Todd Kelly

Team-mates and brothers Todd and Rick Kelly both see their #7 Jack Daniel's Racing Holden Commodore as one of the cars to watch in the L&H 500 at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit in Victoria this weekend.
The Bathurst-winning brothers will team-up for only the second time in their career for this year's V8 Supercar endurance events, starting with the Phillip Island event this weekend.

The Kelly brothers paired up for the endurance events in 2006, finishing a close second in both races.

Teaming up again in the first season of their brand new team, Todd and Rick are one of only three combinations in this year's endurance events where both drivers are previous Bathurst winners, together with Jamie Whincup and Craig Lowndes (Car #888) and Greg Murphy and Mark Skaife (Car #51).

Older brother Todd Kelly says that the Kelly combination is one of the dark horses for this year's V8 Supercar ‘season of endurance'.

"We are definitely the dark horse for these two endurance races," said Todd Kelly.

"It's not going to be easy and there are going to be a lot of pairings that are going to be extremely hard to beat and a lot of good quality, competitive and reliable cars.

"But we are quietly confident. If we're going to have any success in our first year, these two events are going to be the ones where we've got half a chance of having a really good run.

Hi All,

After the heat at Queensland last round I decided to take a couple of days off to spend with my family at the Snow.

The last time I snow skied I was only 10 years old. I really enjoyed the challenge of learning something new and also loved watching our little boy Mason learn the basics at ski school.

During our stay we experienced 120km winds and -5 degree temp, but we didn't mind so much because the fresh snow was fantastic.

I definitely wasn't the most stylish skier on the mountain however I did look the part thanks to Smith Optics who kindly fitted us all out in goggles, beanies and helmets....thanks David!

To view all photos click here

Now we look forward to the first of the endurance races at Phillip Island Sept 11-13.

All the best,
Todd Kelly

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Jack Daniel's Racing driver Todd Kelly has charged up the order late in the race to grab sixth place in the opening race of the Queensland House and Land.com 300 at Queensland Raceway near Ipswich today.
The finish made him the highest placed Holden Commodore in today's race and lifted his one spot in the 2009 V8 Supercar Championship standings into 18th place after 15 races.

Jack Daniel's Racing has now scored 14 top 10 finishes so far this season, with seven top 10 race results each for Todd and Rick Kelly.

Todd Kelly made his fifth Top 10 Shootout appearance for the season earlier in the day, starting today's 33-lap race from 10th position on the grid.

Kelly elected to start the race on his harder Control tyres, switching to four of the softer Sprint tyres at his fuel pit stop on lap 12.

Jack Daniel's Racing team-mates Todd and Rick Kelly see this weekend's Queensland House and Land.com 300 at Queensland Raceway in Ipswich as crucial to their build-up for this year's V8 Supercar endurance events.
With the long distance races at Phillip Island and Bathurst a clear priority for the first year team this season, the Bathurst winning brothers see the Ipswich event, the final opportunity to test their Jack Daniel's Commodores under race conditions before the enduros, as a vital part of their preparations for the 'season of endurance'.

Currently eighth in the V8 Supercar Championship Series standings, Rick Kelly says that the Queensland Raceway layout requires a unique car set-up, putting drivers and engineers to the test over the course of this weekend, where two races will be held.

I finally got to give my new KLX450R a workout on the weekend.

I went and picked my new machine up around a month ago and due to the workload at the race team up until now all I have been able to do is put some stickers on it and dream about going for a ride.

I and 5 other guys from Kelly Racing went up into the hills of Neerim South for the day. I have ridden dirt bikes since I was 2 and a half years old in Mildura on the farm. We have a good variety of riding conditions there from sand hills to tight tracks through the scrub. This ride however was an absolute eye opener. After 27 years of riding, to experience the scenery and different conditions and obstacles we had to negotiate in the mountains was unbelievable.

To view photos from the weekend click here

Jack Daniel's Racing team-mates Todd and Rick Kelly have put in a day of solid work in practice for the Norton 360 Sandown Challenge in Melbourne today.
The brothers worked hard with their race engineers Barry Ryan and David Swenson and the entire Jack Daniel's Racing crew in preparation for this weekend's two races.

