Last updated July 24^th, 2004.

• First Round Exit Does Not Deter Paton’s Optimism: (06-30-05)
  
  Bud Park Edmonton, Alberta - Despite Todd Paton's first round loss to Rick Cooper in Edmonton, the team leaves with more optimism than they have had at any time this year. A thrown blower belt ended their day Sunday earlier than they expected though. “We were well out in front when the belt came off around 400 feet out. The car would of run another 4.70 according to the data, which would have been more than enough for Cooper’s 5.12 et”.
  
  After qualifying #2 with a career best 4.70 / 314 mph run, Todd and father Barry thought they may have put their season long gremlins aside. “It was good to get the monkey off our backs, stated Paton, not only for us but for the IHRA as well. They want us to succeed as bad as we do. Being the only full time Top Fuel team from Canada, it is important to represent the country well, especially with three events hosted in Canada. It shows we were capable. Now we only have to keep on doing it right”.
  
  “Unfortunately, we did not get another qualifier at Edmonton, as the rains came and prevented another attempt. If we would have had one more run in qualifying, it is likely the belt would of come off then and we could of made the necessary adjustments so it did not happen in elimination’s.
  
  “We dropped a hole and it loaded up with fuel, causing the belt to come off. There was no engine damage, so we will go the next event at the AC Delco Canadians Nationals at Toronto Motorsport Park with a bunch of confidence”.
  
  Todd and Barry want to thank their current sponsors Tim Hortons (John Hoey's franchise stores in Ontario) Lucas Oil Canada, Summit Racing, Crosbie Industrial Services, and their new tool sponsor, Jet Equipment Canada. They also want to thank the sponsors who came on board for Edmonton, including Eaton Cutler/Hammer, Shaganappi Chevrolet (Calgary) and Dave's Diesel Repairs (Edmonton).
  
  
• Todd Paton final qualifying pit notes: (06-25-05)
  
  Bud Park Edmonton, Alberta - Paris Ontario's Todd Paton had an ear to ear grin Friday night after the first round of Top Fuel qualifying, at Edmonton's Budweiser Motorsport Park.
  
  The team has had mechanical woes affect them on almost every run this season, yet they have perservered. Early incremental numbers on past runs have looked good, but the car would not run to the finish line. Last night that all changed when Todd, on the last pro run of the night ripped off a career best 4.703 @ 314.39. The run was .001 shy from being good enough for the top spot in the field, but I don't think Todd was too upset about that.
  
  "That was a good run for this team, and we needed it badly. A number of companies came on board in the last two weeks to help us with the costs of this 2000 mile trip. Our regular sponsors were behind us as well, but the costs of going to an event this far away are anywhere from $5,000 - $10,000. Just to qualify would pay those costs, but running a Top Fuel Dragster is not cheap. The slogan, "What could possibly go wrong in 4 seconds", is one that fits this class perfectly.
  
  "With the second round of qualifying looking like it will be cancelled due to rain, It was very important to get a good hit in. All the data gathered from that run will help tremendously in our tune-up for the rest of the year, and hopefully the mechanical gremlins will also be a thing of the past. RIght now if the field was not altered we are scheduled to run Rick Cooper in round one."
  
  Todd's crew will have to do double duty this weekend since the normal routine in Top Fuel is 8 -10 guys. This weekend, the crew is a bare bones six counting Todd and his dad Barry. Brother Tony is away this weekend. "Our crew here this weekend, Jamie Wildgoose, Mark Morris, Bob Ball and KC Kovacs will be up to the task, that I have no doubt."
  
  The sponsors to thank include John Hoey's Tim Horton's franchises in Ontario, Lucas Oil Canada, Summit Racing, Crosbie Industrial Services, and their new tool sponsor Jet Equipment Canada. For their season long support they would not be out, period! The companies that came on board for this race are Eaton Cutler/Hammer, Shaganappi Chevrolet (Calgary) and Dave's Diesel Repairs (Edmonton).
  
  Saturday night Pit Note: The call was made at 7:00PM Saturday that the the fields have been set after Friday's lone session. Persistent rain started 40 minutes before the 1st Saturday pro session was set to begin, and never stopped.
  
  Final qualifying sees Todd as the #2 qualifier. He will face #7 Rick Cooper in round one. The first round of professional elimination's start at 11:00 am, with the first round of Top Fuel set for 1:00pm.
  
  
• Electrical Gremlins Sideline Paton at "the Rock": (04-25-05)
  
  Two-time IHRA World Champion Todd Paton had a tough outing with the Tim Horton's/Crosbie Industrial Services Top Fuel Dragster at the recent Advance Auto Parts Spring Nationals in Rockingham, NC.
  
  After bad weather forced the cancellation of Friday's lone qualifying session, the team focused their efforts on Saturday's two remaining sessions.
  
  Unfortunately on Saturday's first qualifying attempt, a broken magneto drive prevented the Todd from making a complete run. The team made the necessary repairs prior to the final qualifying session, and were optimistic about making the 8-car program.
  
  Under the lights, Todd launched the Tim Horton's-backed dragster with the front wheels high in the air. Just past the 60' mark, the car began smoking the tires. Todd quickly pedaled the car, but again broke traction shortly afterwards. He pedaled the throttle once more, but this time the car backfired the supercharger, and Todd coasted downtrack, just missing the show.
  
  "It's really disappointing for all of us on the team," a dejected Paton said after the run. "We have the best parts, the best crew chief and the best crew, but luck hasn't been on our side for the last couple of events. We'll probably take the next event off, re-evaluate our program and try to come back strong for the race in Grand Bend."
  
  The team had planned to run this weekend's NHRA event in Bristol, Tennessee, but will sit out in an effort to rebuild the car and regroup for a return to the IHRA series.
  
  
• Paton Racing Teams Up With Misty Mountain Spring Water: (01-11-05)
  

  Two-time IHRA World Champion Todd Paton will enjoy additional support from Misty Mountain Spring Water for his Top Fuel Dragster at this year’s O’Reilly Thunder Valley Nationals. The company, a division of K-VA-T Food Stores, Inc., will be supporting Todd and his team for their 2005 campaign.

  This will be Todd’s second full year behind the wheel of a Top Fuel Dragster. After a successful career in Nitro Funny Car, which included victories over drivers like John Force, Ron Capps and Whit Bazemore, the 35 year-old Bluff City resident made the switch to the Kings of the Sport midway through the 2003 racing season, when he finished 3rd overall in the IHRA Points Chase.

  “I’m very excited to have Misty Mountain Spring Water join forces with us for the upcoming season,” Todd said. “They are a great company who produces a terrific product.”

  “With the crew having only 75 minutes to rebuild the car between rounds, they can get overheated quickly and Misty Mountain Spring Water keeps them cool and hydrated, so they can perform their duties to the best of their abilities. It also keeps the driver cooled off after a 4-second, 300 mph run.”

  Todd has had memorable performances at the Bristol Dragway. On the very run that clinched his 1993 IHRA Alcohol Funny Car World Championship, his car suffered an engine fire which nearly destroyed the car. In 2002, he drove the popular “Nitro Fish” Funny Car to round wins over Ron Capps and Dean Skuza, before coming up short in the semi-finals to Gary Densham, in one of John Force’s cars.

  Todd will have his Top Fuel car on display at several Food City stores in the Tri-cities region prior to this year’s Thunder Valley Nationals, which is scheduled for April 29-May 1, 2005.

  Headquartered in Abingdon, Virginia, Misty Mountain Spring Water is owned and operated by K-VA-T Food Stores which also operates 89 retail food outlets throughout the tri-state regions of Southeast Kentucky, Southwest Virginia and Northeast Tennessee.

• Paton Finishes Points Chase in Seventh Place: (10-22-04)
  

  Looking to continue their pace of career-best runs over the last couple IHRA events, Todd Paton and the Tim Hortons/Lucas Oil Products Top Fuel Team entered the Bethesda Softworks World Finals looking to improve on their eighth-place standing in the IHRA Hooters Points Series.

  Prior to the event, Todd traveled to Winston-Salem, NC to do a couple of live radio interviews as well as a television interview, promoting the event. On Friday, he met with reporters to review the new XBox game, IHRA Drag Racing 2005 which features Todd and the Tim Hortons/Lucas Oil Dragster.

  With an astounding 16 Top Fuel Dragsters attempting to make the 8-car field, the team knew any miscue could cost them a chance at racing on Sunday. With that in mind, the team put their 4.78-second tune-up in from the Maryland event.

  The car launched hard, and then suddenly dropped a cylinder, resulting in severe tire shake, forcing Todd to abort the run. After reviewing the computer data from the run, Todd's father Barry decided to change superchargers. Saturday's run produced a similar, though less severe, shake caused by another "dropped" cylinder. Todd pedaled the car to salvage the run, but his 5.31 fell short of the 4.91 bump.

  The team made radical changes to the fuel system in an effort to cure the problem prior to Saturday's final qualifying session. Once again, Todd cautiously staged the Tim Hortons/Lucas Oil Products dragster. When the green lights flashed, Todd's car leapt forward with flames high in the air, and began to streak downtrack. Unfortunately, as the car approached halftrack, the engine fell silent, taking the team's last hope of qualifying with it. Back in the pits, a post run inspection revealed that the crank hub had failed, causing the blower belt to snap and effectively shutting off the engine.

  "It's unfortunate that we had a weekend like this following two great events. We had a couple of components fail us this weekend, which made it very tough to tune the car. Fortunately we moved up one position in the points series during qualifying. Now we'll take everything back to our main shop in Paris to completely strip the car and go over every part that's in our inventory."

  "We are grateful to our fans and sponsors for all the support they have given us this year, and we promise to come out swinging for the 2005 IHRA Top Fuel Championship. We look forward to running for the championship with the assistance of Tim Hortons, JJ Hoey, Lucas Oil Products (Canada), Crosbie Industrial, Mac Tools, Fast Eddie Racewear, Optima Batteries, Execulink, Crane Cams and Cargo Pal."

• Paton's NHRA Top Fuel Start: (10-12-04)
  

  After having competed in the NHRA's Alcohol Funny Car and Nitro Funny Car categories, Todd Paton added a third class start to his impressive racing resume by qualifying his Tim Hortons/Lucas Oil Products Top Fuel Dragster in the 14th position at the Lucas Oil Nationals in Reading, PA.

  In previous years, Paton had experienced good fortune at Maple Grove, recording his first 5-second pass in an alcohol funny car in 1993, reaching the finals in 1997, and beating John Force with the "Nitro Fish" Nitro Funny Car in 2002.

