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J.R. Todd Hopes to Transfrom Torco/Lucas Oil Dragster's Las Vegas Luck
The Summitracing.com Nationals on the Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway will be a good prospect to transform the Torco/Lucas Oil dragster team’s luck after a disheartening start to the 2008 NHRA season that hasn’t turned out to be quite the year Top Fuel driver, J.R. Todd had predicted.
“It’s been a shaky start of the year for us,” said Todd. “Las Vegas is definitely a good place to change your luck. The track is always good despite the weather conditions. It’s usually one of those tracks that will take whatever you want to give it. That’s great for our tune-up because we make a lot of power. It’s a good place to apply it and we had a successful test the Monday after the Houston race that has the team’s morale back up. That’s got everyone pumped and we’re hoping to attain our first round win of the year there.”
To start a productive weekend, you must first qualify and Todd is quite aware that a couple of good runs on Friday could set his aim on the target of attaining his sixth National event win of his young career.
“The main thing for us is to get the car into the show,” Todd said. “After that we’ll start tweaking and tuning up on it some more getting it into race trim. It would be nice to come out to the box and stick it in the show early and that way you can tune it up for Friday night, so you can really get after it. We’re struggling and when you miss that first round of qualifying, it puts you behind the rest of the weekend.
“Vegas is probably the nicest track we go to all season long. It’s the entire facility that’s first-class and it picks up your spirit with one of the best racing surfaces we run on. That leaves you to focus more on your driving, keeping it in the groove and having Stew’s (crew chief, John Stewart) tuning come into play.”
Saturday night, Todd volunteered to participate in a 15-lap match race at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway’s 3/8-mile Bullring oval with fellow NHRA drivers, Gary Scelzi, Alan Johnson, Jeg Coughlin, Jr. along with his racing teammate, Morgan Lucas.
“I saw a USAC midget race last weekend in Anderson, (Ind.) and from what I witnessed; I’m hoping some of that will rub off on me against Scelzi and Morgan (teammate, Lucas),” laughed Todd. “I feel we need to penalize former USAC champ, Doug Kalitta a couple of laps to make it even for rest of us,”
The start of the ninth annual Summitracing.com Nationals begins on the Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Friday, April 11 with two nitro qualifying sessions starting at 1:30 p.m. (PDT) and 4:30 p.m. Saturday's time trials start at 12:30 p.m. for the nitro classes followed by a second session at 3:30 p.m. The race starts promptly at 11 a.m. on Sunday, April 13.
J.R. TODD -- LUCAS OIL RACING DRIVER NOTES:
J.R. Todd, of Lawrenceburg, Ind., has five NHRA POWERade Top Fuel wins out of seven final round appearances. He claimed his first win, the 2006 Mopar Mile-High Nationals in only his eighth start defeating Tony Schumacher in the finals. He finished eighth in the 2006 NHRA Top Fuel Point standings with 1,105 points after completing his first full season on the competitive 23-race NHRA circuit. He finished eighth with 2,273 points in 2007, making the cut of the first class for the Countdown to the Championship.
Todd’s' quickest elapsed time is 4.473 seconds, set on Feb. 11, 2007 at Pomona Raceway. He sped to his fastest top speed of 334.24 mph on Nov. 4 in the first round of eliminations at the 2007 Auto Club Final in Pomona, Calif. He has won two Low E.T. qualifier awards – His first on July 21 at the Seattle International Raceway recording a time 4.577 seconds and Sept. 22 on the all-concrete surface of the Texas Motorplex setting the pace with his run of 4.541 seconds. J.R. Todd’s first NHRA Top Fuel event came behind the wheel of the Dexter Tuttle-owned dragster in the 2006 CarQuest Auto Parts Winternationals at the Auto Club Raceway at Pomona on February 12, 2006. He was awarded the 2006 “Road to the Future” award, which recognizes NHRA’s top performing rookie driver. DOB: December 16, 1981.
SUMMITRACING.COM NATIONALS
TELEVISION ADVISORY
(ALL TIMES EASTERN – ALL PROGRAMS ON ESPN2 HD)
QUALIFYING HIGHLIGHTS
Saturday, April 12
8:00 P.M. – 10:00 P.M.
NHRA RACE DAY
Presented by Lucas Oil Products
Sunday, April 13
11:00 P.M. – 11:30 P.M.
FINAL ROUND COVERAGE
Sunday, April 13
8:00 P.M. – 11:00 P.M.
