By Mike Haag

BAYTOWN, Texas – Life on the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series Funny Car circuit is fast and furious.

J.R. Todd. NHRA photo

For defending NHRA Funny Car champion J.R. Todd, embarking on a 330 mph journey down the dragstrips across America is a life he is loving and savoring.

Todd, who drives the DHL Toyota Funny Car for Kalitta Motorsports, returns to Texas this weekend at Houston Raceway Park for the Mopar Express Lane NHRA SpringNationals presented by Pennzoil.  He is riding a wave of success after having recently won the DENSO Spark Plugs Four-Wide Nationals last Sunday at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

His latest victory was the first of the season and ninth in 38 events in his Funny Car car career.  It also marked his third consecutive victory at Las Vegas and the sixth for the Kalitta Motorsports Toyota Camry Funny Car in the last 11 Las Vegas races, including four of the last spring events.

J.R. Todd. NHRA photo

“It’s all Kalitta Motorsports,” Todd said.  “It seems like these DHL Toyota Camrys always run well here. The whole team has a really good handle on this place, especially my crew chiefs Todd Smith and Jon Oberhofer. It seems like the more we come here, the better grip they get on this place. We struggled early this year with cold tracks and shaking the tires. I knew that it was eventually going to warm up and sure enough, it was hot and nasty here. That’s been an equalizer for us.”

Todd enters this weekend’s race as the defending event winner.  After winning here last year, he went on to lead the series with six wins and compiled a 44-17 round win-loss record and he ended the season by winning the 2018 NHRA Funny Car championship.

J.R. Todd. NHRA photo

“It’s going to be tough this weekend,” Todd said.  “These events seem like they get harder and harder to win. In my opinion the Nitro Funny car class is the most competitive class in our sport right now. Top to bottom there are drivers that can win on any given Sunday and for us to be able to go back there and double up that would be a huge accomplishment.

“I always look forward to going in there and back to a track that I have won at in the past. That was pretty special for us to win there last year. I won there in 2007 in Top Fuel dragster and I think there were only two or three drivers before me that pulled it off by winning in both Nitro classes there. To add my name to the list of some of my heroes is a pretty cool accomplishment.”

Todd’s journey through the NHRA ranks has been a complicated but successful one.  He was without a full-time ride for five full seasons – 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013 and started off 2014 the same way. By the end of 2013 and heading into 2014, he actually considered giving up on his dream of being a racer and getting a job outside of the sport.

J.R. Todd. NHRA photo

In 2014 he joined Kalitta motorsports one day after Connie Kalitta fired David Grubnic.  Todd was able to qualify the car that weekend and he later scored his first victory for Kalitta at Denver.  After competing in 19 races that season he went on to finish second in the NHRA Top Fuel points standings.  He later notched victories in Top Fuel for the team in 2015 and 2016. In 2017 he moved to Funny Car after Del Worsham left the team to run with his father and he won at the 14th race in Sonoma and then later went on to win the US Nationals in Indianapolis.

“Connie Kalitta is a living legend,” Todd said.  “ He gives his heart and soul to drag racing.  He gives 110% back to us and gives us all the parts and pieces that we need to go out there and win races and championships.”

J.R. Todd. NHRA photo

Todd added, “For me, he kind of turned my career around. To get that phone call from him in 2014 and the come out here and take over driving his car kind of gave me a breath of fresh air. He turned my career around because I was pretty down and out. I did not have a full-time ride and didn’t know if I was ever going to get back out here full-time.”

Since Todd began competing in the NHRA Nitro classes he has won at least one event each season each year he has had a full-time ride in the NHRA.

“Here we are now winning races for Connie and got him a Nitro Funny Car championship under our belt,” Todd said.  “We want to keep doing it and keep honoring him and his son, Scott Kalitta, who lost his life in that DHL funny car. That’s forever Scott’s car and for me it’s the ultimate honor to be able to drive that thing.”

J.R. Todd. NHRA photo

In addition to crediting Connie Kalitta with his success, Todd said he appreciates the support that Toyota has contributed to Kalitta Motorsports and his race team.

“We get a lot of factory support from Toyota and TRD,” Todd said.  “They are instrumental in helping us with aerodynamics with the body and a lot of technology that goes on with our chassis and how we build them. As far as the engines whether it is a Toyota or Ford or Chevy they are all based with the same parts and pieces on those Nitro engines. It’s definitely not a Toyota engine so to say but a lot of Toyota engineering goes into it.

“We wouldn’t be able to do what we are doing without their help. I feel like it’s an advantage of having all of their support in TRD and there are engineers on our side. Some of the same guys that are going to the NASCAR races and helping those guys are also at our races as well and are providing input for us.”

J.R. Todd. NHRA photo

Todd has advanced to the final round in eight of the last 11 Mello Yello Drag Racing Series Funny Car events, scoring five victories.  His latest win is also the third for a Toyota-sponsored car in NHRA competition this season as he joins teammates Doug Kalitta (Pomona) and Richie Crampton (Gainesville) – both in Top Fuel.

“We want to go out there and keep that No. 1 on our side and for next year for all those guys that support us at DHL and Toyota,” Todd said.  “That’s why they give us the sponsorship is to go out there and represent us at the top level.”

Todd said that his career is a constant work in progress and he is constantly trying to improve on his driving skills.  He was even critical of his performance after Sunday’s win in Las Vegas.

“I think I still have a lot of work to do in the car, especially when it comes to pedaling it and things like that,” Todd said.  “I’m really hard on myself in keeping our DHL Toyota in the groove. Anytime it smokes the tires, I’m the first one to blame myself.

“It was spinning pretty good in the first round. I lifted and pedaled it, but I probably should have just run right through it. I pedaled it and it backfired the super charger. But it was good enough to hang on and turn on the win light and get us into the second round. That was our lucky break for the day. I robbed us there in the second round. The crew chiefs really had my back in the final round. That was awesome and a hell of a way to cap it off.”

J.R. Todd. Photo by Gary Nastase.

The action this weekend at Houston Raceway Park kicks off with Mello Yello Drag Racing Series qualifying and feature two rounds at 4:30 and 7:15 p.m. on Friday, April 12 and the final two rounds of qualifying on Saturday, April 13, at 2:30 and 5 p.m. Final eliminations are scheduled for 11 a.m. on Sunday, April 14.

“I’ve never had somebody come to a NHRA race and say that they didn’t like it,” Todd said.  “Anybody that comes out there the first time it kind of overwhelms them and blows them away. TV doesn’t do our sport enough justice. With 10,000 or 11,000 horsepower, you have to be out there to feel it when we hit the the gas and smell the nitromethane and just get the full experience. I guarantee you that once you come to one of our races, you’ll be hooked for life.”

Note: To hear an interview with J.R. Todd, Dawn Hall and Mike Haag on TrackSmack Radio, click here and then click on NHRA Funny Car champion J.R. Todd SmackCast interview.