Kelly is a two-time winner of the 'Top End' event, standing on the top step of the podium at Hidden Valley in both 2004 and 2005.
After a third place finish in New Zealand in April, the driver of the #7 Jack Daniel's Commodore has suffered two poor events in Perth and then Winton, where Kelly was taken out of contention through no fault of his own in the opening laps of both races.
While brother and Jack Daniel's Racing team-mate Rick Kelly sits in sixth place in the 2011 V8 Supercars Championship standings, Todd Kelly lies in 21st position entering Darwin, something he is keen to improve on this weekend.
Todd Kelly was a consistent performer in Darwin last year, qualifying in the top five and finishing in the top 10 on both Saturday and Sunday.
JACK DANIEL'S RACING QUOTEBOARD
TODD KELLY - #7 Jack Daniel's Holden Commodore:
On previous event wins at Hidden Valley in 2004 and 2005 ...
"I've got a lot of good memories of Darwin," said Todd Kelly.
"Unfortunately a lot of things have changed since I won there. The cars are a lot different, the tyres are different and that really means my wins don't count for much when we arrive there.
"I'm really looking forward to getting out on the track there and getting up to Darwin. It's a nice place and it's good to get out of Melbourne and into some warm weather.
"I've been looking forwards to Darwin for quite a while. It's a track I love and I'm pretty determined to get some good results."
On putting poor rounds at Perth and Winton behind him ...
"We've really learned a lot from the last two rounds," said Todd Kelly.
"We had a good round at Hamilton but since then we've had two bad rounds. Hamilton was too long ago to still be riding on that. We're not too happy with how we performed at Perth and Winton.
"So it is very important for us to try to turn that around. We've put a lot of time into working out what we did wrong at those last two events and we've got things in place that should help everyone, me in particular, in Darwin and for the rest of the year.
"There are a few areas where I have struggled with the car where as the other drivers in the team have been able to find their own ways to get around those problems while still suiting their driving style, improving their pace and making them more comfortable in the car.
"That just hadn't clicked for me at Perth and Winton. Brendan (Hogan), my race engineer, has picked up on a couple of things that have affected me at the last few rounds with how we set-up our Jack Daniel's Commodore.
"If we can get that worked out and if it all falls into place as planned in Darwin we should have a good weekend.
"It's very competitive between our four drivers and I've not been at the front of the pack in terms of our team at the last two rounds. That is really what pushes us all as a team, trying to beat each other first and foremost.
"So I've really put in a lot of effort to get in front of the other three guys. If it pans out, we I should be somewhere near the front."
On using hard compound tyres with just one set of softs in Darwin ...
"We generally go better on the hard tyre compared to the soft," said Todd Kelly.
"There is a lot of work to be done on our cars and our team to get a proper handle on what we need to do on that soft tyre.
"In Darwin the majority of the weekend is on the hard tyre, where we should be OK. We get another opportunity to try and learn exactly what we need to do on the softs and if we don't quite get that right there is still a lot of potential for us to have a good weekend.
"There is a good chance that we can hopefully start to chip away at what that tyre needs."
RICK KELLY - #15 Jack Daniel's Racing Holden Commodore:
"Darwin is a fantastic event and it's nice to go there in the middle of winter down here in Victoria," said Rick Kelly.
"Our last event was at Winton, which was cold and wet. We then go to Darwin with completely different weather. The hot conditions will treat the tyre differently so we need to adjust.
"For this event we have put a lot of focus back into having both the soft and hard tyre in one race meeting. It requires a different plan.
"V8 Supercars is a very tough category and the soft tyre has really thrown a massive unknown into the mix.
"It's helped some drivers and teams and hurt other drivers and teams and Todd has been right in the middle of that pain.
"He was taken out through no fault of his own in both races at Winton. That's a bit hard to cop because he has shown such good form all through this year.
"For us we are looking forward to getting more consistency in Darwin with my number 15 Jack Daniel's Commodore, but in Darwin Todd will be as big a threat as anyone.
"He is pretty frustrated and angry with the results he's had this year. The bad results are mainly because of people crashing into him.
"In Darwin he will be a tough one to beat. He's got great form up there and has won the event twice. It's a track that suits him.
"If anyone knows how his form is, it's us. We look at his data every single day and he's as strong as any driver in our team and at times he's the strongest and I can't keep up with him.
"At Darwin he has smoked me a couple of years in a row up there and he will be tough to beat up there. We always tend to jump to his set-up at Hidden Valley and he has been traditionally very fast up there."
KEY FACTS
- Kelly brothers have winning history in Darwin ...
* Todd Kelly was the overall round winner of the Hidden Valley event in both 2004 and 2005
* In both 2004 and 2005 the Kelly family won two of the three races held, with Todd and Rick scoring one win each in 2004 and Todd taking two races wins in 2005
* Rick Kelly has also scored a pole position in Darwin, topping qualifying at the 2.87-kilometre circuit in 2007
* Todd Kelly has qualified second in the grid in Darwin on three occasions and was in the top five in both qualifying sessions in his #7 Jack Daniel's Commodore in both 2009 and 2010
- Soft tyres back to 'Wildcard' status in Darwin ...
* The soft-compound Dunlop 'option' tyre will return to 'Wildcard' status at the SKYCITY Triple Crown in Darwin
* Previous events at Abu Dhabi, Hamilton and Winton were conducted solely on the soft tyre, while Perth's format saw soft tyres used in both races on Sunday. Darwin is the first event of the season where teams are permitted to run just one set of soft tyres during the Sunday race.