On combined times, Rick Kelly ended the day with the 13th fastest time aboard the #15 Jack Daniel's Racing Holden Commodore and Todd Kelly was 24th fastest in his #7 Jack Daniel's Racing Holden Commodore, with effort spent on race set-ups rather than fast lap times.

Earlier today, Dale Wood drove Rick Kelly's #15 Jack Daniel's Commodore in Part A of practice, allocated to drivers in the bottom 50 percent of the championship standings or ‘co-drivers' who are not full-time drivers in the category.

Jack Daniel's Racing drivers Todd and Rick Kelly will adopt two different approaches in their quest for a podium finish at the Norton 360 Sandown Challenge in Melbourne this weekend.
Rick Kelly, who lies eighth in the 2009 V8 Supercar Championship Series standings, is determined to climb back up the leaderboard after suffering his first DNF for the season in Townsville.

Rick Kelly dropped two spots in the points standings as a result, but is confident that the #15 Jack Daniel's Racing Holden Commodore has the pace required for strong results in this weekend's two races.

While Rick Kelly aims at jumping into the top five in the points tally, brother and team-mate Todd Kelly has different priorities.

Some horror luck so far this season sees Todd Kelly down in 21st in the points standings, but that stat does not truly reflect the pace of the #7 Jack Daniel's Racing Holden Commodore.

Todd Kelly, a two-time Sandown event winner, is now concentrating hard on the engineering development of the team's cars as well as pushing hard for outright race results.

Kawasaki is proud to come onboard as the newest sponsor of V8 Supercar driver Todd Kelly.

Currently driving for the Jack Daniels Racing Team, Todd Kelly has achieved much in his career to date including a 4th place finish overall in the 2005 V8 Supercar Championship Series and in the same year, won what many regard as one of the most important events on the Australian sporting calendar, the Bathurst 1000.

Through the sponsorship agreement, Todd now rides a 2009 model Kawasaki KLX450R motorcycle.

Todd says, "Due to my racing schedule, I haven't had a chance to fully enjoy the KLX450R but from the time I have spent on it, I'm very impressed. I'm very happy to have Kawasaki on board as a personal sponsor and look forward to working with them in the future."

Kawasaki National Sales and Marketing Manager, Rob Walker says, "Kawasaki is excited to enter into a relationship with such a talented sportsman as Todd Kelly. Todd is a very well respected driver who has achieved some outstanding results in his career so far. It is only fitting that Kawasaki, the brand that now boasts the number 1 selling motorcycle in Australia, enters into a working relationship with a champion like Todd Kelly. Kawasaki looks forward to a long and productive relationship with Todd."

 

Kelly Racing V8 Supercar driver Todd Kelly has given Red Rooster kart giveway winner Robert Arnold a one-on-one coaching lesson at Sun City Kart Raceway in Townsville, Queensland today.

Kelly conducted a one-on-one coaching session with the Moranbah resident (just west of Mackay, Qld) this morning as part of the 30-year-old's ultimate motorsport prize, courtesy of Red Rooster, the Townsville Bulletin, HotFM and Kelly Racing.

Arnold won the Red Rooster karting competition in the lead-up to the Dunlop Townsville 400, with his mother Patricia lodging the winner entry form from the Townsville Bulletin at a Red Rooster store and forwarding the prize to her son.

Mr Arnold, an avid motorsport fan, had already arranged to attend the inaugural Dunlop Townsville 400 over the weekend, so extended his stay by one day to get some hands on tips from Kelly.

Jack Daniel's Racing has suffered a wretched day in the second race of the Dunlop Townsville 400 in far north Queensland today.
Drivers Todd and Rick Kelly are now determined to turn the team's attentions and efforts to bouncing back with a return to the front end of the field at the Norton 360 Sandown Challenge in Melbourne on July 31 to August 2.

Both drivers retired from today's 72-lap race with engine issues.

