When you’re a hired driver, it’s essential to stay focused on the task at hand and not let minor bumps in the road divert your attention elsewhere. 

For instance, when you are making a run and a competitor comes into your lane and crashes your brand-new car, you stay focused. It’s just a bump in the road.

Or, when you are working your way to the final round of the NHRA U.S. Nationals, and a brake pressure sensor breaks, sending your car off the racing surface at the end of the track and leaving uncertainty as to whether you will have to go to a back-up car, it’s no cause for concern. It’s merely a bump in the road. 

For a while this season, DHL-sponsored driver J.R. Todd had to wonder if he’s driving his Toyota Funny Car on the pothole-infested roads of Detroit, Michigan. 

“You have to have and keep a short-term memory,” said Todd. “You have to keep your head down and keep moving forward. Funny Car racing is so humbling that when you win, that’s why you see me celebrate like I do because I enjoy it. I’m passionate about it. It’s my livelihood. And then, when you go on a long streak without winning, you start questioning, what am I doing wrong? What’s going wrong? You want to win for your guys because they work way harder than I do at this, and they deserve it.”

The season started on such a high note for Todd as he drove to a runner-up finish at the season-opening NHRA Gatornationals in Gainesville, Fla. 

Then came the bumps. A first-round loss at the NHRA Arizona Nationals dropped him to seventh in the points. 

In the midst of qualifying at the NHRA Winternationals in Pomona, John Force lost control of his Funny Car and crashed into Todd, destroying his car. Todd began a string of first-round exits, including a DNQ at the Vegas Four-Wide that dropped him out of the top ten in points for the first time since moving to the Funny Car division. 

“Earlier this season when we were getting our teeth kicked in, that’s no fun,” Todd said. “At the end of the day, driving a nitro Funny Car is the most fun I could ask for, but the competitive side of me wants to win races. You’re not out there just to make runs down the track; you want to win races and contend for championships. 

“We weren’t in a position to do that earlier this year for a lot of reasons, so it wasn’t the most fun then.”

In one of his Rocky movies, Sylvester Stallone once said, “It’s not how many times you get knocked down. It’s how many times you can get knocked down and keep moving forward.”

At the NHRA New England Nationals, Todd pulled himself off the canvas and reached the semi-finals in seven of the next nine events. 

“Now, going rounds, winning a race, and making moves in the points is a lot of fun,” Todd said. “It gives you confidence as a driver and makes you want to get back on the track as quick as possible.”

The success of Indy, coupled with the earlier win in Sonoma, vaulted Todd into fifth place in the points. It’s been a strange journey to get to where he wanted to be anyway.

“That’s kinda the goal I set at the beginning of the year: be in the top five going into the Countdown,” Todd said. “Somehow, we made that happen – it’s definitely been a roller-coaster season up to this point, but I feel like in the second half of the season, we turned the corner and made some big gains. We still have a lot of work to do, but we’re in the hunt now. For these last six races, you just let it all hang out and make it happen.”

Hanging out is what happened a lot in a season a lesser determined team would have given up on. Todd has learned miscues are part of the process, but one he refuses to accept. 

“That’s where the frustration in me comes out,” Todd said. “It’s not fun losing. You show me somebody out here that enjoys losing says it’s okay. I’ll show you a loser.

“I feel like I’m really tough on myself. I’m probably my hardest critic because I expect the best out of myself, and I always strive to be better than I was the week before. So, I’m just always looking for ways to improve what I can do inside the car. And when I screw up, I’ll be the first one to tell these guys, ‘Hey, I’m sorry. You deserve better.” 

“There’s been plenty of times that these guys have saved me, and I just want to repay them as much as I can with turning on wind lights. And that’s what I keep saying. Connie Kalitta hired me to drive race cars and Scott’s car and to compete for wins.”

And compete for wins no matter how many potholes stand in his way.