4 lanes, 1 goal for NHRA’s J.R. Todd at LVMS

If there was such a thing as a quiet moment in the drag racing paddock, you might hear some of the drivers grouse about the novel four-lane setup that is back in play at this weekend’s Denso Spark Plugs NHRA Four-Wide Nationals at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Funny Car driver J.R. Todd would not be among them.

The veteran from the Indiana heartland will be seeking his third consecutive LVMS four-wide victory and the fifth in a row for manufacturer Toyota in a four-lane event.

“I wish I could bottle it up and take it with me,” Todd, 39, said of his Las Vegas success. “It’s been a good track for us. We didn’t get to go for a three-peat last year (because of COVID), so it would be a good way to keep the momentum going.”

As Todd showed in defeating two-time Funny Car champion Robert Hight in the season opener in Gainesville, Florida, for his first win in nearly two seasons, he’s not exactly a slouch in a traditional two-lane drag race. But when it comes to Las Vegas, four lanes and putting the hammer down, he has had no equal.

“You’re racing against three competitors and not just the guy or girl next to you. So more aware of where you are, what lane you’re in, pay attention to where you’re looking on the tree (staging lights),” he said in trying to explain his four-lane mastery.

“But at the end of the day it’s the same deal: Hit the gas when the light comes on and keep that thing as straight as possible for 3.8, 3.9 seconds.”

Todd, who was sixth fastest in provisional qualifying Friday with a time of 3.980 at 325.14 mph, said he always will hold Las Vegas near and dear for a reason not related to his recent success.

His career had stalled and he was sitting on his couch in Indianapolis in 2014, watching March Madness on TV, when his phone rang. Connie Kalitta, the legendary NHRA driver and car owner, had fired his driver following Friday qualifying at LVMS and wanted to know if Todd was interested in driving it Saturday.

Todd jumped on a red-eye flight and drove the car at maximum effort with minimum sleep — usually not a good combination. But he parlayed that opportunity into a full-time gig with drag racing’s “Bounty Hunter” that has produced victories in both Top Fuel and Funny Car as well as the 2018 Funny Car championship.

“I was sitting at home, racing part time, down and out,” Todd said about getting the phone call out of the blue from Kalitta that turned into his version of “One Shining Moment” and catapulted him to the top of his sport. “That changed my life for sure.”

Contact Ron Kantowski at rkantowski@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0352. Follow @ronkantowski on Twitter.