Todd Kelly

Todd Kelly (born 9 October 1979) is a retired Australian professional racing driver who competed in the Virgin Australia Supercars Championship. He is the older brother of fellow Supercars driver and former Bathurst 1000 winner, Rick Kelly. He drove for the Holden Racing Team from 2003 until 2007, and Perkins Engineering in 2008.[1] Since 2009, he has been with his family team Kelly Racing (now known as Nissan Motorsport Australia).[2] He is the youngest driver to have reached 100 starts in the series.

For the football player, see Todd Kelly (American football).

Todd Kelly
Todd Kelly in 2009
Nationality	Australian
Born	9 October 1979 (1979-10-09) (age 40) Melbourne, Victoria
Supercars Record
Series championships	0
Races	541
Race wins	19
Podium finishes	58
Pole positions	7

Supercars Championship

Season 2001 was Kelly's first full-time season in V8 Supercars (although he had previously raced in the category in 99' and 00'), he drove for the K-Mart Racing Team alongside Greg Murphy. He and Greg finished 3rd at Bathurst. He finished his first full season in 6th[3] and broke through for his first-round victory in the last round of the season at Sandown Raceway. Season 2002 saw him take four second places, and fifth[4] in the championship.

After two successful years with K-Mart Racing Team, the departure of Jason Bright left a vacancy at the Holden Racing Team in 2003. Kelly and new team-mate Mark Skaife won the Sandown 500 in very wet conditions and in controversial circumstances with a late race tussle with the Team Dynamic Commodore of Jason Richards and Simon Wills. Kelly finished ninth[5] in the championship, behind his brother Rick in eighth. Kelly was part of the two-car Holden Monaro assault by Garry Rogers Motorsport on the 2003 Bathurst 24 Hour race. With co-drivers Jason Bright, Greg Murphy and Peter Brock, Kelly won the race with Murphy crossing the line only 0.3505 seconds ahead of the teams lead car (and the 2002 race winner) driven by Garth Tander and co-driven by Steven Richards, Cameron McConville and Nathan Pretty.

Season 2004 saw him finish behind his brother in the Championship, but this time two places up in seventh.[6] Season 2005 was Kelly's most successful year in V8 Supercars, claiming five podiums. Three of them were wins, including the Bathurst 1000 with Mark Skaife which was Todd's 26th birthday and also the V8 Supercars China Round, the series' only ever event to be held in China. He finished 4th[7] in the standings, ahead of teammate Skaife in fifth.

Kelly's 2006 season was fairly average throughout the first six rounds, albeit largely through mechanical failures, however after strong driving performances at the next three rounds including second in both the Sandown 500 and Bathurst 1000 when he paired up with younger brother Rick Kelly. Kelly's seat was taken by HSV Dealer Team driver Garth Tander. He was just starting to show some of the form that had him finish fourth in the championship in 2005. He finished the year off strongly, with a second and first place in the last two rounds which left him in sixth place[8] at the end of the year.

Todd Kelly (left) and Garth Tander at a press conference in 2007

Season 2007 was another average year for Kelly, he won the Clipsal 500 but was not able to continue that edge. He came second at Phillip Island and at the Grand Finale, finishing seventh[9] in the championship. In doing so, helped secure Garth Tander the driver's championship. At the conclusion of the season, Kelly announced he would drive for Jack Daniel's Racing from 2008 onwards after a five-year association with HRT.[10] This move is believed to have also been supported by 2007 champion Garth Tander confirming he will be moving from HSVDT to HRT.

Kelly's 2008 proved to be inconsistent. After starting the year well at Clipsal, where he finished fifth for the round, the middle part of the season saw a lack of the results expected from Kelly. After a major suspension geometry issue was resolved during the course of the Bathurst weekend, the car showed a sudden turn of speed. He finished 4th at Surfers Paradise, then scored a stunning race win in the wet at Symmons Plains,[11] the first victory of any kind (race or round) for a Perkins Engineering entry since 2006. Kelly finished the season in 12th position.[12]

