Drag Illustrated Issue 140, January 2019 | Page 75
Car. I think now they are eating crow.”
But Todd and that team weren’t ready to win a
championship a year ago. They struggled mightily
in the Countdown after winning in Indy, losing
in the first round the final five events of 2017 to
finish ninth. If Todd needed any more motivation,
that was certainly it.
“I think one thing that helps me is I put so
much pressure on myself and I’m really hard
on myself as a driver,” Todd tells me. “I catch
that a lot of from people: ‘You need to stop
being so damn hard on yourself.’ Well, if you
want to be the best and excel, you need to be
hard on yourself.”
T
odd watched Worsham and
the DHL team reach another level
when they got red-hot and won four
playoff races in 2015, also taking in
Hight’s dominance a season ago
when it counted.
That remained in the back of his mind all of
2018 as he jumped out quickly with back-to-back
victories in Las Vegas and Houston. The team
slumped in mid-summer, but they made changes
in Seattle to finish off the Western Swing. By
Brainerd, the team had regained its form and
by the Indy test session, Todd knew they had a
dangerous car. When he qualified No. 1 for the
first time in his Funny Car career at the U.S. Na-
tionals and then followed it by winning the big-
gest race of the year for a second straight season
– knocking off Hight, Tommy Johnson Jr. and
Hagan over the final three rounds – it became
championship or bust.
“It gave me confidence and it felt like some
stuff was about to happen,” Todd says. “That, to
me, was when I knew we made the right changes.
That gave me a lot of confidence going into the
Countdown.”
It showed immediately, as Todd and his team
blew through the field to open the Countdown
to the Championship, winning at Maple Grove
to take the points lead. But going against Hight,
who was looking to become the first back-to-
back world champ in the loaded Funny Car class
since the early 2000s, nothing was going to come
easy for Todd.
In fact, throw out Torrence going undefeated
in the Countdown this season, it took one of the
best performances in NHRA playoff history to
keep Hight at bay. Todd went an incredible 20-3
over the final six races, winning three of his six
races in 2018 in that span, but it nearly wasn’t
enough. Hight won in St. Louis and then topped
Todd in Dallas with a broken collarbone, which
happened during a crash after the finish line in
St. Louis. It told Todd he had to raise his game
and find a level he had not reached yet to that
point in his career.
“Here’s what got me going,” Todd starts. “The
finals in Dallas, I had a so-so light and Robert
was quicker off the line. That kind of pissed me
off. I can’t be going up there in the final and it’s
too important this time of the year to have a so-so
reaction time. Del told me I’m going to have to go
through him to win a championship.
“Hight sets the bar driving-wise and they al-
ways have the best performing car, so beating
them and having to go through them, winning
the last two races of the year, that made it spe-
cial for me.”
It motivated Todd and made him work, which
has never been a problem. He headed to the gym
for high-intensity circuit training to help improve
his reaction times, watched video, studied driving
styles and made it a point to finish with a ven-
geance over the final three races. “This team, they
know how to race the Countdown,” Todd says.
“That, as a driver, gave me extra motivation to
do well and not let them down.”
As expected, Todd and the team found another
gear over the final three races, advancing to the
“Within the last
month, people
walking by and
saying, ‘What’s
up, Champ,’ like
that doesn’t get old
at all. That’s the
coolest part I’ve
noticed. You get
recognized a little
more than the past.”
final round in Charlotte before jumping back
into the points lead with a victory in Las Vegas.
What it all led to was the most nerve-wracking
weekend of his life in Pomona. He entered the
weekend with a strong 74-point lead, but Hight
was certainly capable of something great. De-
spite all the pressure of going for his first world
championship, there was one person who had no
problem figured out what was going to happen.
“I was positive he was going to win,” Mario
Todd says. “Winning a championship, that’s what
he had in his mind and I knew he was going to
take care of it. I was just positive he was going
to do it. It’s like he had ice in his veins. Those
last three races, it was like he was on a mission.”
Todd made the mission simple. He was focused
on an event win and nothing less would do. If he
won the race, he won the championship and that
was his sole focus, even after a sleepless night led
into Sunday’s eliminations.
Todd got a pep talk the day before from legend-
ary driver Kenny Bernstein and was set to face off
with Jim Campbell in the opening round. Hight
met Bob Tasca and was one pair ahead, leading
to one of the lasting moments of the weekend.
Hight smoked the tires, Tasca cruised to the win
and Todd had his long-awaited world champion-
ship. Already strapped in the car, he pumped his
fists in his seat, with his smile almost radiating
through his helmet. Overjoyed teammates gave
him high-fives and slapped him on his helmet
as Todd did his best to soak in the moment. He
got goosebumps watching that moment over
and over again following the race, a dream ful-
filled after years of hardships, stress and never
expecting to get to that point. Todd once told a
reporter he grinded his teeth at night due to the
stress of thinking his racing career was over. Now,
strapped in his Funny Car, living the dream, he
was a world champion.
“When (Tasca’s) win light came on, it was like
10,000 pounds lifted off my shoulders,” Todd
says. “Just instant relief. It was definitely a sur-
real moment. I didn’t want to be the guy holding
the team back and to be able to hold up my end,
that means a lot to me as a driver. I think that
Scott would be proud of what we’re doing, that’s
for sure.”
The storybook finish included one final piece,
as Todd rolled to win that round and followed it
three more times, finishing the season in style
with a Pomona victory and a world championship.
W
hen Todd first started
in Top Fuel, others saw the
potential. Mario remembers
guys like Doug Herbert and
Jim Head talking about his
son’s championship poten-
tial more than a decade ago.
But it’s a dream that could have easily fallen
by the wayside with that potential never ful-
ly realized. It’s a story as long as the sport has
been around, yet Todd has thrived during the
roller-coaster career and made it his mission to
never give up. It has made his story better and
the championship that much sweeter.
He has persevered and found a racing home,
one that suits his style and personality flawless-
ly. He’s driving the perfect car for him, thriving
in ways those close to him always believed he
could, realizing a dream and living out a moti-
vational tale that holds true in all levels of the
sport. Now, it’s Todd’s time to shine. The future
belongs to him.
“It’s definitely been a whirlwind of things in
my career just to get to this point,” Todd says.
“There’s been a lot of times where you think this
is never going to happen and next thing you know
you’re driving Scott Kalitta’s car. It’s crazy how it
all comes full circle like this.
“You want to enjoy this, but you also can’t wait
to get the No. 1 on the car and try to defend. I
know it’s going to be really hard, but it can be
done and that’s what we’re going to go out and
try to do.”
DI DI DI
DI DI DI DI
DI DI DI
Ja n u a r y 2 0 1 9
DragIllustrated.com
| D r a g I l l u s t r a t e d | 75