel title in the first “double-up” win in Kalitta Motorsports history. Todd is a two-time Pomona winner – he swept the southern California races in 2018 on his way to the NHRA Funny Car championship. Winning his third-career Pomona race this weekend would bookend the season in perfect fashion.
The DHL GR Supra team definitely had some highlights in 2024. Todd won the opening race and advanced to at least the semifinals at 10 of the season’s first 13 races. In addition, he claimed three titles in the Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge featuring a rematch of the semifinals and finals from the previous race. Yet the DHL team enters the season’s final race in eighth place in the NHRA Funny Car point standings. Following a Monday test session after the most-recent race in Las Vegas, Todd and team hope to put a bow on the season with the season’s final Funny Car trophy.
“This DHL GR Supra team has definitely had some ups and downs this season,” Todd said. “We really liked the way we started the season and kept it going for several races, but we never got over the hump in getting the performance we needed. We’ve had some bright spots along the way, and it would be great to finish the season with one more highlight so that’s definitely our goal for this weekend. We need to get a good start on Friday, qualify in the top half of the field to put ourselves in a position to make a run at the trophy on Sunday.”
This story was originally published on November 12, 2024. 
