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J.R. Todd Early Rookie of the Year Candidate

I’ve been hearing for years that some kid in the IHRA is going to be the next big thing. I guess that time has come with the announcement that J.R. Todd will drive the Menards/Tuttle Motorsports Top Fueler starting in at the 2006 Winternationals. If he lives up to the hype, Todd might be the NHRA Rookie of the Year before it is all said and done.

NHRA.com: Todd selected as new driver for Menards Top Fueler

Todd seems to have all the makings of not only a good driver and a future star in the NHRA but has the potential to be a true media darling. At age 23, he is young and you know the folks at NHRA headquarters in Glendora, Calif. are smiling. Younger drivers will help attract the elusive yet highly desirable younger demographic that has disposable income. The NHRA for years has been prepping for the days when the older, established stars retire with a game plan to thrust into the spotlight the younger stars of the sport. The NHRA does not want to be the NBA back in the late 1990’s when they had no contingency plan for Michael Jordan’s retirement. (The second retirement, not counting his hiatus to try to hit a curve ball in the minor leagues nor his ill-advised return to the Washington Wizards and impending retirement after that.) I am not saying Todd will be the young savior the NHRA is looking for but he does fit into the NHRA’s plan for the future.

Another reason why Todd will be a homerun from a marketing stand point is the fact that he is African-American. In an age where NASCAR has been taken to task by the Rainbow Coalition for their lack of black drivers, the NHRA has been left alone. Todd will join other African-American drivers like Antron Brown, Reggie Showers, Redell Harris and Michael Phillips to help make the NHRA one of the more diverse racing organizations in the world. This is not mentioning the three Pedregon brothers who are Latino, numerous women drivers like Erica Enders, Angelle Sampey, Connie Cohen and others. It is refreshing to know that when Todd starts racing in 2006 that he will be treated more like a rookie than an anomaly. Minorities are no big deal in the NHRA because Latinos, Blacks, Asians and women have already made a significant impact on drag racing’s history. In a world where Danica Patrick, who has yet to win an IRL race, was lifted on high by the media because she was a woman, I am sure Todd will fly under the media’s radar screen during his NHRA debut. Now if Todd had risen to the ranks of the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series, how do you think the national media would react to him driving in that series? I am sure there would be 30 minute specials on ESPN and he would be invited to the set of Good Morning America. Because Todd will race in the NHRA where racial diversity is not headline news, his entry into the ultra-competitive arena of Top Fuel racing will go unnoticed. It’s a sad commentary on the state of our media. Then again, it is refreshing that he will be considered just another racer even if his skin color were green, blue or orange.

Lastly, Todd is a feel good story for the NHRA is that he cut his teeth in the NHRA’s Jr. Drag Racing Program. Without too much explanation, it is like little league baseball or pee wee football but for drag racing. Todd started racing junior dragster at age ten and has graduated to 8,000 horsepower Top Fuel dragsters. There is nothing like cultivating your professional stars of tomorrow in your little league program today. Others come to mind that have followed this same path. Pro Stock drivers Erica Enders and Richie Stevens both rose to the NHRA POWERade Series after cutting their teeth in junior dragsters. Todd could be another in a line of junior dragster racers to make a splash on the professional level. He would be the first former junior dragster driver to win the rookie of the year award.

Best of luck to J.R. Todd. I’ve been hearing a lot about you since you were 17. More rookies should be coming into the NHRA before the season but J.R. will be tough to beat.

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