JR Todd wasn't going to let a broken blower belt on the Kalitta Motorsports-owned Optima Batteries Dragster dictate what he could do at the Pep Boys NHRA Carolinas Nationals at Concord, N.C.

So he returned later Friday to zMAX Dragway's 1,000-foot course and shook off his first qualifying attempt with a 3.828-second elapsed time at 310.34 mph. That lifted him from last place in the Top Fuel order to first with a 3.828-second pass at 310.34 mph.

JR Todd wasn't going to let a broken blower belt on the Kalitta Motorsports-owned Optima Batteries Dragster dictate what he could do at the Pep Boys NHRA Carolinas Nationals at Concord, N.C.

So he returned later Friday to zMAX Dragway's 1,000-foot course and shook off his first qualifying attempt with a 3.828-second elapsed time at 310.34 mph. That lifted him from last place in the Top Fuel order to first with a 3.828-second pass at 310.34 mph.

If the hot, humid weather holds up through two scheduled sessions Saturday and continues to interfere with other Top Fuel tune-ups, Todd said he thinks he has a chance to secure his first No. 1 qualifying position of the season and third of his career.

Shawn Langdon, in the Al-Anabi Racing Dragster, ran alongside Todd in the second session and took the provisional No. 2 spot with a 3.840-second pass, just .012 seconds behind. The two of them slid first-session leader Billy Torrence down to the tentative third slot.

No. 5 Steve Torrence and dad Billy recorded the day's fastest speeds – 320.58 and 319.75, respectively – as they sandwiched No. 4 Tony Schumacher (3,847, 316.30) and No. 5 Spencer Massey (3.851, 319.37).

After that, the top 12 are, in order, Khalid alBalooshi, Antron Brown, Doug Kalitta, Morgan Lucas, Leah Pritchett, and Richie Crampton.

Todd called track conditions "tricky" Friday, and that was a result of Thursday's heavy rains. Because the rubber mid-track was coming loose Friday morning, the Safety Safari had to scrape and re-prep a large section of the surface during Super Gas qualifying.

"These aren't the kind of conditions where you swing for the fence," Todd conceded, saying he thought team owner and tuner Connie Kalitta, in essence, did that anyway. "You never know what to expect in driving for Connie Kalitta. I shouldn’t have said 'swing for the fence.' I just think he got all of what was available out there."

What Todd got in the first session was nothing but frustration, as his wounded dragster limped to 18th place at 12.679, 39.13.

"Q1 didn't go so well," he deadpanned. "We broke the blower belt probably 60 feet off the starting line. That very rarely happens in a Top Fuel car."

But he indicated he wasn't going to let that put him in defeatist mode: "Usually when you get behind on that first run, that kind of sets the tone for the weekend. But luckily we rebounded with that 3.82."

That, Todd said, "is the best you’re going to see out there today. Actually, I expected to see more low (3.)80s, though." Only the top four times in the field of 19 would qualify as "low 3.80s." But Todd guessed that with more cooperative weather and a normal racing surface, "you'll see some low 80s, maybe see a high 70 from an Al-Anabi car or the Schumacher cars. Our two Kalitta cars are more than capable, also."

He said working to be consistent and to "race smart with what's available" are what his team needs to focus on doing.

"That's what it’s going to take to go rounds in this Countdown, especially in the No. 10 spot. The position we’re in, we can't go any farther down. So it's up from here."

That's just like it was Friday after the first session.

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