- SKYCITY Triple Crown still an unclaimed prize ...
* The Darwin event gets its name from the event format that sees drivers try to win Saturday's Top 10 Shootout and both the Saturday and Sunday race to complete the 'Triple Crown'
* Since the first event at Hidden Valley in 1998 no driver has completed the Triple Crown, which until 2009 was set across the event's three races
2011 V8 Supercars Championship
Drivers Points Standings after Race 11 of 26
1. Jamie Whincup 1234
2. Craig Lowndes 972
3. Garth Tander 935
4. Jason Bright 920
5. Shane Van Gisbergen 913
6. Rick Kelly 887
7. Alex Davison 825
8. Will Davison 813
9. Steven Johnson 808
10. Mark Winterbottom 797
16. Greg Murphy 527
18. David Reynolds 522
21. Todd Kelly 460
HIDDEN VALLEY RACEWAY DETAILS:
Circuit: Hidden Valley Raceway
Location: Darwin, Northern Territory
Circuit Length: 2.87 kilometres
Format: 120km race Saturday and 200km race Sunday
2010 Saturday Pole Position: Mark Winterbottom
2010 Saturday Race Winner: Mark Winterbottom
2010 Sunday Pole Position: Alex Davison
2010 Sunday Race Winner: Jamie Whincup
Hidden Valley Raceway
JACK DANIEL'S RACING DRIVERS AT HIDDEN VALLEY:
Todd Kelly - #7 Jack Daniel's Holden Commodore:
2010 Saturday Qualifying: Fifth
2010 Saturday Race: Ninth
2010 Sunday Qualifying: Fourth
2010 Sunday Race: Eighth
Debut: 2001
Events: 10
Races: 28
Best Qualifying: Second (2004, 2005 and 2007)
Top 10 in Qualifying: Nine
Best Race Finish: First (Race 3 2004, Race 1 2005 and Race 2 2005)
Top 10 Finish in Race: 17
Rick Kelly - #15 Jack Daniel's Holden Commodore:
2010 Saturday Qualifying: 21st
2010 Saturday Race: 14th
2010 Sunday Qualifying: Sixth
2010 Sunday Race: Ninth
Debut: 2002
Events: Nine
Races: 25
Best Qualifying: First (2007)
Top 10 in Qualifying: Five
Best Race Finish: First (Race 2 2004)
Top 10 Finish in Race: 17
WEEKEND SCHEDULE
Times below are Australian Central Standard Time (GMT + 9.5 hours)
Friday 17 June 2011
10:30am – 11:00am: Practice 1 (Rookies, Co-Drivers & Lower 50% in Points)
12:00pm – 12:30pm: Practice 2 (Rookies, Co-Drivers & Lower 50% in Points)
1:30pm – 2:00pm: Practice 3
3:10pm – 3:40pm: Practice 4
Saturday 18 June 2011
11:20am – 11:40am: Qualifying
12:20pm: Top 10 Shootout
3:35pm: Race 1 (Series Race 12) – 42 laps*
* 42 laps or one lap after 4:45pm ACST
Sunday 19 June 2011
12:00pm –12:20pm: Qualifying
2:35pm: Race 2 (Series Race 13) – 69 laps*
* 69 laps or one lap after 4:15pm
AUS TELEVISION SCHEDULE – SEVEN NETWORK
Times subject to amendment – please check local guides
Saturday 18 June 2011
3:00pm – 5:30pm (V8 Supercars Race 1) on Seven – All Cities
Sunday 19 June 2011
12:30pm – 3:00pm (V8 Supercars Qualifying and Support Races) on 7mate – Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane
3:00pm – 5:00pm (V8 Supercars Race 2) on 7mate – Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane
12:00pm – 2:30pm (V8 Supercars Qualifying and Support Races) on 7mate – Adelaide
2:30pm – 4:30pm (V8 Supercars Race 2) on 7mate – Adelaide
10:30pm – 1:00pm (V8 Supercars Qualifying and Support Races) on 7mate – Perth
1:00pm – 3:00pm (V8 Supercars Race 2) on 7mate – Perth
SUNDAY NIGHT RACE REPLAYS – SEVEN NETWORK
Times subject to amendment – please check local guides
10:30pm – 12:30am (V8 Supercars Qualifying and Race 2) on Seven – Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth
11:00pm – 1:00am (V8 Supercars Qualifying and Race 2) on Seven – Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth
RACE REPLAYS – SPEED CHANNEL (FOXTEL 505 & 206)
Times subject to amendment – please check local guides
Saturday 18 June 2011: 9:30pm – 11:00pm (Race 1 Highlights)
Sunday 19 June 2011: 12:30pm – 2:00pm (Race 1 Highlights)
Monday 20 June 2011: 8:00am – 9:30am (Race 1 Highlights)
Monday 20 May 2011: 9:30am – 11:30am (Race 2 Highlights)
Tuesday 21 May 2011: 8:00pm – 9:30pm (Race 1 Highlights)
Tuesday 21 May 2011: 9:30pm – 11:30pm (Race 2 Highlights)
Wednesday 22 May 2011: 3:30am – 5:00am (Race 1 Highlights)
Wednesday 22 May 2011: 5:00am – 7:00am (Race 2 Highlights)
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