  Blower belt problems hampered the team throughout qualifying, holding them to an early shutoff run of 5.11 at only 222 mph. "NHRA's 85% rules requires the fuel teams to increase the overdrive on the superchargers. As a result, some of the geometry on the blower belt and the pulleys that drive it are being pushed beyond their design specification. We'll have to make some changes to our pulley system following this event to allow us some latitude in our tuneup," said Paton. "For now, we'll go with what we've got. We'll put our best blower on and hope that the belt can stay on for a full quarter of a mile."

  Todd's first round opponent was Scott Kalitta. At the green light, Kalitta and Paton left with one-thousandths of a second of each other, and the Tim Hortons dragster pulled alongside Kalitta's Jesse James-backed entry. As the cars approached the first timing cones, Paton's entry began to shake the tires hard, forcing Todd to lift off the throttle, and let Kalitta go on for the win.

  "I'm pleased with our first race under the new NHRA rules. We qualified and got a chance to see what we need to do in order to run with 'the big dogs' at only 85% nitro," Todd said. "We'll revamp our supercharger program, and get the required belts and pulleys to get ready for Vegas."

  The Paton Racing team will now head to the World Finals, the last IHRA event of the season, in Rockingham, NC October 22-24.

• Paton Runs Career Another Best: (09-27-04)
  

  Following their career-best performance at the North American Nationals in Epping, New Hampshire, the Tim Hortons/Lucas Oil Products Top Fuel team entered the President's Cup Nationals with high expectations for the event.

  On Friday night, Todd managed to run the first four-second Top Fuel pass of the event with a 4.93, 288 right off the trailer. The pass held up for fifth spot going into Saturday's qualifying rounds.

  Paton improved slightly on his first pass Saturday to a 4.91 at only 278 mph in the heat of the day. The team had their eyes set on the Night of Fire session, knowing that conditions would be good later on.

  Unfortunately, the team didn't get the shot they wanted, as an ignition malfunction just off the starting line allowed the motor to "hydraulic" under the impressive fuel load, lifting the cylinder heads off the motor and causing an impressive backfire that's sure to make the highlight reel.

  "We really don't know what happened," a dejected Paton said after the mishap. "It's the same motor we've had in the car for two or three races now. Obviously, we're going to change motors, the supercharger and cylinder heads, and before first round tomorrow morning, it's getting every component in the ignition system replaced."

  The team's 4.91-second run kept them in the field in the number 7 position setting up a meeting with Doug Foley, who had been running consistent 4.7-second passes throughout the weekend.

  Todd rolled the Tim Hortons/Lucas Oil Products dragster into the beams against Foley who was already staged. At the green, both cars left together with Foley taking a slim .062 to .064 second advantage. The Tim Horton's dragster made that up in the first 60 feet of the track, and both cars appeared to be locked together as they ran side-by-side down the quarter-mile. Just past the 1000' mark, Paton's car dropped two cylinders, slowing him slightly and allowing Foley to slip by to take a narrow 4.777 to 4.780 second victory.

  "What a drag race," Paton said after the run. "I thought we won, because I didn't see Doug at all, but he must've snuck past me when it began dropping cylinders. He had the candles lit all the way, running 310 mph, while ours was only 298. I would've liked to have won for our fans, sponsors, and the crew who worked all n ight to put this car back together after last night's explosion, but we're thrilled with the 4.78, and we know that it's got more in it if we can keep all the cylinders lit right to the finish line."

  The next event for the Tim Hortons/Lucas Oil Products team will be the rain-delayed NHRA Lucas Oil Nationals in Reading, PA on October 8-10.

• Paton Runs Career Best: (09-12-04)
  

  The Tim Hortons/Lucas Oil Products Top Fuel team entered the North American Nationals excited about their 4-second performance at Grand Bend's Thunder by the Beach event.

  During Saturday's first qualifying session, the team once again encountered traction difficulties. Shortly after the car left the starting line, it began hazing the tires. Todd quickly pedaled the car, but it didn't hook back up, forcing Todd to abort the run.

  The team approached the second run much the same way they did one week prior, when they came back from a tire smoking run to record a nice 4-second lap. The theory worked, as the Tim Hortons/Lucas Oil Products car left the line and charged hard towards the finish line, covering the quarter mile in 4.87 seconds at 304.19 mph, the team's first run over 300 mph since switching to Top Fuel Dragsters.

  "That was a great run for all of us," an elated Paton said afterwards. "We ran over 315 mph back in our days with the funny car, but half of our crew has joined the team since we switched to Top Fuel, so it's their first 300 mph run as well. They're really pumped!"

  Due to the outstanding atmospheric and track conditions, Todd's 4.87 placed him eighth in the 8-car field. "It's a quick show this weekend, and I'm really proud to be a part of it. We've got Clay in round one again, so we're hoping for a repeat of Cayuga's first round."

  Todd brought the Tim Hortons/Lucas Oil Products dragster to the line against Clay looking to repeat the first round upset he scored over the IHRA World Champion in front the partisan crowd in Cayuga, Ontario 4 weeks earlier.

  At the green light, Todd took a narrow .069 to .083 second starting line advantage, and stayed even with the world champ through the first part of the course. At half-track Clay's car began to pull slightly ahead of Todd's black and yellow dragster, and maintained that lead to score a 4.69 to 4.84 win.

  "It was a great drag race - we just came up on the short end of it," Todd said. "We've got nothing to hang our heads about. We ran our first 300 last night, and we just ran a career-best elapsed time (4.841 seconds) in the first round. Things are looking up for us. We'll go to Reading with some confidence in our tune-up, and make some good laps before returning to the IHRA circuit in Budd's Creek, Maryland the following week."

• Paton Sets Low ET and Top Speed at the 'Bend: (09-04-04)
  

  Todd Paton faced off against Jack Ostrander in a two-race exhibition as the highlight of Grand Bend Motorplex's "Thunder by the Beach" on Labour Day Weekend.

  In the first round, Paton's Tim Hortons/Lucas Oil Products dragster broke traction early in the run, forcing Todd to pedal the throttle. Todd frantically hammered the throttle two or three times in an effort to regain traction. Finally, the car made a violent move towards the centreline, and Todd wisely lifted off the throttle for good, coasting downtrack and giving the first round to Jack who ran 5.22 seconds while obliterating an engine at the finish line.

  For the final round, Todd and the crew decided they would back the tune-up down considerably, even backing the amount of nitro in the fuel mixture down from the legal maximum of 90% to around 87%.

  The car responded, as Todd streaked downtrack while Jack was forced to lift. The header flames from the Tim Hortons/Lucas Oil Products dragster shot over the rear wing as Todd streaked downtrack and record low elapsed time and top speed of the event with a 4.94, 294 mph run.

  "We learned a lot from tonight's runs," Todd said afterwards. "I thought it might go a low 5, but I'm very pleased that we were able to give the crowd a four-second run. It was an excellent way to close the show for the capacity crowd."

  The next event for the Tim Hortons/Lucas Oil Products team will be the IHRA North American Nationals in Epping, New Hampshire on Sept. 10-12.

• Coming off their victory over Clay Millican in the first round of the AC Delco Candian Nationals, Todd Paton and the Tim Hortons/Lucas Oil Products Top Fuel team felt that they had snuck out from under the "black cloud" that has seemed to plague them this season.

  The Paton Racing team had spent much of the two weeks between races changing over to a new "slide valve" fuel delivery system, similar to systems found on the cars of Clay Millican and Tony Schumacher in the NHRA.

  Friday's first qualifying run was a scheduled shut-off run, in an effort to ensure that the car would have the proper fuel volume for a full pass during the following session.

  The difference in power was incredible, as the black and yellow Tim Hortons dragster lifted the wheels hard into the air, and carried them for nearly the full 60', before coming back to earth. As Todd approached the designated point in the track, his 7000 horsepower dragster began to smoke the tires, causing him to lift off the throttle earlier than planned.

  "What an unbelievable change," an excited Paton said after the run. "It picked up the wheels and charged hard through the first second or so. We'll take a look at the computer data and see what changes are necessary for tonight."

  During Friday's "Night of Fire", the Tim Hortons/Lucas Oil car was once again on a great run until the blower belt came off at about the 1000' mark. Paton coasted to a 5.00 at only 247 mph.

  "Another good run, until about the 4-second mark," said Todd. "The car was a little soft in the early part of the track, only because we didn't want to smoke the tires again like it did earlier. It locked up the clutch really hard at half-track, but dropped a couple holes after that, which is why the belt came off. It was going 255 mph at half track, so we definitely scrubbed off a lot of speed and elapsed time when the belt gave up."

  With one session remaining Saturday morning to try and bump their way into the field, the Paton Racing team pulled out all the stops. More clutch, more fuel, and more timing was the decision based on the data from Friday. Todd gently bumped his 300"long dragster into the staging beams, and then put the motor on the "high side", signalling that he was ready to once again tackle the quarter-mile.

  For the third consecutive time, the Tim Hortons/Lucas Oil Dragster pulled the wheels hard of the line, and streaked through the 60' timers. As the car made its way downtrack, the tires became unsettled, and the 36" tall Goodyear tires once again began to spin, forcing Todd to abort the pass.

  "It's a tough position to be in," Paton said in the pit area following the run. "It's hard to come up with a combination in three runs, but when you make a change like this midway through the season, you run the risk of not qualifying while you work out the bugs. I just feel really bad for the crew who worked so hard to get the car ready for this event, especially after beating the world champ at the last event. At least the data shows that we are close; we just got a little too aggressive on that last run. We knew we had to dig deep to come up with a career-best performance, and we just went a bit over-center."

  "The good news is that we were on the best run we've had all season up until that point. The incremental times are almost exactly what we were hoping for. We'll go back and do some more research and possibly some testing before the World Nationals in Norwalk."

  The Paton Racing team is proud to be sponsored by Tim Hortons, Lucas Oil Products, Crosbie Industrial Services, Mac Tools, Fast Eddie Racewear, Crane Cams, Optima Batteries, Cargo Pal.com, Performance Racing News, and DragRaceCanada.com.

  
  
• A Paton Positive: (08-13-04)
  
  Round one of racing at Toronto produced what was probably the single most important round victory in the Top Fuel racing career of Canada's Todd Paton so far. At the midway point of only his second season racing Top Fuel dragsters, Paton was able to accomplish what few on the IHRA circuit can claim a win over Clay Millican. While the round win was not pretty by most standards, the still very significant winlight was an inspiration to the family-operated Tim Hortons racing team.

  "We knew we were the underdog and our car didn't exactly run like it should have," reflected Todd Paton. "But Clay had problems too and we were able to take advantage this time. It was our third round win of the 2004 season and it came in front of that big home crowd and anytime you can take out the World Champion -- thats special. Our whole team took inspiration from it and even though we had some clutch problems the next round and lost out -- we fell we are moving forward. The whole event (with Doug Foley winning in an upset) just goes to show you that as long as you qualify you can win on Sunday."

