Information by Josh Hachat and Matthew Brammer
Photos courtesy ADRL and Bahrain 1 Racing 

Former Top Fuel standout J.R. Todd has caught on quickly in the doorslammer ranks, posting another remarkable performance in the Arabian Drag Racing League on Friday at Qatar Racing Club (QRC).

His sparkling ’57 Chevy displayed bracket car-like efficiency during Round Four of the eight-race series, capping off a consistent day with a 3.67 in the finals against Von Smith, giving him two wins and the points lead after four races.

“I didn’t know what to expect when I got here and this has definitely exceeded my expectations,” the PX newcomer said. “It’s tough to win over here. There’s eight of the best cars in the world and it’s tough from top to bottom. So far it’s gone well and we did what we had to do today.”

Hernandez held a 3-point lead in championship points and had great positive momentum from the previous three races. Then, for whatever reason, his car's performance "suffered a hiccup."

After three rounds of qualifying Thursday, Hernandez sat outside the field looking in with only one chance remaining to break into the very quick ladder. Unfazed by the pressure, his Jim Oddy/Troy Critchley-tuned car squeaked into the No. 8 spot Friday afternoon and forced a first-round match-up with the hard-charging No. 1 qualifier Alex Hossler.

When the two faced off for their horsepower duel in round one, Hernandez blistered the tree with a .006 reaction time to Hossler's .035 but from there, the Texas-native couldn't hold on to his lead and fell to Hossler, 3.791-seconds at 200.02 mph to Hossler's 3.671 at 209.17.

"I definitely had him off the line, but we shook a little bit in the middle, and it was enough to let him drive around us. We just couldn't get it to stick on that lap," Hernandez said.

"It was just one of those races. It seemed they were handing out 3.60's like they were candy today, but we were at the end of the line and couldn't seem to get one.”

Unofficially, Hernandez slipped into a tie for second place with Frankie Taylor, with both drivers two rounds behind Round 4 winner J.R. Todd.

In Pro Nitrous, Khalid Al-Balooshi overcame a fire to his car during testing on Wednesday to pick up his second win of the season.