Rick Kelly was holding down ninth position when he was forced into retirement with only six laps remaining due to engine issues.

Having run as high as fifth and been in the top 10 for almost the entire race after starting from 12th on the grid aboard the #15 Jack Daniel's Racing Holden Commodore, Rick Kelly's engine lost power, forcing him to shut it down and fall painfully short of his eighth top 10 finish from 12 races this season.

To view photos from the weekend click here

Jack Daniel's Racing team-mates Todd and Rick Kelly have scored a double top 10 in the first race of the Dunlop Townsville 400 in far north Queensland today.
Rick Kelly finished seventh and brother Todd Kelly 10th in the first V8 Supercar race at the brand new 2.9-kilometre street circuit on what was a solid day for Jack Daniel's Racing.

Today's results give the new team 12 top 10 finishes so far this season, with Rick scoring his seventh top 10 result and Todd his fifth.

Rick Kelly jumps Lee Holdsworth in the 2009 V8 Supercar Championship Series points standings to now sit in sixth position, while Todd Kelly improves one position to be in 19th place after 11 races.

Rick Kelly today gained 12 positions aboard the #15 Jack Daniel's Racing Holden Commodore after starting from 19th position for the first of two races this weekend.

With a combination of consistency and a well-executed pit strategy, Rick Kelly roared up the order and was effectively third at one point in the race.

To view photos from Townsville click here

Jack Daniel's Racing team-mates Todd and Rick Kelly both agree that today's first day on track at the Dunlop Townsville 400 was a great challenge and a lot of fun.

The brothers both hit the new 2.9-kilometre track in anger for the first time today aboard their Jack Daniel's Racing Holden Commodores.

The challenging layout received a tick of approval from both drivers, who enjoyed the challenge of learning a brand new layout on what is proving to be a popular street circuit.

Jack Daniel's Racing drivers Todd and Rick Kelly see this weekend's Dunlop Townsville 400 as an opportunity to put their new team at the front of the pack.

The Bathurst-winning brothers have started a new V8 Supercar operation in 2009 and with that comes the task of building up experience and information for their brand new cars and crew.

But at a new venue such as Townsville, which will host its first V8 Supercar event this weekend, the advantage of past experience enjoyed by rival teams is greatly reduced.

Rick Kelly has delivered Jack Daniel's Racing its fourth top five finish for the season, but that elusive first podium for 2009 has slipped through Kelly's fingers in the final race of the SKYCITY Triple Crown at Hidden Valley Raceway in Darwin today.
Kelly ran second for the majority of today's race, on-track for the first podium finish for the new Kelly Racing operation, only for a late and controversial Safety Car called for the stalled car of Tim Slade to bunch the pack and slash the significant gap that Kelly had established between himself and third placed Garth Tander.

Kelly was unable to hold onto second once the race was restarted with nine laps remaining, with Craig Lowndes pushing Kelly wide onto the grass shortly after the restart and Alex Davison taking advantage of his soft tyres to pass Kelly's #15 Jack Daniel's Racing Holden Commodore with four laps to go.

In the end, Kelly was able to withstand a challenge from Tander to hold onto fourth, equalling his best finish for the season, following a solid ninth place in qualifying earlier in the day.

Kelly rises one spot in the 2009 V8 Supercar Championship Series standings, passing Mark Winterbottom to again lie in seventh place on the points table after 10 of 26 races.

Jack Daniel's Racing team-mate Todd Kelly qualified in fourth position earlier in qualifying, his third consecutive top five qualifying performance.

The 29-year-old made a solid start to today's 69-lap race but his #7 Jack Daniel's Racing Holden Commodore soon developed an engine misfire.

To view images from the weekend click here

Todd Kelly has delivered Jack Daniel's Racing its third top five finish of the 2009 season with fifth place in the opening race of the SKYCITY Triple Crown at Hidden Valley Raceway in Darwin today.
Kelly had a consistent day aboard the #7 Jack Daniel's Racing Holden Commodore, qualifying fifth in the Top 10 Shootout earlier in the day before netting the new operation's ninth top 10 finish of the year.