  The Patons will now head to fabulous and revamped U.S. 131 Motorsports Park for this weekend's IHRA Torco Northern Nationals. Since Toronto, the team dragster has undergone some important upgrades including the new titanium shielding around the driver's compartment.

  "Our car is a 2-piece McKinney car so after the race at TMP we unbolted it and sent the front half to New Jersey for some upgrades," added Todd. "The rest of the car stayed in Paris so we could do all the servicing. It looked a little weird in our shop because all we had was six or seven feet of racecar to work on."

  The Paton Racing team in 2004 is receiving valuable associate sponsorship from Tim Hortons, Lucas Oil (Canada), Crosbie Industrial Services, Crane Cams and Dave Szybunka (Dave's Diesel Repair).
  

• Paton Rebounds In Front of Hometown Crowd: (08-01-04)
  
  Following a disappointing event in Milan, Michigan, Todd Paton and the rest of the Paton Racing team worked long and hard to ensure a better outing at the AC Delco Canadian Nationals, where last year the team ran their career best elapsed time en route to a narrow loss in the semi-finals.
  
  During Friday's first session, the Tim Horton's/Crosbie Industrial/Lucas Oil Products dragster was on what looked to be a decent run until the header flames began to "mix up" as Todd approached half-track. With questionable weather forecast for Saturday, Todd legged it on through to a 5.17 at only 276 mph. Upon further inspection, the team found that a plastic air fitting had shaken loose, and caused the fuel system to run incredibly lean, rewsulting in a significant loss of power and considerable engine damage.
  
  Saturday's rain cleared up early in the day, and the Tim Horton's team took advantage of the conditions, posting good early numbers, before smoking the tires at the 300' mark. The team decided to back down the combination for Saturday night's final qualifying session. Unfortunately, Todd's run was over before it began, as the Tim Horton's/Crosbie Industrial/Lucas Oil Products sheared the axle drive plate during the burnout, forcing Todd to abort his final attempt, and sit on the sidelines for a second event to see if he would get bumped from the show.
  
  This time, fate smiled upon the Paton team as their 5.17 stayed in the show, setting up a first round match with defending IHRA World Champion Clay Millican.
  
  Sunday's weather produced tricky traqck conditions once again. This time, Todd and the team were better prepared. At the green light, Todd took a .045 to .068 advantage, but dropped two cylinders just past the 60' mark. In the other lane, Clay's dragster began smoking the tires, and while he tried to recover, Todd continued to streak towards the finish line, giving the Tim Horton's/Crosbie Industrial/Lucas Oil Products dragster a monster victory in front of the predominantly Canadian crowd.
  
  "That was a huge win for our fans, sponsors and the guys on the team. It's been a rough couple of weeks since Michigan, and to come back with a win over the world champion in front of our hometown crowd is really special. Our shop is only 25 miles from herre, and many of us grew up around this facility. We're excited."
  
  The team's celebration proved to be short-lived, as Paton came up short in his second round match with eventual winner Doug Foley. In spite of another significant reaction time advantage (.074 to .206), Todd's dragster suffered the same fate as Clay's had one round earlier, striking the tires almost immediately, allowing Foley to dodge a bullet.
  
  "It's unfortunate that we were unable to capitalize upon the momentum we had after the win over Clay. We had Foley where we needed him, but the car had a different plan for us. Nonetheless, we're very pleased with the weekend, and we look forward to adding more round wins to our season total at the next race in Martin, Michigan."
  

• Thunder by the Beach!: (06-18-04)
  
  Todd Paton turned in a strong showing at the IHRA Mopar Canadian Nationals this past weekend at the Grand Bend Motorplex in Grand Bend, Ontario.
  
  On Thursday before the event, Paton gave some of the local residents of London, Ontario, a bit of a preview of what they could expect at Grand Bend. In spite of some lousy weather, the Paton Racing team fired up their 7000 horsepower dragster under the awning, and hit the throttle a couple of times, causing the crowd to jump back as they heard, many for the first time, the awesome power of a Top Fuel engine.
  
  After trying to shatter the windows in the John Labatt Centre, Todd and the rest of the team set about preparing the car for Friday's qualifying session. The team made numerous changes to the car, including a new fuel pump, designed to flow even more nitromethane into their 500 cu. in. Hemi.
  
  The Tim Horton's/Lucas Oil Canada dragster launched hard, and pulled just past the 1000' mark, where Todd backed out of the throttle and coasted to a fine 4.94 second lap at only 237 mph(!).
  
  "The car was on perhaps the smoothest run I can remember. It left great, and really took off when it locked up the clutch. My brother Tony came over the radio and told me to lift, because the header flames began to get a little mixed up. It was the right call, as one of the fuel bypass valves had stopped functioning, and the car was beginning to slow. It's just a shame that it had to happen on that run. The car was running over 253 mph at the eighth-mile mark, and got there 4-hundredths of a second quicker than it ever had before."
  
  Saturday's attempts to improve on their 4.94 both ended in tire smoke, the second time due to a broken oil line that caused quite an impressive fire, but virtually no damage to the Tim Horton's dragster.
  
  Sunday's first round pitted Todd against rookie Doug Foley. At the green light, Todd took a .040 to .081 advantage. Paton's car developed problems by the 330' mark, allowing Foley to streak out in front. Determined not to give up, Todd began pedaling and pumping the brake in the cockpit, trying to coax his mount to the finish line after noticing Foley's car begin to falter. At the stripe, Todd took a 5.40, 267 mph victory over Foley's 5.42 at only 221 mph.
  
  "It was weird," Todd said after the round. "We had problems early in the run, and I was just about to lift when I saw him slow down a bit. I was hoping I could catch him, and it was very close at the finish line. I've never bracket raced before, but I took the stripe and stared at the win light on the wall to make sure I had won."
  
  In the second round, Paton took on 3-time and reigning IHRA world champion, Clay Millican. After leaving virtually together (.079 to .083), Paton's car went into serious tire shake, while Clay sped away to a 4.75, narrowly missing the top end cones.
  
  The semi-final finish helped Todd salvage his points total following to disastrous DNQ's. The former IHRA Funny Car world champion currently sits seventh in the IHRA Hooters Racing Series. The next event for the Tim Horton's/Lucas Oil CanadaTop Fuel Dragster will be the Rocky Mountain Nationals in Edmonton, Alberta on July 2-4.

• Lucas Oil Products Signs on as Associate Sponsor: (06-11-04)
  
  Lucas Oil Canada has signed on as an associate sponsor of Todd Paton's Tim Horton's-backed Top Fuel dragster. New signage on the front of Canada's Quickest Car will be in place in time for the upcoming IHRA Mopar Canadian Nationals in Grand Bend Ontario.
  
  "This is very exciting for us," Todd said regarding the announcement. "Forrest and Dwayne Lucas, along with Don Baker here in Canada have supported our race team since our days with the Nitro Fish funny car. Their commitment to our team and willingness to expand their involvement speaks volumes about the company, their product, and their interest in Canadian motorsports. We began using Lucas Oil Products exclusively in our race cars in 2002, and it's now in every vehicle we have, including our tractor trailer and our own personal vehicles."
  
  Lucas Oil also sponsors many other series in Canada and abroad, including Flamborough Speedway, the NHRA's Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series, International Hot Boat Association, and the American Tractor Pulling Association. Lucas Oil Products are available at better auto parts stores, truck stops and Canadian Tire.

• Top Fuel Full Circle: (06-10-04)
  
  When Todd Paton suits up for his first qualifying run on Friday during the IHRA Mopar Canadian Nationals, it will mark the first anniversary for him and his Tim Hortons-sponsored team in the Top Fuel category...

  A lot has happened in the past year for the Paris, Ontario-based Paton Racing team. With one year of Top Fuel experience under their belt that included both high and low points, the aspiring Canadian Pro team is now poised for bigger and better things.

  "This event will mark one year almost to the day of our switch to Top Fuel," Todd affirmed. "We've had our growing pains for sure but we've also learned a lot and gained valuable experience. Much of the last year was a transitional period for us trying to apply what we knew about Funny Car racing to Top Fuel racing. Top Fuel is a much different animal and sometimes we found out the hard way. Now (in 2004) we have what I consider to be a full blown Top Fuel dragster tune-up. It's a whole new combination and we are dealing with considerably more horsepower then we've ever had before. We have the very latest in cylinder head technology -- the newest generation Veney heads that are identical to what the top NHRA fuel teams are running. Delivering fuel properly and effectively through them is currently our biggest challenge. We made some good progress in that department at the last race in Virginia. Although we did not qualify there we did run a 4.99 secs even though the car broke a main fuel line 3.5 secs into the run. We think we have put a lot of the little stuff away that was bugging us."

  Todd's expectations for his return to Grand Bend are simple: "Last year we qualified well, but this year we are poised for career best numbers and to go some rounds," he said. "For a Canadian Top Fuel team there is nothing more important than doing well at the Canadian events. We want to put on a great show for the folks at Tim Hortons, Crosbie Industrial Services and Lucas Oil Canada, especially here at home.".

• Paton Racing "Nitro Intern" Program: (05-08-04)
  
  In an effort to help give young drag racing enthusiasts the opportunity of a lifetime, Top Fuel racer Todd Paton announced today the creating of the Paton Racing Nitro Intern program.

  “I can’t tell you the number of resumes and requests I receive either via email or in person from fans who want to become part of a race team,” said Todd. “Several of our best crewmembers have come from academic co-op programs. Over the years, some members of our crew have moved to other teams. Currently, two of our former crewmembers now work on the Top Fuel cars of Bruce Litton and Brandon Bernstein.”

  For those individuals looking to break in to the fast-paced world of professional drag racing, this program will provide them with the background knowledge, experience and opportunity to build a career in the sport.

  “Many crewmembers have gone from working on cars to driving them. Look at Larry Dixon Jr. and Eric Medlen. I’m not saying that I’ll give up the seat of our Top Fuel car, but we will give our interns every possible opportunity to learn and experience as much as possible about what it takes to run a professional drag racing team. What they do with that knowledge is totally up to them.”

  “Our intern program is like many other internships; an opportunity to join the team for no pay, long hours of hard work, but a good time and a unique experience with a few perks along the way,” Paton remarked.

  Qualified interns will be fully trained for the specific tasks they will be performing at the races. They will travel with the team to each event for the balance of the IHRA season, where they will each receive a full event pass, crew uniform, food and drink, and a unique "behind-the-scenes" view of what it takes to run a 7000-horsepower Top Fuel car. Todd also indicated that there would be special awards given to some of the hardest-working individuals at the conclusion of the 2004 IHRA season.

