The Red Hot Skull Shine Team Hope to Continue Winning Ways

Seattle, prerace - After a big win in Denver and a semifinal finish in St. Louis, JR Todd and the Skull Shine - Torco Race Fuels team is ripe for more good things to happen as the Western Swing moves to the Northwest for the NHRA Schucks Auto Parts Nationals to be held at Pacific Raceways.

In fact, the Seattle stop may feel a little different than it has prior to the Denver race, as the spotlight is now on Todd who received plenty of media attention this past week. Todd’s impressive upset victory made headlines and he even ended up on CNN’s hourly sports updates. But so far, the first year pro from Lawerenceburg Indiana has demonstrated that he doesn’t give in to all the hype and would prefer to let the car’s performance speak for itself. “I don’t let myself get distracted by all the hype and all of the pressure. I just go out there and race.” Todd said.

As for Crew Chief Jimmy Walsh, it will be business as usual in Seattle. Throughout the season Walsh has shown he can tune the Dexter Tuttle-owned Top Fuel Dragster in nearly any weather condition. As a result, the team should be ready to go no matter what Mother Nature has in store for the weekend. And for those on the NHRA Powerade tour who generally look to the Seattle race for some relief from the heat, the bad news is that temperatures are expected to once again reach the high 90’s and may even pass the 100 degree mark.

If the heat was a factor last week in Denver then it can be argued that the Skull Team benefited from it the most. And with another scorcher once again in the forecast, Walsh’s outstanding tuning ability and Todd’s great driving could prove to be another winning combination this weekend. Qualifying in Seattle begins Friday with final eliminations set for Sunday.