Todd A Quick Learner
Two weeks ago, 18-year-old J.R. Todd of Lawrenceburg, Ind., graduated from high school. At Cordova, he graduated into the ranks of big time Top Fuel racing aboard the Bruce Litton's Trailer Sales and United Expressline Race Trailers car. During Friday's first session, the young Afro-American teenager was making his first full pass in national event competition and was running alongside three-time NHRA and one-time AHRA World Champion Shirley Muldowney. When the two had passed through the traps, all eyes were on Muldowney's lane. After all, she had run 319-mph. But insiders were aware that the "second place" time of 4.95/277.43 was well worth attention as well.

While the two weren't racing technically, Todd did move first on Shirley, but then got train-lengthed on the other end. He lost again in eliminations, but nonetheless acquitted himself well losing to Paul Romine's CarQuest dragster, 4.77/308.43 to 4.93/293.09. And if you were wondering, those two "fours" are the first by a black driver, superseding a previous best of 5.074 by Maurice Dupont in the "Hammertime" dragster in 1994. The consensus was that the youngster looked like he'd been racing for years, cool, calm, and collected.

Ostrander Sings "Louie, Louie."
We at DRO can't speak for everybody, but when Louie Allison's name appeared in the IHRA Winternationals results this year, we thought, "Who's this guy?" It turns out that Louie Allison (above left) has been around a long time, beginning with his current employer Jack Ostrander (below left) as a bottom man in 1987. Earlier last year, Allison got the itch to license in Ostrander's Vista Food Exchange dragster and the boss figured why not.

"I was going to put him in the car last year," said Ostrander. "He's been with me so long that I figured if anyone deserved a shot he did. However, breakage, rainouts, stuff like that kept me from doing it. Things changed this year and I got him in the car and myself out for the moment."

Ostrander got Allison licensed and then let him make the first two qualifying laps at the Winternationals. The plan called for Allison's pair to be followed by Ostrander making the last one and putting the car in the show. It didn't work out as planned. It rained and Allison got the ink on the qualifying (actually alternate sheets). At Rockingham, the same thing happened. Allison got in two laps, Ostrander got washed out.

At Cordova, Ostrander figured his guy had some points so why not see what he can do. Allison made the passes of his life, qualifying with a 5.06 and then following with his first four, a 4.99, 297.42 first-round trouncing of Jim Head. He lost in round two, but now looks like the driver of record in the Ostrander camp. Of course, this brings up the question is Ostrander vacating the saddle?

"No, nothing like that," he said. "We have another car in the rafters [of the trailer] and if I want to drive it I will. Louie's done a really good job, he's got the points, so for now, he's driving the car."

Don Reed Returns

In April 1976 at the NHRA WCS race in Indianapolis, a debuting and unknown Kokomo, Ind., Top Fuel racer stunned the crowd with a low e.t, top speed and polesitting 6.06, 236.84. He then added insult to the veteran racers by taking runner-up honors that day to Bill Pryor in Jim Naramore's dragster. His name was Don Reed. Reed always ran on a shoestring budget and this writer thought he'd pretty much given it up by the mid 1980s. However, he was at Cordova with a 500-cid McGee-powered '96 Murf McKinney dragster. He didn't qualify, having to settle for a 7.00/132.49 best.

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