  When asked about what kind of applicant they have in mind, Todd offered, “We’re looking for are a couple of enthusiasts who are familiar with the sport, willing to travel and work from dawn until the work is done.” Possible positions range from wiping pans to servicing clutch and building engines.

  So if you’re a die-hard drag racing fan, a mechanic bored with doing emissions testing or just looking for an opportunity to get “on the other side of the ropes” and would like to be considered for this program, send an email to intern@funnycar.net or a letter to: Racing Intern, c/o Paton Racing, 1 Victory Lane, RR#1, Paris, Ontario N3L 3E1.

  Added Todd, ”In your correspondence, tell us a little about yourself. We’re not looking for resumes but if you have one send it along. We're going to pick those who we feel will be a good fit and will consider every application. Good luck, and I look forward to having you join our team.”

• Paton Comes Close: (03-31-04)
  
  Todd Paton came thisclose to capturing his first IHRA Top Fuel title this past weekend at the Amalie IHRA Nationals in San Antonio, Texas.

  Paton, driving the Tim Horton's/Crosbie Industrial Services Top Fuel Dragster qualified fifth in the show with a 4.88, 288 mph blast. All together, 20 dragsters attempted to make the field, which ended up with a bump time of 5.02 seconds.

  In the first round, Todd took out Tim Cullinan, despite losing a cylinder early in the run. Paton's 5.00 handled Cullinan's equally-troubled 5.07. "I was surprised that we got passed that round," Paton said. "At 4-tenths of a second, our car put out the #4 cylinder, and I felt it lose power. I looked over, and decided to keep my foot firmly planted on the throttle."

  The semi-finals provided the most emotional round of the event. At the conclusion of his winning run against Grant Flowers, Bruce Litton suffered a tire failure just past the finish line which sent his dragster into the retaining wall at over 300 mph. Bruce was airlifted from the scene, and released from the hospital later that afternoon. However, for Todd, who witnessed the accident as he was sitting in the burnout box waiting to fire his car, it meant that the winner of his matchup with Clay Millican would be the uncontested winner of the event.

  "It was frightening to watch Bruce's car literally disintegrate in front of my eyes," Paton remarked."It was a very sobering moment for both myself and Clay. I walked around my car and double checked every nut, bolt and tire as a precaution while we waited to hear updates on Bruce's condition. As I got back in the car [Speed Vision announcer] Johnny Rocca stuck his head in the cockpit to tell me that Bruce was conscious, alert and responding to the doctors at the hospital. Having that information allowed me to relax and put my faith back in to the chassis builders and safety equipment manufacturers who build outstanding products that allowed Bruce to survive a nasty high-speed crash like that."

  When racing resumed, Paton took on the 3-time IHRA champ, and almost stole one for Canada. Millican smoked the tires, and pedaled the throttle in his dragster to regain traction. Meanwhile, Todd was frantically trying to get his machine to accelerate. Unfortunately for Paton, the studs which fasten the supercharger to the engine's manifold sheared on the launch, robbing the engine of the required blower boost necessary for maximum horsepower. Todd's resulting 5.97 handed both the round and event win to Clay.

  "There are disappointing losses, and then there's that one," a disappointed Paton said aterwards. "Clay practically gave us the win, and we let it slip through our hands. I honestly thought we had him beat at half-track, but he managed to stick the nose of his car in front just as we approached the finish line. I couldn't understand why our car wasn't accelerating hard. It didn't feel like I was smoking the tires, yet the car just didn't move. It wasn't until I downloaded the data from the run that I saw our blower boost dropped from our usual 43 pounds on the launch to a dismal 28 psi. Further inspection revealed the sheared blower studs, which explained the dramatic loss of power."

  Despite the loss, the Paton Racing team sits 3rd in the IHRA Hooters points standings. The team's next event will be the IHRA Spring Nationals in Rockingham, NC on April 23-25.

• Paton Just Misses First NHRA Field : (03-24-04)
  
  Canadian Top Fuel racer Todd Paton literally came within thousandths of a second of qualifying for his first ever NHRA Top Fuel show.

  Paton made his NHRA Top Fuel debut at the Gatornationals, the same race where he debuted in Alcohol Funny Car in 1991 and Nitro Funny Car in 2000. Both previous debut performances saw Todd reach the semi-final round in each respective category. Unfortunately, that did not end up being the case this year.

  Paton made his best run in Saturday's first qualifying session, running 4.896 seconds at only 276.75 mph, which stayed in the show until the last qualifying session, when Paton was bumped out of the field which was anchored by Cory McClenathan's 4.893.

  "With Rob Flynn's help, we were able to pick up where we left off last year, performance-wise, even with our new engine and clutch setup," Paton said. "Our goal was to come here and test to establish a solid baseline that we can tune from so that the car won't eat up parts, which we accomplished. It's unfortunate that we didn't stay in, but I feel confident that we'll do well at the IHRA event in San Antonio, which is our primary goal."

• Patons to Employ "Flynn Factor" : (03-16-04)
  Story by Bruce Biegler DragRaceCanada.com
  
  Canadian Top Fuel racer Todd Paton will bring the expertise of reputed fuel tuner Rob Flynn to his racing camp during next weekend's NHRA Mac Tools Gatornationals. Flynn's vast experience is expected to pay dividends....

  Rob Flynn, originally from Edmonton but who now resides in Indianapolis, will be a tuning consultant for Todd and Barry Paton during the Mac Tools Gatornationals at Gainesville Florida next weekend. The move is perceived as an important investment towards the future for Paton Racing who finished 3rd in final IHRA Hooters Drag Racing Series points last season. The Paton's plan to use the NHRA event as a tune-up prior to a full season assault on the IHRA trail which begins the following weekend (Mar. 26-28th) at San Antonio, Texas.

  "We have a bunch of new stuff on the race car and we needed somebody to help point us in the right direction," said Todd Paton. "We have always respected Rob's abilities and when learned he was available -- we hooked him up. Rob has worked with many Top Fuel and Funny Car teams in his career. Most recently he was along side Rick Cassels at Pomona with Scott Palmer's Top Fuel car. That car went a 4.63 (secs)."

  The Paton's deal with Flynn is at present for Gainesville only. The team has not however ruled out re-enlisting him for additional events this season.

  "Rob has other commitments this year with IHRA and NHRA teams," added Todd. "We felt it was the right time for us to invest in some knowledge. In Top Fuel our log book is only so thick and Rob has looked at 100X the computer graphs we have. We did make some progress improving our performance but hopefully Rob can help us "fast track" things. Parts attrition was a problem for us last year and that can take it's toll financially. We think Rob can help us to that end also."

  During his career Rob Flynn has been a crewmember and crew chief for numerous high profile NHRA nitro teams including but not limited too Darrell Gwynn, Don Prudhomme, Del Worsham, Alan Johnson and Cruz Pedregon. Flynn is regarded by many as the next in line to Canadian fuel tuning Hall of Fame members Dale Armstrong and Bernie Fedderly.

• Patons Power Up for '04 Campaign: (02-18-04)
  Story by Bruce Biegler DragRaceCanada.com
  
  Canada’s premier nitro stable, Paton Racing, have revealed details of their racing plans for the 2004 season. Driver Todd Paton and "The Captain", gave DragRaceCanada a bit of a preview of their upcoming sophomore year racing “long & loud” cars....

  “We feel we are a bit ahead of the curve starting out this season compared to last,” said Todd. “This time last year we were busy preparing to take our Nitro Funny Car to the Gatornationals, so our direction for 2004 is much more clear.”

  Despite their rookie status in the Top Fuel class last year the determined Canadian team still managed a 3rd place finish in final IHRA Hooters Drag Racing Series points. That experience holds well for the future.

  “We feel we did well given the fact we were pretty new to this,” added Todd, who sped to a career best 4.85 secs during the past season. “Last year we used a lot of the components from our Funny Car in Top Fuel and in some cases that was not compatible. We found out (the hard way) that a Funny Car tune-up does not necessarily work in a Top Fuel car. Although the motors are virtually identical between a Nitro Funny Car and a Top Fuel Dragster, the way the clutch operates to apply all that horsepower is considerably different. With the difference in weight transfer, you can get after the car earlier in the run than with the funny car. As a result, we feel that we gave up some performance -- particularly in the first half of the track.”

  The Patons have taken significant steps to improve both their performance and minimize parts attrition. Crew chief Barry Paton has been consulting with numerous NHRA Top Fuel racing contacts during the off season. In addition the team has acquired the latest generation clutch assembly from Scotty Cannon, which was subsequently transformed for Top Fuel racing by East/West Engineering. A new “V” belt blower drive similar to that which has been used by Clay Millican’s team is also on tap. Not to be outdone, Todd has taken some dramatic steps to improve the car's weight distribution by trimming 30 lbs off his own frame.

  “We have also done upgrades to our computer system and air timers,” added Todd. “This year the car will be more adjustable and we will have more information to work with.”

  The Patons have confirmed that John Hoey, with his chain of Tim Hortons stores will return for 2004, along with longtime Paton Racing supporter, Crosbie Industrial Services Ltd. The team's associate sponsors, Mac Tools, Lucas Oil Products and Fast Eddie Racewear have also renewed with the team.

  With their help, along with support from a few new sponsors the team is currently in negotiations with, the Patons will target primarily the IHRA tour this year, running all 12 of the Hooters Drag Racing Series events. They will also try their hand in NHRA running the traditional East Coast season opening Mac Tools Gatornationals at Gainesville. The NHRA event near Todd’s new adopted home at Bristol in April is also in the plans.

• Paton Secures Third at "The Rock": (10-20-03)
  When the IHRA's 2003 season began in San Antonio, Texas early this year, Todd Paton and the Paton Racing team were preparing their Nitro Funny Car for another season of NHRA competition. Campaigning a Top Fuel Dragster on the IHRA circuit was something that had never crossed their minds. Yet eight months later, the Paton Racing team found themselves needing to only qualify at the season-ending World Finals to clinch third place in the IHRA Top Fuel points standings
  
  During Friday's qualifying session, Todd appeared to be on a low 4.9-second run when the car dropped a cylinder early in the run. The team radioed Todd and he wisely clicked it off. The team then returned Saturday, and went on to record a 4.89 at 272 mph, dropping a cylinder just past half-track but putting them in the show, and locking in their third place ranking.
  
  That set up a first round match with John Smith, whose Prestone dragster had run 4.80 in qualifying. Paton staged his Tim-Horton's backed dragster in the left lane and waited patiently while Smith's crew had difficulty adjusting the throttle linkage. Smith took a .080 to .106 advantage off the line, but Paton was right alongside Smith to the 1000' mark when Paton's car broke the blower belt, allowing Smith to take the win with a 4.79, 294 mph run to Todd's coasting 4.96 at only 238 mph.
  
