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It rained the last time J.R. Todd was at Maple Grove Raceway and the SKULL Shine Top Fuel team didn't have a chance to make sure its revitalized tune-up was capable of providing multiple round wins on race day.
Two weeks later, Todd and friends are back at the Reading, Pa.-area track (for the completion of the rain-delayed Toyo Tires Nationals) and the answer is yes. Now all they must do is show everyone what they learned last weekend at Dallas.
"We didn't get to run when we were at Reading the first time," said Todd, " but Jimmy Walsh (team crew chief) made some changes and the car responded. We are looking forward to the last four races of the season because our tune-up is going in the right direction."
When weather conditions in the Dallas area cooled off Saturday afternoon, Todd posted his quickest elapsed time in eight races, 4.541 seconds, to captured the No. 3 starting berth. He went on to win first round with a 4.570-second lap before a starting line snafu resulted in a tire-smoking setback at 8.771 seconds in the quarterfinals.
The 4.541 run was second-quickest of the final session when 14 of the top 16 registered their best times and his 4.570 was fourth best of the round and fifth quickest of eliminations. Further indication Walsh is getting a strong grip on the tunep-up.
"We should run pretty good in Reading if the conditions are cool and we can pick up as many round wins as we can," added Todd, who still has ambitions of nabbing a place in the top 10 over the remaining 16 rounds of competition. To do so, however, he is very aware of what it will take - more round wins than David Baca and Cory McClenathan.
Todd is 12th with 766 points, Baca 11th (779) and McClenathan 10th (825). Twenty points are awarded for each round win.
The bummer side of the Dallas stop came in the quarterfinals when David Grubnic's team repositioned him on the starting line and took more time than anticipated. Both cars smoked the tires, but Grubnic got to the finish line first in 6.751 seconds.
J.R. Todd, SKULL Shine Team Enthused about Car's Performance
Good Outing at Dallas Boosts J.R. Todd, SKULL Shine Team's Confidence
It rained the last time J.R. Todd was at Maple Grove Raceway and the SKULL Shine Top Fuel team didn't have a chance to make sure its revitalized tune-up was capable of providing multiple round wins on race day.
Two weeks later, Todd and friends are back at the Reading, Pa.-area track (for the completion of the rain-delayed Toyo Tires Nationals) and the answer is yes. Now all they must do is show everyone what they learned last weekend at Dallas.
"We didn't get to run when we were at Reading the first time," said Todd, " but Jimmy Walsh (team crew chief) made some changes and the car responded. We are looking forward to the last four races of the season because our tune-up is going in the right direction."
When weather conditions in the Dallas area cooled off Saturday afternoon, Todd posted his quickest elapsed time in eight races, 4.541 seconds, to captured the No. 3 starting berth. He went on to win first round with a 4.570-second lap before a starting line snafu resulted in a tire-smoking setback at 8.771 seconds in the quarterfinals.
The 4.541 run was second-quickest of the final session when 14 of the top 16 registered their best times and his 4.570 was fourth best of the round and fifth quickest of eliminations. Further indication Walsh is getting a strong grip on the tunep-up.
"We should run pretty good in Reading if the conditions are cool and we can pick up as many round wins as we can," added Todd, who still has ambitions of nabbing a place in the top 10 over the remaining 16 rounds of competition. To do so, however, he is very aware of what it will take - more round wins than David Baca and Cory McClenathan.
Todd is 12th with 766 points, Baca 11th (779) and McClenathan 10th (825). Twenty points are awarded for each round win.
The bummer side of the Dallas stop came in the quarterfinals when David Grubnic's team repositioned him on the starting line and took more time than anticipated. Both cars smoked the tires, but Grubnic got to the finish line first in 6.751 seconds.