Kelly, who was second fastest in qualifying prior to the shootout, started today's 34-lap race on the soft ‘option' tyres before switching to the control tyre at his pit stop on lap 16.

The result moved the 29-year-old up two spots in the V8 Supercar Championship Series standings into 20th position. 

Rick Kelly qualified in 18th position aboard his #15 Jack Daniel's Racing Holden Commodore, opting to save his softer ‘option' tyres for tomorrow's race.

As a result, Kelly was one of the highest finishing cars in today's race that completed the journey without using the faster soft tyre, keeping that ace up his sleeve for tomorrow.

To view images from the weekend click here

Jack Daniel's Racing team-mates Rick and Todd Kelly are both right on the pace with the fifth and eighth fastest times respectively in practice for the SKYCITY Triple Crown at Hidden Valley in Darwin today.
Todd Kelly was fastest in Part A and Part B of practice at the 2.9-kilometre circuit today aboard the #7 Jack Daniel's Racing Holden Commodore, ending the day with eighth fastest time overall.

Crucially for Todd Kelly, he did not use an additional set of tyres in Part C of practice, saving them for qualifying later in the weekend.

Rick Kelly used Part B of practice to work on car set-up options for the #15 Jack Daniel's Racing Holden Commodore, before hitting the top of the timesheets part way through Part C of practice as the first driver to break into the one minute and nine seconds time bracket.

Rick Kelly, who finished the day as fifth fastest, is confident ahead of tomorrow's elimination qualifying and 34-lap race, but did flag the idea of allowing each car a set of dedicated, new practice tyres at each event.

To view Hidden Valley images click here

Although we didn't bring home any trophies from Tassie, it was definately the most promising weekend we have had so far this year.

If a few things had of fallen into place we could have seen both Jack Daniels cars on the podium.  The guys have all worked extremely hard on the performance areas of the cars and we are really starting to get somewhere with our pace and consistency.

It was especially great for the team to have the #7 car on the front row of the grid in race 2 and car #15 break the lap record.

Preparations are going to plan for Darwin and I am really looking forward to some warmer weather!

This weekend I am heading to Berri for the SA ski racing titles.

The outboard that Rick and I usually race is in bits at the moment so we are borrowing Dad's 6 litre inboard.  We will be competing in 3 out of the 6 races over the weekend.  I must admit I am not looking forward to jumping in the freezing cold Murray River however a long weekend away will be fantastic.

I will update the website early next week and let you know how we went.

To view photos from the weekend click here

Hope you all enjoy you're weekend too.

All the best,

TK   

Jack Daniel's Racing driver Todd Kelly has scored his first top five finish of the season with a strong drive to fifth place in the first race of the Falken Tasmania Challenge at Symmons Plains Raceway in Launceston today.
Kelly, a race winner in Tasmania last year, qualified his #7 Jack Daniel's Racing Holden Commodore in 11th position but used a combination of strategy and strong car pace to move up into the top five.

The 29-year-old entered pit lane at the end of the first lap to complete his compulsory 50-litre fuel stop but elected to keep his soft tyres fitted for the entire 42-lap race.

The decision paid off and Kelly, who also survived a door-rubbing clash with James Courtney down the back straight, progressively moved up the order to grab fifth place, his third top 10 finish this season. The finish lifted Kelly four spots in the points into 19th place in the standings.

Meanwhile Rick Kelly smashed the Symmons Plains Raceway V8 Supercar lap record with a 51.4713 second time on lap six of today's race. The previous mark, set in 2005 by Steven Richards, was 52.0170 seconds.

In practice today both Jack Daniel's Racing Holden Commodores faired well, with Todd Kelly 10th fastest in Rick Kelly finishing the day in 14th position on the timesheets after the two major segments of practice held today.

Todd Kelly, who won the Saturday race at the 2.4-kilometre circuit last year, was also able to participate in the first segment of practice, allocated for rookie drivers, endurance event co-drivers and those outside the top 15 in the championship standings.