  I thought I could catch him," Paton said. "We were side-by-side most of the way down the track, but the belt snapped as we were approaching the finish line, and he jumped way out in front. We're pleased with what we've accomnplished this season. Finishing third in the points without attending the first two events isn't too shabby for a couple of 'funny car guys'. We're looking forward to next year already, and hope to put enough resources together to challenge for the IHRA World Championship."
  
  The Paton Racing team would like to thank the sponsors who have supported their 2003 racing efforts: Crosbie Industrial Services, Tim Horton's, J.J. Hoey, Lucas Oil Products, Fast Eddie Racewear, Fram, Wildgoose Performance, Mac Tools, Chatterson Machine and Millar's Performance Diesel.
  

• President's Cup Post-Race: (09-30-03)
  Todd Paton rolled into Budds Creek, Maryland sitting third in the IHRA Top Fuel World Points standings. A good showing at the President's Cup would virtually lock up that position with one race to go on the 2003 schedule.
  
  During Friday's sole qulaifying session, Todd's Tim Horton's-backed fueler launched hard, but dropped a cylinder shortly past the 60-foot mark. Todd aborted the run, but not before the motor pushed out a head gasket and igniting a small fire behind Paton's 7000 horsepower engine. The team changed the tune-up for Saturday's afternoon session. Once again, Paton's dragster launched hard, and was on a strong run, until it began spinning the tires just past half-track. Paton kept his foot planted on the throttle, and legged it out to a 5.05, 266 mph run.
  
  Sunday's opening round of eliminations saw Todd square off against Danny Dunn. Dunn had qualified with a 4.77 in Saturday's "Night of Fire", so Todd and the rest of the team knew they had to improve over their qualifying effort. Todd cut a deadly .020 light to Dunn's tardy .174, and appeared to be well on his way to victory when his car began to smoke the tires. odd pedaled it a couple of times, and then gave up as Dunn's car stayed planted until just before the finish line, taking an off-pace 5.36 to 10.02 victory.
  
  "The track threw us a curve today," Todd said afterwards. "We thought we had some room to move on the tune-up, but after seeing our car and a few of our competitors go up in smoke, it's obvious that we misread the conditions a bit. It's unfortunate, as we could've run another 5.05 and got the win, but you don't know when you come to the line. We were loaded for bear, and it bit us. Now we have to get ready for Rockingham and make sure we can do well there."

• Solid Outing for Paton Racing at North American Nationals: (09-09-03)
  Todd Paton and the Paton Racing team arrived at New England Dragway in Epping, New Hampshire looking to shake their tire-smoking problems, which had plagued the team since their first round loss in Martin, Michigan. It marked the first time that the Paton team returned to Epping, New Hampshire in nearly ten years. One of their last appearances at this facility saw the team post an impressive victory with their alcohol funny car.
  
  With Top Fuel qualifying held to just two sessions on Saturday, the Paton Racing team knew that they would have to make a good run right away. They hit the tune-up right away, with an early shut-off 4.91 at only 267 mph. During the "Night of Fire", Todd launched hard, and began to shake the tires, so he wisely clicked it off, and the team's 4.91 held on for the number four position.
  
  That set up a match between Todd Paton's Tim Horton's-backed dragster and Don Sosenka's "Mr. Magoo" car. The last time these two met in the first round at Edmonton, it was Sosenka taking the win. This time, Paton took a convincing lead at the starting line, and held on for a 4.88 to 5.76 victory. "I knew it was on a great run," Paton said after the win. "I never saw Don, and then at about 300' our car started to move around a bit. I felt like I was driving the funny car again, working the wheel in the cockpit. I clicked it before the finish line, just to make sure that we didn't hurt the motor, so the speed was down a bit."
  
  The second round saw Todd match up with 2-time world champion and current points leader Clay Millican. The two left virtually together, with Todd taking a slim .002 second advantage, but by half-track, Millican began to pull away as Paton's mount dropped a cylinder. "That's a strong car, and we knew we'd have to come up with something for them," Paton later said. "We leaned out a couple of the cylinders, but it ended up biting us, as we dropped a cylinder and the resulting horsepower loss slowed us considerably. As soon as I saw him pull away, I shut it off."
  
  Paton's semi-final finish put further distance between himself and fourth-place driver Grant Flowers. The team will now travel to Budd's Creek, Maryland for the President's Cup Nationals on Sept. 26-28.
  

• Top Fuelers Light Up Grand Bend's Night of Fire: (08-31-03)
  Todd Paton and Louie Allison split their two-run match race, with Todd taking the first match after a wild, back-pedaling pass while Allison shut off after shaking the tires. "The track was a lot better than we expected," Paton said after the round. "Ron Biekx and his crew did their usual terrific job preparing the facility."
  
  "We were trying something different on the tune-up, but it put a lot of unburned fuel out of the pipes when I tried to launch. The car smoked the tires at the hit of the throttle, but we were able to recover before Louie. It blackened the crank on that lap so we'll have to change motors for the final run tonight."
  
  On the second run, Paton's Tim Horton's-backed Top Fueler again smoked the tires at the hit of the throttle, and this time Allison's mount was able to recover first, bringing an exciting conclusion to Grand Bend's "Night of Fire".
  
  "It wasn't pretty, but I think we put on a show for the fans. They seemed to like seeing these things sideways and out of shape. We were pleased that we found a problem that has been plaguing us at least since Norwalk. I can't wait for Epping now."

• Tough Outing for Paton Racing at the IHRA World Nationals: (08-25-03)
  With the World Nationals featuring the first 16-car IHRA Top Fuel field Todd Paton and the Paton Racing team were hoping to once again tune their Tim Horton's-backed dragster well into the four-second zone. Armed with a new fuel system and a crank-trigger ignition system, the prospects looked very promising for the Canadian team.
  
  On Friday's first lap, the Tim Horton's rail appeared to be on a career-best past, until it smoked the tires just past the 330' mark. "We recorded career-best incremental numbers that matched Bruce Litton's 4.72, but we were a little too aggressive past that point. We'll just try to calm it down a little before it gets there."
  
  Unfortunately, the car never made it to that point, as it smoked the tires during at the hit of the throttle during Saturday's afternoon session. Things didn't go much better during Saturday's "Night of Fire", as a leaking timer bled the CO2 from the air bottle during the burnout procedure. The crew noticed the low reading on the pressure guage, and signaled Todd to shut the car off.
  
  Armed with only the data from their Friday night run, the Paton team faced off against #3 qualifier Josh Starcher. When the lights flashed green, Todd took a slim starting line advantage, but again smoked the tires instantly and shut off. Starcher lost traction about 400' downtrack, but was able to pedal it, and take the win.
  
  "After Friday's run, we were really excited about the car's potential. Unfortunately, we weren't able to get the tune-up softened up enough for the track conditions. We'll use our match race at Grand Bend next weekend to test so we'll be ready for Epping."
  
  A good outing there could lock up Paton's current third place position in the IHRA national points. The North American Nationals are scheduled for Sept 5-7 in Epping, New Hampshire.
  

• Paton Racing "Heats Up" IHRA Northern Nationals: (08-12-03)
  Todd Paton and the Paton Racing team came to the Bethesda Softworks Northern Nationals fresh off a string of consistent 4-second passes from the previous event. Armed with a good tune-up, the team was confident about the car's ability to perform on the tremendous surface at Milan, Michigan.
  
  So confident, in fact, that the team elected to skip the scheduled Friday night session following an exhausting trip to the event, including a much longer than scheduled border crossing. Instead, the team decided to prepare for Saturday's two qualifying sessions.
  
  Paton was first in line for Saturday's afternoon session, but when the team was given the signal to fire, the 7000 horsepower hemi hesitated, and the backfired. The team quickly traced the problem in the ignition wiring, but were unable to complete the repair before their qualifying opponent, Louie Allison, was ready to stage. The team was forced to sit out another session, pinning their hopes on the third and final qualifying session later that evening.
  
  Once again, Paton's Tim Hortons-backed dragster was the first car in the session. This time, the fuel-injected nitro engine roared to life. Paton heated up the tires and staged for what the team hoped would be another 4-second pass to put them into the field.
  
  The car launched hard, and began streaking towards the finish line when just past the 660' mark, the engine began to falter. At 1000', Paton lit up the night sky as the aluminum engine expired in dramatic fashion. Despite coasting across the finish line, Paton made it into the field with a 4.96 at only 263 mph.
  
  "Obviously, that's not exactly how we wanted to do it," a frustrated Paton said after the run. "Coming off a weekend like we had in Cayuga, where the car went down the track four times, and didn't even hurt the spark plugs, we thought we were rid of this gremlin. We've got more engines, and we'll just look at the computer readings to see what caused this."
  
  The 4.96 placed Todd fifth in the 8-car field, placing him opposite Bobby Lagana, Jr. in what would be a rematch of the first round two weeks earlier. Lagana was certainly the Cinderella story of the weekend, running his first ever 4-second run after receiving some tuning assistance from Team Werner crew chief Mike Kloeber. In the meantime, Todd's father and crew chief Barry had found the problem in the fuel system of the Tim Hortons Top Fuel Dragster.
  
  Todd brought his black and gold dragster into the staging beams, fully aware that Lagana would be ready to avenge his first round loss to him at the AC Delco Nationals. When the lights flashed green, Paton took an early lead, but began smoking the tires at the 60' mark. Forced to lift, he watched helplessly as Lagana continued his fairy tale weekend.

  "Any loss is disappointing, but this one stings a little, because we've never smoked the tires on this car. Last night's explosion was caused by the BDK valve, which leaned the car out by about 8%. It made a fair amount of power like that, but now it had that much more, and it was just a bit too much at that point in the track. At least we found the problem, and we can tune the car like we did in Cayuga."
  
  The next event for the Paton Racing team will be the IHRA World Nationals August 21-24 in Norwalk, Ohio, which will feature a 16-car field for the Top Fuel Dragsters.

• Tim Hortons Returns with Paton Racing: (08-06-03)
  For the second consecutive event, Paton Racing and J.J. Hoey Inc., which operates several Tim Hortons stores in Mississauga, Ontario will again team up to campaign the Tim Hortons Top Fuel Dragster at the upcoming IHRA Northern Nationals in Martin, Michigan.

  "John Hoey is a drag racer at heart, and he helped us out tremendously at the AC Delco Nationals a couple of weeks ago in Cayuga. He was on the starting line when we ran the 4.85, and he really enjoyed the experience. Following our semi-final finish at that race, he offered to sponsor us again for the upcoming event in Martin, Michigan.”

  Tim Hortons restaurants offer customers quality coffee, tea and other assorted hot and cold beverages, along with a wide variety of baked goods, soups and sandwiches. The popular chain stretches coast-to-coast across Canada, and has opened approximately 200 stores in the United States as well.

