Todd Robertson Takes Runner-up Honors at NHRA U.S. Nationals
Harrison TWP, MI – Sometimes one race can make up for a less than spectacular season but, when that one race is the U.S. Nationals it takes 
things to a different level.
The U.S. Nationals, for a drag racer, is the equivalent to Daytona, the Super Bowl, or dare I say, Lord Stanley’s Cup. So, when Todd Robertson made his tremendous run to the final round at the 60th Anniversary NHRA U.S. Nationals this past Labor Day, it could be looked at, by some, as an impressive accomplishment equal to as if the Detroit Lions made a run to the Super Bowl. Okay, not really! For Robertson and his ProPower Team, based outside of the Detroit area, it took plenty of hard work and a lot of determination and a partial “re-inventing of the wheel or transmission in this case”.
Robertson, who works closely with Darren Mayer of DMPE (not only for engine but transmission development as well), has been struggling being one of only a few drivers in the NHRA alcohol classes to run a torque converter driven Lenco transmission. “Our combination is definitely still under development, whereas the clutch equipped cars have a lot of data and experienced crew chiefs referring to notes from many years of past runs, and with the increased horsepower from DMPE that’s required to be competitive in this class it takes a lot of patience, talent and a bunch of hard work in the shop. While Darren’s vast array of race vehicle data knowledge continues to be of great help in creating a race winning combination, my Ace In The Hole is that I am very lucky to have such great diversity within my crew consisting of a detail oriented Crew Chief, top engine builders, mechanical engineers in the Big 3 world, a top fabricator from the Pratt and Miller race team and so on, but something we all have in common is a passion for the sport and burning desire to WIN,” said Team Owner/Driver Todd Robertson.
After defeating Brea, California’s John Lombardo Jr. in round one Robertson was then paired with Multi-Time Top Alcohol Funny Car Champion, Tony Bartone. It was very clear on this pass that all the hard work to the combination is starting to become more evident as Robertson put Bartone on the trailer with a .007 reaction time and a winning E.T. of 5.722 to Bartone’s losing but faster 5.713, that’s less than a tenth of a second! In drag race terms, that’s known as a “Hole Shot Win.” In the Semi-Finals Robertson got by Holbrook, Massachusetts’ Fred Tigges giving him a shot at the most prestigious trophy in all of racing, an INDY Wally!
The Michigan based team of Robertson knew they needed to be on top of their game in the finals against one of the alcohol classes’ legends, Jay Payne of Claremont, California. “There’re so many things going on between rounds. From studying the data to mechanical maintenance, to packing the parachutes and being inviting to all the fans it’s easy to get lost but thanks to my crew we were able to keep it all together and put our best foot forward in the finals. I had him to just short of the 1000 ft. mark, thats where we ran into some parts failure. It wasn’t a bad tune up or anything we did wrong,” said Robertson.
The ProPower Top Alcohol Funny Car uses an onboard computer (data acquisition system) to record critical parameters during a run. The “Computer” is not allowed to activate any functions during a run. It just records Fuel flow, Drive shaft and Engine RPM, Wheel Speed, Forward and Lateral G-Force’s, Oil & Blower pressure’s, Exhaust gas temperature and many more. A crew chief/tuner will then use this information along with collected track temperature as well as atmospheric conditions to set the tune up for the following run. Yes, it is ROCKET SCIENCE!
“I grew up around Detroit. My Dad worked for Chrysler. Cars have always been my life and to be able to say I raced against Jay Payne in the finals at Indy is something very special to me. After the race Jay and I talked about our pass, he is very cool! The great ones always are. They remember the hard work it took to get them there, I’d like to think we earned some respect because everyone knows we do a lot of the design, fabrication and R&D ourselves. We live off of the motto, Built not Bought. The American way and the way it should be,” stated Robertson.