Career results

The Nissan Altima L33 of Todd Kelly at the 2015 Clipsal 500 Adelaide

Kelly at his final Supercars event, the 2017 Coates Hire Newcastle 500

Season	Series	Position	Car	Team
1996	Australian Formula Ford Championship	12th	Van Diemen RF93 Ford	Todd Kelly
1997	Australian Formula Ford Championship	3rd	Van Diemen RF95 Ford	Todd Kelly
1998	Australian Drivers' Championship	3rd	Reynard 92D Holden	Todd Kelly
1999	Shell Championship Series	36th	Holden VS Commodore Holden VT Commodore	Holden Young Lions
	Australian Drivers' Championship	8th	Reynard 92D Holden	Greg Murphy Racing
2000	Shell Championship Series	17th	Holden VT Commodore	Holden Racing Team
2001	Shell Championship Series	6th	Holden VX Commodore	K-mart Racing
2002	V8 Supercar Championship Series	5th	Holden VX Commodore	K-mart Racing
2003	V8 Supercar Championship Series	9th	Holden VY Commodore	Holden Racing Team
2004	V8 Supercar Championship Series	7th	Holden VY Commodore	Holden Racing Team
2005	V8 Supercar Championship Series	4th	Holden VZ Commodore	Holden Racing Team
2006	V8 Supercar Championship Series	6th	Holden VZ Commodore	Holden Racing Team HSV Dealer Team
2007	V8 Supercar Championship Series	6th[13]	Holden VE Commodore	Holden Racing Team
2008	V8 Supercar Championship Series	12th	Holden VE Commodore	Jack Daniel's Racing
2009	V8 Supercar Championship Series	18th	Holden VE Commodore	Kelly Racing
2010	V8 Supercar Championship Series	18th	Holden VE Commodore	Kelly Racing
2011	International V8 Supercars Championship	18th	Holden VE Commodore	Kelly Racing
2012	International V8 Supercars Championship	22nd	Holden VE Commodore	Kelly Racing
2013	International V8 Supercars Championship	25th	Nissan Altima L33	Nissan Motorsport
2014	International V8 Supercars Championship	22nd	Nissan Altima L33	Nissan Motorsport
2015	International V8 Supercars Championship	17th	Nissan Altima L33	Nissan Motorsport
2016	International V8 Supercars Championship	14th	Nissan Altima L33	Nissan Motorsport
2017	Virgin Australia Supercars Championship	18th	Nissan Altima L33	Nissan Motorsport

Bathurst 1000 results

Year	Team	Car	Co-driver	Position	Laps
1998	John Faulkner Racing	Holden Commodore VS	John Faulkner	DNF	136
1999	Holden Young Lions	Holden Commodore VT	Mark Noske	6th	161
2000	Holden Young Lions	Holden Commodore VT	Nathan Pretty	5th	161
2001	Kmart Racing	Holden Commodore VX	Greg Murphy	3rd	161
2002	Kmart Racing	Holden Commodore VX	Greg Murphy	13th	159
2003	Holden Racing Team	Holden Commodore VY	Mark Skaife	8th	161
2004	Holden Racing Team	Holden Commodore VY	Mark Skaife	14th	159
2005	Holden Racing Team	Holden Commodore VZ	Mark Skaife	1st	161
2006	HSV Dealer Team	Holden Commodore VZ	Rick Kelly	2nd	161
2007	Holden Racing Team	Holden Commodore VE	Mark Skaife	DNF	149
2008	Perkins Engineering	Holden Commodore VE	Shane Price	17th	157
2009	Kelly Racing	Holden Commodore VE	Rick Kelly	8th	161
2010	Kelly Racing	Holden Commodore VE	Dale Wood	20th	161
2011	Kelly Racing	Holden Commodore VE	David Russell	24th	154
2012	Kelly Racing	Holden Commodore VE	Tim Blanchard	18th	154
2013	Nissan Motorsport	Nissan Altima L33	David Russell	DNF	20
2014	Nissan Motorsport	Nissan Altima L33	Alex Buncombe	7th	161
2015	Nissan Motorsport	Nissan Altima L33	Alex Buncombe	20th	156
2016	Nissan Motorsport	Nissan Altima L33	Matthew Campbell	DNF	157
2017	Nissan Motorsport	Nissan Altima L33	Jack Le Brocq	7th	161

Bathurst 24 Hour results

Year	Team	Co-Drivers	Car	Class	Laps	Overall Position	Class Position
2003	Garry Rogers Motorsport	Peter Brock Greg Murphy Jason Bright	Holden Monaro 427C	A	527	1st	1st

References

1. "Todd Kelly Confirmed at JDR". 5 December 2007. Retrieved 4 March 2009.
2. "Jack Daniel's teams up with Kelly Racing". Holden Motorsport. 2 March 2009. Archived from the original on 26 May 2011. Retrieved 3 March 2009.
3. "2001 V8 Supercar Championship Final Points". V8 Supercars Australia. Retrieved 4 March 2009.
4. "2002 V8 Supercar Championship Final Points". V8 Supercars Australia. Retrieved 4 March 2009.
5. "2003 V8 Supercar Championship Final Points". V8 Supercars Australia. Retrieved 4 March 2009.
6. "2004 V8 Supercar Championship Final Points". V8 Supercars Australia. Retrieved 4 March 2009.
7. "2005 V8 Supercar Championship Final Points". V8 Supercars Australia. Retrieved 4 March 2009.
8. "2006 V8 Supercar Championship Final Points". V8 Supercars Australia. Retrieved 4 March 2009.
9. "2007 V8 Supercar Championship Final Points". V8 Supercars Australia. Retrieved 4 March 2009.
10. Jack Daniel's Racing Signs Todd Kelly Archived 23 July 2008 at the Wayback Machine
11. "Hot Toddy goes down well in cold Tassie". 22 November 2008. Archived from the original on 21 October 2009. Retrieved 4 March 2009.
12. "2008 V8 Supercar Championship Final Points". V8 Supercars Australia. Retrieved 4 March 2009.
13. 2007 V8 Series results Archived 3 March 2010 at the Wayback Machine

External links

• Official Todd Kelly Website
• Todd Kelly Kelly Racing Profile
• Todd Kelly Holden Motor Sport Profile
• Todd Kelly V8 Supercars Official Profile

Sporting positions
Preceded by Greg Murphy Rick Kelly	Winner of the Bathurst 1000 2005 (with Mark Skaife)	Succeeded by Craig Lowndes Jamie Whincup