  The Paton Racing team will try to put the Tim Hortons car in the winners circle this weekend, following what could be best described as a career weekend for the team at the AC Delco Nationals.

  Todd began the weekend with an “out-of-the-box” 4.98 and followed it up with a career-best 4.85 during Saturday’s “Night of Fire”. On Sunday, he ran back to back 4.98’s which allowed him to get past Bobby Lagana Jr. in the first round, but came up short against Bruce Litton in round number two.

  “That semi-final race with Litton was a heart-breaker,” Todd said. “I left on him, and was still ahead at the 1000’ mark when the tires began to spin. The motor revved up a little, and that’s all it took for the blower belt to come off.”

  The team is poised and ready to pick up where they left off. “We learned a lot about tuning the car, and we’re ready to apply it. Hopefully we can pick up the performance a bit, and prevent another Litton-Millican final round,” joked Paton.

  Consistency Pays Off for Paton: (07-28-03)
  A string of consistent 4 second passes was the key to Todd Paton's semi-final finish at the AC Delco Nationals held at Toronto Motorsports Park this past weekend.
  
  After running a 4.98 in Friday's opening session and a career-best 4.85 in Saturday's final qualifying session, Paton came into Sunday's eliminations with in the number two spot in the qualified field.
  
  In the first round of eliminations, Paton's Tim Hortons-backed Top Fuel Dragster handily beat Bobby Lagana Jr. with another 4.98 second, 283.14 mph run, despite Todd's backpedaling job at about 150' downtrack.
  
  "I felt the car start to shake, and I didn't see Bobby, so I quickly came back off the throttle, gave the car just an instant to recover, and slammed it back down. We'll have to fix that for next round."
  
  In the semi-finals, Paton squared off number three qualifier Bruce Litton, in what was sure to be the closest race of the afternoon. These two cars were separated by one-thousandths of a second in qualifying.
  
  The match lived up to its billing, with Paton taking a significant .104 to .178 second starting line advantage. At 1000', Paton was still ahead by approximately a half a car-length when he began to lose traction, and the supercharger drive belt snapped, which allowed Litton to squeeze by just before the finish line with a 4.82 to Paton's coasting 4.98 at only 248 mph.
  
  "We had him covered," Paton said afterwards. "He came over after the run and said that he saw us out there, and that if we hadn't lost the belt, he didn't think he'd catch us. We've had a great run here today with the Tim Hortons Top Fuel car in front of the hometown crowd, and although we came up one round short of the final, we hope the fans enjoyed the show."
  
  Paton's next event will be the IHRA Nationals in Grand Rapids, Michigan on July 8-10.
  

• Paton's "Coffee Run": (07-26-03)
  Todd Paton gave the Canadian fans a treat as he qualified his Tim Hortons-backed Top Fuel Dragster second in the field with a fine 4.98. Paton's finish line speed of 274 mph would probably have been significantly higher had he not lifted off the throttle just before the finish line.
  
  "It was a nice, straight pass," Todd said. "I clicked it a little early just to make sure it didn't hurt anything, and the motor looked good when we tore it down afterwards. After the rough weekend we had in Milan, it was good to get a representative run that we can tune from."
  
  During Saturday's "Night of Fire" qualifying session, Paton improved to a career-best 4.853 seconds at 283.61 mph, which kept him in the number two position going into Sunday's eliminations, just ahead of Bruce Litton's 4.854.
  
  

• Tim Hortons to Sponsor Paton: (07-24-03)
  Paton Racing is teaming up with J.J. Hoey Inc., who operates several Tim Hortons stores in the Mississauga/Oakville area for the AC Delco Nationals in Cayuga, Ontario.
  
  "We're really excited about representing a Canadian establishment like Tim Hortons on the side of our Top Fuel car," Todd said. "John Hoey sponsored Dick LaHaie back when he ran his own deal years ago. John's always loved the sport, and wanted to help us out for this race. We hope to give Tim Hortons some good exposure this weekend in front of our hometown fans.
  
  Toronto Motorsports Park is hosting the AC Delco Nationals, and is located approximately 25 miles from Paton's race shop in Paris, Ontario.

• Motor City Madness: (07-15-03)
  Todd Paton used up a lot of equipment en route to his semi-final finish at the recent IHRA Motor City Nationals in Milan, Michigan. During Friday's lone qualifying session, Todd placed sixth in the qualified field with an early shutoff 5.68. On that run, two connecting rods broke, taking that engine out of service for the weekend.
  
  On Saturday's early session, Todd appeared to have a handle on the tricky track surface, only to have a blower belt give up just before half-track. His 6.16 didn't improve his qualifying position, and once again that engine was taken out of service as it hurt a crankshaft.
  
  The team installed their third and final motor into the dragster for Saturday's "Night of Fire". In the pairing before Paton brought his car to the line, the team witnessed their 5.68 getting bumped out of the show. With their hopes riding on this one final qualifying attempt, the team rose to the occassion. The black dragster launched hard, but began burning a head gasket at about half-track. Just before the finish line, the supercharger backfired, sending flames high into the night sky. Todd's 5.17 was good enough to put him into the number 8 position for Sunday's eliminations.
  
  Todd's first round opponent was surprise low qualifier Tim Cullinan. Tim's 4.85 in qualifying stunned many of the fans in attendance, and gave Paton cause for concern as he prepared for the run. At the green light, Todd left on Tim by over a tenth of a second, and began to streak away as Cullinan began smoking the tires early in the run. Once again, the engine in Paton's dragster began to falter, and he wisely lifted, but not before another pair of connecting rods penetrated the engine block. Seeing Paton's difficulty, Cullinan tried to regain traction, but ran out of real estate, giving Paton his second round win of his young Top Fuel career.
  
  Back in the pits, the call came from crew chief Barry Paton that indeed the team's weekend would have to come to a close. With all three engine blocks in need of repair, there was no way for the team to meet Bruce Litton for their semi-final match.
  
  Following the run, Barry and Todd began comparing computer data and notes from the weekend's runs, and came to the conclusion that there was a problem in the pneumatic fuel control system, resulting in a lean condition, causing the motor to detonate and even backfire.
  
  "It's really a shame to lose that way," a disappointed Paton said. "We obviously had a problem with the car that we couldn't solve in time. It cost us all three of our motors, and now we've got an ambitious schedule to get everything ready for the Cayuga event in less than two weeks."

• Western Swing "Up's and Down's": (06-30-03)
  Following their brief return to the Funny Car category in Norwalk, Ohio, Todd Paton and the Paton Racing team headed west to on thier 41-hour drive to Edmonton, Alberta for the IHRA's Rocky Mountain Nationals.
  
  After sitting out Friday's lone qualifying session with a bad ignition control module, the team was looking forward to finally making a pass down Edmonton's quarter mile during Saturday's first session. The capacity crowd waved and cheered as Canada's quickest driver performed his burnout. Todd launched hard, and began smoking the tires just past the 330' mark. As the motor revved up, the car threw the supercharger drive belt, and Todd coasted to a 7.08.
  
  Encouraged by the strong 60' and 330' times the car clocked on their first run, the team "turned the screws" a little, and went up for the Saturday "Night of Fire" qualifying session. Once again, the Canadian fans were on their feet as Paton brought his Crosbie Industrial/Ron Hodgson Pontiac Buick sponsored entry to the line. They weren't disappointed as Todd recorded the best run of his young Top Fuel career; a 4.96 at only 255 mph.
  
  "That was a wild run," a visibly excited Paton said afterward. "It really pulled hard until the 1000' mark. I felt it nose over, and then it stopped running entirely. When I got out of the car at the far end, I saw that the blower belt was once again missing. The computer shows that it ran for a little over 4.3 seconds, so who knows how much quicker it could've gone. The speed definitely would've been better, but who cares? Speed doesn't win races; it's all about elapsed times."
  
  That placed Todd 4th in the 8-car program, giving him Don Sosenka as his first round opponent. By all accounts, this was Paton's round to win. Don even commented to Todd prior to each driver donning his firesuit saying, "I know the only way a 5.20 car can beat a 4-second car is if something goes wrong." It was almost like he knew...
  
  As Todd backed up from the burnout, he radioed to the crew that something was wrong with the engine. Knowing that there was nothing he could do to correct the misfiring that the engine was experiencing, Todd reluctantly staged the car, a took a slim starting line advantage when the lights flashed green. Shortly thereafter, it became obvious that the engine would not respond propoerly, and Todd wisely got off the throttle, handing Sosenka the win.
  
  "It was a disappointing loss, after running so well in last night's session," Paton said after the round. "We put on a fresh set of heads that had just come back from being repaired, and it appears that a valve seat let go during the burnout, breaking an intake valve and piston in the motor. It was hurt when I went to the starting line, but I staged it anyway, on the chance that Don might have a problem. He didn't and we ended up going home early. However, we've moved up to fourth in the points after only three events, so we'll take what we learned with the car yesterday and apply it at the next race in Milan."

• Paton "Feeling Funny" Again: (06-20-03)
  Just when you die-hard funny car fans were about to give up on Todd and the rest of the Paton Racing team, they are coming back with their wild 2003 Chevy Camaro. On Saturday, June 21st Todd will climb behind the wheel of the team's Nitro Funny Car for the "Night of Fire" at Norwalk Raceway.
  
  Paton will square off against fellow funny car competitors John Force, Tony Pedregon, Gary Densham and Del Worsham, among others in a special 8-car Nitro match race.
  
  Norwalk's "Night of Fire" has been a tradition for over 40 years. The one day event will draw in excess of 35,000 spectators. More information can be found at www.norwalkraceway.com.
  

• Paton Racing to Help at Tim Horton's Camp Day: (06-11-03)
  Todd Paton and the Paton Racing Top Fuel Dragster will be on display today, Wednesday June 11, at the Tim Horton's store at the junction of Highways 5 and the 403 in Mississauga to help raise funds for the Tim Horton Children's Foundation.
  
  Every year, Tim Horton's donates the proceeds from their coffee sales to help send less fortunate children to one of the Tim Horton's Camps during the summer. Local celebrities assist by spending time helping out, including stints behind the counter serving coffee. Todd and the team will be trying to attract visitors to the location be displaying Canada's Quickest Car just in front of this high-traffic location from 10:30 until 2:00 PM. Stop by and help send a kid to camp!
  

• Paton Beats the Rain; Heats up Eliminations: (06-09-03)
  Todd Paton didn't expect to be in the field for the AC-Delco Nationals this past weekend in Richmond Virginia. The former two-time IHRA World Champion limped down the track in Friday's lone qualifying session to a less than spectacular 9.43 at only 94 mph.
  
  Fortunately for Todd, several other teams experienced trouble in the first round, and the team found themselves sitting in the #7 qualifying position when heavy rains swept through the region Saturday, forcing IHRA to set the fields on only one qualifying session.
  
