Todd Kelly

Jack Daniel's Racing driver Rick Kelly has risen to seventh in the 2009 V8 Supercar Championship Series points standings after a strong comeback drive on the final day of the Nikon SuperGP on the Gold Coast today.
But it could have been so much better for the driver of the #15 Jack Daniel's Racing Holden Commodore around the Surfers Paradise street circuit.

Kelly qualified in third position in qualifying this morning and was running in second place in the opening race of the day when black flagged for a small and intermittent fuel leak.

Rather than continue his challenge for the lead, Kelly was forced to make a second pit stop to fix the problem, ruining any chance he had of securing a podium result or victory.

Jack Daniel's Racing driver Rick Kelly has made ground over today's proceedings at the Nikon SuperGP at the Surfers Paradise street circuit on the Gold Coast today.
Kelly was disappointed to qualify in 16th position yesterday but moved up the order in his #15 Jack Daniel's Racing Holden Commodore today, finishing 12th in the first race today and then climbing through the pack to be ninth in the second and final stage of today's proceedings.

Rick Kelly now lies just seven points behind Lee Holdsworth for seventh place in the championship standings entering Sunday's two 34-lap hitouts.

Todd Kelly endured a tough day aboard the #7 Jack Daniel's Racing Holden Commodore, crashed out at the third corner on the opening lap of today's first race by Jason Richards.

The impact damaged Todd Kelly's steering, forcing him to bring his battered car home as best he could, finishing in 19th position.

Todd then struggled with further problems in the second race of the day, finishing in 23rd position to now lie 17th in the points tally.

Jack Daniel's Racing team-mates Todd and Rick Kelly have qualified 14th and 16th respectively at the Nikon SuperGP on the Gold Coast today.
The brothers were disappointed to miss out on an appearance in tomorrow morning's Top 10 Shootout but are confident that there is more to come from both Jack Daniel's Racing Holden Commodores around the 4.47-kilometre street circuit.

In the first practice session of the day Todd Kelly was fastest, also catching attention for making contact with the tyre wall at the second chicane. The clash only caused cosmetic damage, with two new doors fitted to the #7 Jack Daniel's Commodore.

It was a hectic qualifying session today with several on-track incidents preventing drivers from completing a fast lap around the Surfers Paradise street circuit.

Mark Winterbottom won provisional pole in qualifying today ahead of Jamie Whincup and Russell Ingall.

Jack Daniel's Racing team-mates Todd and Rick Kelly are keen to begin an end of season charge when they take on a gruelling new format at the Nikon SuperGP on the Gold Coast this weekend.
The brothers formed their own new team at the start of this season and after showing strong pace at both the V8 Supercar endurance events at Phillip Island and Bathurst, are now determined to put some impressive results on the board in their Jack Daniel's Commodores.

Rick Kelly sees these last four events of the season as crucial to building momentum to take into next season.

"It's critical for us to have strong races in these last four events because the teams that are strong in the last four events of one season are often one of the leading teams at the start of the next year," said Rick Kelly.

Please see below comment from Jack Daniel's Racing driver Todd Kelly (2006 Gold Coast event winner) and Jack Daniel's Racing Team Manager Joe Bremner regarding this afternoon's announcement that next weekend's Nikon SuperGP will consist of four 150-kilometre V8 Supercar races as a result of the withdrawal of the A1GP category from the event program.
Todd Kelly - #7 Jack Daniel's Racing Holden Commodore:

"I think this year's Gold Coast event will be as good as we've ever had there," said Todd Kelly.

"There are a lot more races for us with our V8 Supercars and there is going to be a lot more action and I've got no doubt that we will put on a show that everybody will be pretty happy with.

"The V8 Supercar Series is really ‘hotting up' now.

"We've got guys that are fighting for championships and guys like Rick (Kelly, brother and Jack Daniel's Racing team-mate) and myself that have really come on in this second part of the year in our Jack Daniel's Commodores but are not a chance at the championship.

Kelly Racing driver Todd Kelly sees a new long-term relationship with industry leaders Autodesk and KarelCAD as an important step in the growth of the new V8 Supercar team.
Kelly Racing's engineering team will use Autodesk digital prototyping software for all the team's CAD (computer aided design) development well into the future, with maintenance and assistance coming from KarelCAD's professional support team.

KarelCAD engineer James Tennent has already begun to work with Kelly Racing's engineering team on further improving the team's design capabilities.

The deal has been welcomed with open arms by Kelly Racing's engineering team of Todd Kelly, David Swenson, Barry Ryan, Oscar Fiorinotto, Peter Craik and James Small.