J.R. Todd Aims for Strong Finish to 2007 Season
A realist, J.R. Todd takes the logical approach to his chances of winning
the 2007 NHRA Top Fuel championship.
“It would take an act of God and a miracle for us to get into the top four
at Richmond (Va.),” Todd said, “and we aren’t counting on it.”
The Virginia Motorsports Park in Dinwiddie, near Richmond, is the site of
the fourth and final Countdown to Four race, Oct. 5-7, as the title chase nears
an end. Four drivers will be bowing out of contention Sunday evening and the
remaining quartet will settle it in back-to-back races at Las Vegas (Oct.
28) and Pomona, Calif. (Nov. 4).
“Realistically, our goal is to finish fifth,” added Todd, driver of the
SKULL Shine Top Fuel dragster. He has 2,130 points and trails his good buddy,
fourth-place Brandon Bernstein, by 91 points. The ‘miracle’ would happen
only if Todd wins the race and Bernstein doesn’t qualify.
“We will run as hard as we can in the next three races, trying to win them
all. We want to be spoilers and hopefully help a couple of my friends along
the way,” Todd said. “But, at the same time, we want to finish this season
strong.”
Todd is optimistic because crew chief Kevin Poynter has the car running like
it did earlier in the season. He earned the No. 1 starting spot – the
second of his career and the year – at Dallas last week with a run of 4.541
seconds.
“The car hadn’t run that well in a long while,” said Todd. “It is good to
see the car’s performance coming back. The crew guys are real upbeat about
that.”
A forecast for good weather could produce “some quick times,” noted Todd. “
I think the track is good enough to yield 4.40-second elapsed times. It is
a little disappointing that we aren’t in the hunt for the championship. You
kind of get greedy after awhile, but there are a lot of good drivers that
would like to change positions with us right now. It would be nice to put the
number 5 on our car next year.”
Todd placed eighth in 2006 with a solid second half of the season that
produced three wins and one runner-up en route to rookie of the year honors.
“This race is sponsored by Evan Knoll and Torco Racing Fuels, and Evan also
sponsors our car,” said Todd. “It would be cool if we could win this race
for him.”
# # #
Television Schedule:
Saturday, Oct. 6, ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD qualifying highlights, 10
p.m.-midnight, ET
Sunday, Oct. 7, ESPN2 and ESPN2HD eliminations, 7-10 p.m., ET
A Brief Look at J.R. Todd:
Born: 12/16/81
Hometown: Lawrenceburg, Ind.
Residence: Avon, Ind.
SKULL Shine/Knoll Gas-Torco Racing Fuels
Top Fuel Dragster
Owner: Dexter Tuttle
2007 NHRA Powerade Series Highlights:
Went to three finals with three different crew chiefs, winning twice
Enters fourth and final race of Countdown to Four playoffs in eighth place
with 130 points after disappointing first-round loss as Dallas
Career wins/final rounds: 5/2
2007 wins: Pomona, Calif., with first crew chief Jim Walsh,
and Houston, with second crew chief Johnny West
Runner-up: Topeka, Kan., with current crew chief Kevin Poynter
Ran career best of 4.473 seconds at Pomona, 2/11/07
First Career No. 1: Seattle, July 2007, (4.546 seconds)
2006 NHRA Powerade Series Highlights:
Won NHRA Road to Future/Rookie of Year Award, finishing eighth in points
Wins at Denver, Sonoma, Calif., and Reading, Pa. Runner-up at Las Vegas2
Began drag racing in NHRA Jr. Dragster program when he was 10.
Drove Top Fuel dragster for Bruce Litton of Indianapolis in six IHRA races
in 2000, then worked on Litton’s crew for two years and Bob Gilbertson’s
Funny Car crew for three year before signing with Dexter Tuttle for the 2006
season.
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