  "We really dodged a bullet there," a relieved Paton said prior to Sunday's eliminations, which were also delayed about 3 hours by light rain showers. "We had a major malfunction in the ignition system, which we found shortly after Friday's run. The car was down on power, and I ran it as far as I dared, knowing that it may be our only attempt to qualify. I'd say that this was a case of being lucky rather than good."
  
  The team obviously cured their ignition woes, as Paton's dragter left hard in his first round match against #2 qualifier, Roger Dean. By the 330' mark, Paton had made up the advantage gained by Dean on the starting line. As both cars approached the 1000' mark, Paton's engine erupted in a huge fireball, but he managed to hold on for a fiery victory, running 5.10 seconds at 265 mph.
  
  "I guess that's one of the benefits of having the engine behind you," Paton joked as he surveyed the damage. "If that happened in the funny car, it would be a lot harder to get back for the next round. We've some work to do, but we'll be ready for the next round."
  
  In that next round, Paton faced John Smith in Virgil Hartman's Prestone-sponsored entry. John had recorded a 4.6-second pass in his first-round victory over Bobby Lagana, so the Paton Racing team knew they had their work cut out for them. When the green lights flashed, Todd took a huge .460 to .550 starting line advantage. Smith began to reel in Paton's black and gold dragster, but began smoking the tires. He pedaled it, allowing Todd to open up his lead. Just past 330', the supercharger on Paton's engine backfired, and he could only watch as John posted a 5.21 to take the win.
  
  "The toughest part about that loss was knowing that we were running quick enough to take the win. John had his problems on the run, but he was able to recover. It appears that we had some kind of mechanical failure in the engine, which caused the motor to backfire. We'll find out what happened and correct it before Norwalk."
  
  At Norwalk, Todd will once again be behind the wheel of the team's Camaro Funny Car for the "Night of Fire" on June 21. He won't get much of an opportunity to get used to it, as the team will have to prepare the Top Fuel Dragster to leave the following day for Edmonton, Alberta and the IHRA Rocky Mountain Nationals.

• Thunder by the Beach: (06-02-03)
  Despite record-low temperatures, Todd Paton and the Paton Racing Top Fuel Team received a warm reception from the die-hard Canadian fans at this year's Mopar Canadian Nationals. The team qualified fourth in the 8-car Top Fuel field, with an early shut-off 5.29 at 230 mph.
  
  That paired Todd with Jack Ostrander, who had qualified for the field with a sub-par 6.31. At the starting line, Todd took a .522 to .572 advantage, and quickly pedaled the car after it began to shake the tires. As he got back onto the throttle, the engine in his 6500 horsepower dragster "dropped a cylinder", allowing Ostrander to pull alongside. With only seven of the eight cylinders firing, Paton backed out of the throttle to prevent the engine from "hydraulicing" in a ball of flame, coasting to a 5.204 at 223 mph, ending his day.
  
  "Overall, we're pleased with our first event with the car," admitted Paton after the round. "We were still plagued with cylinders going out. We're simply trying to burn too much fuel. Obviously, the more fuel we can burn efficiently, the more horsepower we can make, but we're not quite there yet. We'll go back to the drawing board and get it ready for next weekend."
  
  Next weekend, the team will attempt to improve on their quarter-final finish at the IHRA AC-Delco Virginia Nationals in Richmond, Virginia June 6-8.
  

• Paton Eagerly Awaiting Top Fuel Debut: (05-29-03)
  The upcoming IHRA Mopar Canadian Nationals holds some special significance for Canadian Todd Paton. Not only will it mark the 2-time World Champion's return to the IHRA, but it will also be the first time that he will be competing in the category of Top Fuel.

  Earlier this month, Todd completed his crossover procedure from Nitro Funny Car to Top Fuel. When he gets behind the wheel of his 6000 horsepower hot rod this weekend, he won't be concentrating on the differences between a funny car and dragster; he'll be concentrating on reaction times and doing whatever else it takes to win on race day.

  "After we won our second IHRA World Championship in 1995, we switched to the NHRA to allow us to take our Alcohol Funny Car program in a slightly different direction. That in turn, led us to step up to Nitro Funny Cars, "Todd said. "The IHRA began holding the Canadian Nationals a couple of years after we made the switch, so this will be the first time in over ten years that we will be competing at a National Event in Canada. The last time was in 1992 when the IHRA held the Summer Nationals at the former Cayuga Dragway (now Toronto Motorsports Park), where we scored our first victory."

  Paton likes his chances in his new category. "We've taken the running gear from our Nitro Funny Car and bolted it right into the dragster. It's the same basic tune-up that ran an aggregate best of 4.87 seconds at over 315 mph. If we can tweak it a little here and there, we should have enough to go some rounds on Sunday," he said.

  "We never got to realize the car's full potential during the licensing passes," Todd added. "On the first full pass, I lifted at about 1000' because the car was spinning the tires and I didn't want to over-rev the engine. On the second run, the supercharger drive belt let go just before the finish line, and I coasted to a 5.28."

  Look for Todd to improve on those E.T.'s as he and the rest of the Paton Racing team try to once again score a victory for Canada.
  

• Crossover Complete!: (05-12-03)
  Story and photo credit: Bruce Biegler, DragRaceCanada.com

  Todd Paton successfully completed his required crossover licensing runs last weekend at Ontario's Grand Bend Motorplex to officially validate his Top Fuel licence. Paton ran consecutive laps of 5.34 secs 234 mph and 5.28 secs 237 mph in his first two full runs driving a "long and loud" car. Paton's second run could have been much quicker but the car spit it's blower belt at about the 1000 foot mark. On both runs Todd looked anything but new to the class as he expertly peddled the car at a crucial stage, avoiding tire smoke.

  "The short times were weak but we had the car backed way off and I was hard on the hand brake," said Todd Paton. "Also, the car dropped the number one cylinder on the second run, which didn't help matters. I wanted to make sure I got down the track and had a couple of runs under my belt. Given that I already have my fuel Funny Car license -- all IHRA was looking for was a couple of representive runs to make sure I could handle the car properly. Ron Biekx (Grand Bend Motorplex Track Manager) observed on behalf of IHRA -- and we should be good to go."

  Paton reports that his transition to the Top Fuel class has come with a lot of pre advice. Amazingly, up until last weekend he had never been down a drag strip in anything but a Funny Car in his entire racing career.

  "I checked in with a number of drivers who have driven both a Funny Car and a Top Fuel car, including Gary Scelzi and Del Worsham," Todd revealed. "The car is a different ride because it is pushing you along instead of being pulled along in a Funny Car. Steering corrections are a lot more subtle. Being out front of the motor is really a nice feeling. I like it -- I plan on doing a lot more."

  The successful weekend assures the Paton Racing team an opportunity to make their first Top Fuel class start when qualifying begins for the 4th Mopar Canadian Nationals on May 30th back at Grand Bend Motorplex. The team plans to participate at all three IHRA Canadian national events this season, including Edmonton's Rocky Mountain Nationals (June 27-29th) and Toronto's AC Delco Canadian Nationals (July 25-27th).

• Todd Paton Tests Top Fuel Dragster: (05-05-03)
  For the first time in his professional driving career, Todd Paton sat behind the wheel of a Top Fuel Dragster Saturday evening at the Grand Bend Motorplex in Grand Bend, Ontario. With the sun quickly disappearing behind the horizon, Todd launched hard and then experienced some tire shake, forcing him to lift before half-track and coast across the finish line.

  "It was interesting sitting in front of the engine. There's much less noise, and you don't get to see the crew working on the car after the burnout like you do in the funny car. You rely on hand signals and the one crew member on the radio. It's too bad that the car shook the tires, but we underestimated the track. Ron Biekx and everyone at the Grand Bend Motorplex gave us a terrific surface to test upon. The .906 60' time tells us that we just weren't aggressive enough. We'll come back early next week to get another couple of passes done so I can fulfill my licensing requirements."

  Following the test session, Todd took to the airwaves Sunday evening on the Raceline Radio network. Hosts Erik Tomas and John Massingberd interviewed Todd about the Top Fuel Dragster and the differences between driving it and a funny car. Click here to listen to the Raceline interview. Todd will be making several appearances on Raceline to allow Canadian racing fans to track the team's progress leading up to their debut at the IHRA Mopar Canadian Nationals.

• Paton Racing to Debut IHRA Top Fuel Dragster at Grand Bend: (04-17-03)
  Following weeks of speculation, Canada's Paton Racing confirmed today that it will cross over to the Top Fuel wars this season on a limited basis. Driver Todd Paton and company have acquired the Top Fuel dragster which was formally owned by Colorado's Peek Brothers. That car had been run on a limited basis last season with Brady Kalivoda and then Jim Cavalieri at the controls. The truly exciting development has additional special meaning for Canadian drag racing fans. The Patons have revealed that the primary focus for the car will be the Hooters IHRA Drag Racing Series and the national event races in Canada.

  "The hand-writing has been on the wall for a while," said Todd. "Campaigning a Nitro Funny Car out of your own pocket at the NHRA events is tough on the wallet. Without a major sponsor on our car, our future in the Funny Car class is a bit unclear. We also felt strongly about the lack of a Canadian fuel team at the IHRA national events taking place in Canada -- so we wanted to change that. Naturally, our plans are to run the Grand Bend and TMP events for sure. We'd like to also go to Edmonton, however that trip is dependent on getting some additional backing. My Dad started out his racing career in Western Canada so we would like nothing better then to go back out there with our Top Fuel car. There are a number of opportunities for us out there, and we are working hard on making them a reality."

  Todd revealed that the team still has tentative plans to race their nitro Funny Car operation at the next NHRA POWERade national event -- the Mac Tools Thunder Valley Nationals at Bristol (Apr. 25-27th). After that the focus will be on Top Fuel, with Paton making select appearances in the Nitro Funny Car at scheduled match races throughout the season.

  "Immediately after Bristol we will be taking our running gear out of the Funny Car and fitting it to the dragster," he affirmed. "Then in early May I will begin cross-grading my competition license, which should prove interesting. I started driving funny cars when I was 16, and I've never been down a drag strip in anything else. Hopefully, everything will come together in time. Our objective is to be ready for the IHRA Mopar Canadian Nationals at Grand Bend."

  The Paton's new machine is a McKinney chassis which has been completely upgraded. Todd expects the car will be capable of eventual 4.7 secs elapsed times. Todd is also looking forward to returning to competition on the IHRA trail where he has achieved great success, winning the Alcohol Funny Car World titles there in both 1993 and 1995.

