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Rookie dethrones champion

Todd becomes first black in Top Fuel to win national title

Scott Stocker, Rocky Mountain News

Published July 17, 2006 at midnight

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MORRISON - J.R. Todd made National Hot Rod Association history Sunday when he won the Top Fuel title Sunday at the 27th Mopar Mile-High Nationals at Bandimere Speedway.

Todd, a 23-year-old rookie from Lawrenceburg, Ind., not only won his first national event but is the first black competitor to win a national title in Top Fuel. And he did it by defeating defending NHRA and Mile-High champion Tony Schumacher in the final.

It also was a week of firsts for Funny Car winner Gary Scelzi. After all, the Fresno, Calif., resident and defending National Hot Rod Funny Car champion never had won at Bandimere or even reached a final before Sunday. But after beating Cruz Pedregon in the final with a pass of 5.132 seconds at 301.94 mph to Pedregon's exploding 5.820 at 202.82 mph, there was a big sigh of relief.

Making the week more interesting for Scelzi is that as a newly ordained minister, he performed a wedding at Thursday's Mopar Block Party in Golden.

Todd had a superb weekend, finishing the day with a 4.906 pass to Schumacher's 4.966. He qualified No. 2 behind Doug Kalitta.

Along the way, he had to beat a couple of other former champions.

"I had to pedal the car in every round but the final against Schumacher," said Todd, who has come up through the Junior Dragster ranks and was a crew member last season for Bob Gilbertson. "It's tricky out there and hot, and all the cars were struggling. I don't think I expected to beat Schumacher, and it's pretty exciting.

"Being the first black to win in Top Fuel is fine, but we are all equal out here. When you put on the helmet, no one knows if you are black or purple."

Todd opened by beating Cory McClenathan and faced Larry Dixon in his semifinal.

He also managed a quarterfinal victory against another up-and-coming rookie, Hillary Will.

The victory over Will, though, almost didn't happen. He was trailing Will at the halfway point on the quarter-mile track when Will's parachute came out. It was just enough to slow her down, giving Todd the win.

"I never knew that Hillary's chute came out, and I didn't see her ahead of me," Todd said. "It's unfortunate for her chute to come out, but you have some lucky days out here and we had some luck (Sunday)."

Todd had his own parachute problems in the semifinals. His chute failed to deploy and he ended up in the sand at the end of the track. The car needed a quick cleanup, but he got a lot of help from several of the other teams to continue.

Schumacher, appearing in his 58th NHRA final, opened his trip to the final from the No. 4 position.

He defeated Morgan Lucas in the first round and David Grubnic in the quarterfinals, then took out the No. 1 qualifier, Kalitta, in the semifinals.

Bandimere was one of three tracks where Scelzi previously had not won.

Now all that's left is Gainesville, Fla., and Englishtown, N.J. Unfortunately, he has to wait until next season to win there.

"I let Englishtown get away, I blew that one," Scelzi said after his first win this season. "This is a tough place, hard to make cars run. The track temperatures are hotter than any place we've been (146 degrees). When I went into the final against Cruz, I said to myself, 'You are not taking this one away from me. I've come this far, I'm going to win Denver.' "

He also had high praise for Todd and his first win.

"There is nothing like a first win and to see the excitement on J.R.'s face," Scelzi said. "That also was a pretty good reward (Sunday)."

Scelzi advanced to the semifinals with a victory against 13-time NHRA champion John Force. That snapped a two-race losing streak against his rival and good friend. In fact, Scelzi is the only driver in the class to now hold a winning edge (10-9) against Force.

Force advanced to the quarterfinals with his victory over Funny Car points leader Ron Capps.

Pedregon was the biggest surprise on this hot weekend, where the temperature on the track reached 142 degrees. He sizzled, winning from the No. 16 position.

Pedregon, who was the only driver to beat Force in the 1990s for the world title, upended No. 1 qualifier Gary Densham in the opening round, defeated his brother, Tony, in the quarterfinals, then Gilbertson in the semifinals.

Tony Pedregon, the Mile-High winner in 2004, struck his tires about 100 yards into his pass, allowing Cruz to pull away. It wasn't a pretty win for Cruz as an oil blowup inside the car sprayed oil on the windows.

The result was a lengthy delay for the Top Fuel final.

"I had my hands full," Pedregon said. "When the oil came out, I couldn't see what was going on. Tony's a great driver and only one could advance. It's a good win."

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