  "It will be great to be back and see a lot of familiar faces," he added. "I've been back as an observer on a fairly regular basis. We really look forward to racing at the Canadian events for the Canadian fans. That is really why we are doing this. Canadian racing fans deserve a competitive Top Fuel team from the homeland that they can cheer for, and I hope to give them just that."

• Todd Paton to 'Fire Up' the Crowd at Bristol: (03-18-03)
  Local Bristol-area resident and professional Funny Car driver Todd Paton will help NASCAR fans understand what POWERade's "Very Real Power" is all about at this weekend's ChanneLock 250 Busch Series and Food City 500 Winston Cup races at the Bristol Motor Speedway.
  
  The Paton Racing team will light their 6000 Horsepower nitro Funny Car prior to the start of each event this weekend in an effort to promote the upcoming Mac Tools Thunder Valley Nationals that will be held at the Bristol Dragway, located adjacent to the famed Bristol Motor Speedway.
  
  The experience will be a new one for Todd, who has performed engine starts and even done a burnout down a closed portion of a city street to promote special events. "I've never attended a NASCAR event in person," Paton revealed. "I've seen them numerous times on television, but never in person. I'm looking forward to not only seeing the race, but showing the fans what a 300 mph Chevrolet looks and sounds like. Hopefully we'll capture the attention of some new fans who will join us for the Mac Tools Thunder Valley Nationals at the drag strip next month."
  
  Todd relocated to the Bristol area two years ago to further concentrate on his drag racing efforts. At last year's Thunder Valley Nationals, Paton turned in his best performance of the season, reaching the semi-finals after defeating Ron Capps and Dean Skuza in the first two rounds of eliminations, giving his newly-adopted hometown crowd something to cheer about.
  
  The team is still searching for corporate backing to continue its 2003 racing season. Paton hopes to return to the Bristol Raceway April 25-27 for the 3rd annual NHRA Mac Tools Thunder Valley Nationals if a major sponsor can be found to help support the team.
  

• Todd Paton Just Misses Gatornationals Field: (03-16-03)
  Funny Car driver Todd Paton, failed to qualify for the 16-car field at the 34th annual Mac Tools NHRA Gatornationals at Gainesville Raceway in Florida. Paton, the driver of the Chill Factor Performance Funny Car made three attempts to make the field but his 5.149 at 287.44 mph best was only good enough for 17th qualifying position.
  
  "This definitely isn't the way we wanted to begin the season," commented Paton after qualifying. "Sometimes you have to make up for a lack of testing by learning things during competition and that's what happened with us this weekend."
  
  Paton continued, "On the first qualifying run Friday we had a problem when the manifold studs let go, allowing the supercharger to come free from the manifold. During the off-season, we moved the blower back over 2 inches like many other teams to increase performance, but then some of the hardware just wasn't strong enough. It was just a case of having new parts and trying to sort out a new combination. So we corrected the problem and went out for another run."
  
  The second qualifying attempt Friday afternoon proved to an expensive one for Paton Racing. "On the next lap we knocked all the connecting rods out of the motor due to a fuel delivery problem," said an exasperated Paton. "We also suspect serious parts failure due to the fact that all the connecting rods 'shattered' simultaneously."
  
  "The car was running lean already due to a malfunction in the timing system," said Paton, "So we completely reworked the fuel timers and went out for our third attempt Saturday. We still ran into the same problem, just without the same devastating affect, which is why we think we were victims of parts failure. Basically, the car ran 5.14 without activating any of the fuel management. At half-track the car was missing nearly 40% of the fuel volume that is required to make the car run well."
  
  Just minutes before the 4th round of qualifying began, Paton diagnosed the problem. "We finally found a problem with the way the fuel system was plumbed, but unfortunately we didn't diagnose it quick enough to make the show. This is a classic case of where having the budget to properly test a new car would come in handy. All we can do now is take what we've learned and apply it at our next event."
  
  "I want to thank our good friends at Chill Factor Performance, Phil Deems Real Estate and All-American Lube for financially supporting our efforts at the Gatornationals. I wish we could've gone rounds for them on Sunday, but it just wasn't meant to be this time. Hopefully we can continue to work with great companies like these to further out racing efforts this season."
  
  Todd's next scheduled race, pending sponsorship, will be the 3rd annual NHRA Mac Tools Thunder Valley Nationals at Bristol Raceway April 25-27.
  

• Paton Racing Gatornationals Pre-Race Report: (03-12-03)
  Veteran fuel Funny Car driver, Todd Paton, will make his first appearance of the 2003 season on POWERade Drag Racing Series at the 34th annual NHRA Mac Tools Gatornationals at Gainesville Raceway in Florida, March 13-16. Paton will be behind the wheel of the Chill Factor Performance Chevy Camaro with his father, recent Canadian Motorsports Hall of Fame inductee, Barry Paton, tuning the car.
  
  "I'm very excited about getting back to racing," commented Paton, "and I can't think of a better place to get started than Gainesville Raceway. I've been going there since I was a little kid and I've always loved the facility. I won there in Alcohol Funny Car and earned my nitro Funny Car license there so the track has been very good to me in the past. We haven't had a chance to test but we've raced plenty of times at Gainesville and we feel confident we'll be able to get a handle on the tune up."
  
  The Paton Racing team will be using the same Camaro body from last season and have beefed up their parts supply. The team has also added the help of crewmen Phil Stuart and Dave Chandler and Todd will be helping his father with the tune up.
  
  Paton signed a one-race deal for the Gatornationals with Chill Factor Performance out of Deerfield Beach, Florida. Chill Factor supplies a full line of air/fuel temperature and body control products. To find out more about their complete line of performance enhancing products, visit their website at www.chillfactorperformance.com. Phil Deems Real Estate and All American Lube of Boca Raton will also help sponsor Paton's car at the Gatornationals. Mac Tools, Lucas Oil Products and Crosbie Industrial Services Inc., will co-sponsor Paton for the entire season.
  
  A former U.S. Nationals winner in Alcohol Funny Car, this will be Paton's fourth season behind the wheel of a fuel flopper. Last year the Canadian driver attended 21 races, qualifying at 14 events and recording a career-best elapsed time of 4.876-seconds.
  

• Barry Paton Inducted into Canadian Motorsports Hall of Fame: (03-08-03)
  Barry Paton, patriarch of the Paton Racing team will took center stage on March 8^th as he received his induction into the prestigious Canadian Motorsports Hall of Fame, where he will be recognized alongside many other Canadian drag racers such as Dale Armstrong, Gordie Bonin, Bernie Fedderly and Terry Capp, among others.
  
  Of this noteworthy achievement, Paton, shown at right with the rest of the Paton Racing team, remarked, "It is quite an honor to be inducted into the Canadian Motorsports Hall of Fame. To have my name added to the list of many Canadian racers who have done so much not only for the sport of drag racing, but all forms of motorsports."
  
  Barry Paton began his drag racing career in 1963, running a variety of cars in NHRA's Super Stock, Modified and Competition eliminators, including his popular "One More Time" 1969 Nova with which he set several NHRA records. Barry used his creativity and innovative techniques to develop new technologies for his Super Stock car, which eventually carried over in the early 1980's when Barry switched to alcohol-fueled funny cars.
  
  Barry soon established himself as an innovator in this new category, and in 1985, began winning NHRA divisional events, eventually finishing 2nd in NHRA's tough Division 1 points standings in 1990 behind Bob Newberry.
  
  In 1991, Barry assumed the role of crew chief and turned the reins over to his oldest son Todd. Younger son Tony provided tuning advice, and together with Lynne Paton, the team went on to record wins in both the NHRA and IHRA, including the 1993 and 1995 IHRA Funny Car World Championships.
  
  In 1996, Paton Racing shifted their focus to the NHRA, and under Barry's guidance, they went on to win that year's U.S. Nationals In Indianapolis, Indiana. The following year, the Paton family won the season-ending Winston Finals in Pomona, California. Since then, the team has added the Gatornationals and Lone Star Nationals to their collection of victories.
  
  In 2000, Todd began competing in a nitro funny car, driving for a team co-owned by fellow competitor Whit Bazemore. However, the team folded mid-season citing a lack of proper funding. Once again, Barry rose to the occasion, and oversaw his own team's transition from alcohol to nitro funny cars.
  
  2002 saw Paton Racing tackle nearly the full NHRA circuit. Beginning in Gainesville, the team attended all the remaining events on the tour, scoring an impressive number of victories along the way, including wins against John Force, Ron Capps and Dean Skuza. Barry once again found himself calling the shots on the car, and tuned Todd to a career-best 4.876, 313.95 mph (502.32 km/h) blast in Joliet, Illinois this past fall.
  

• Paton Racing "Releases" Fish: (02-03-03)
  Paris, Ontario - Paton Racing has announced that Todd Paton and his family-run nitro funny car will not be carrying the Nitro Fish character during the 2003 NHRA POWERade Drag Racing series.
  
  In an announcement released late last week, Todd along with his father Barry acknowledged that unless sufficient funding could be found, they will participate at select NHRA events and match races they have scheduled.
  
  "It's rather unfortunate to have to make this announcement," said Todd. "2002 was a great year for us, considering the budget with which we were working. I was hoping that we would be able to finalize some other deals to help supplement the Nitro Fish sponsorship, but they failed to materialize in time."
  
  Todd Paton began his professional nitro funny car career in March 2000 behind the wheel of a funny car with Nitro Fish backing. "I wish that we could continue our relationship, but we are looking to build our racing operation, and that takes two things: time and money. I'm only 33 years old, so I've got the time to do it. Money is a harder thing to come by. This harsh economic climate has made it difficult for many teams to put adequate funding together."
  
  Regarding their decision to run NHRA POWERade events this season, Todd said, "We currently have the resources to run the car a number of times this year, which we will do to keep up with the technology in the class. That way, when we are able to put a full program together, we won't be faced with a steeper learning curve than we already have."
  
  Last year, Todd recorded a career-best 4.876 second run at the Craftsman 75th Anniversary Nationals in Joliet, Illinois. He also logged victories against John Force, Ron Capps and Dean Skuza during the season, en route to a 16th place finish in the 2002 POWERade points championship.

• Paton Racing's Top Ten Stories of 2002
  Well, it's that time of year again. Time to make those New Year's Resolutions (and maybe even keep a couple of them this time), and reflect back on the year that was 2002. So kick back, relax and enjoy our list of notable events from the 2002 racing season.
  
  

  10.		King of the Mountain (almost)! Well, we came close. After qualifying 16th in the final qualifying session in the thin air at Bandimere, we had to take on Scotty Cannon's Oakley machine. After destroying 2 of our 3 motors in qualifying, we had nothing to lose. Scotty had run a low 5.0 to take the number one spot, while the "new" Nitro Fish recorded a shut-off 5.30 at only 263 mph. I deep-staged to throw Scotty off a bit, and took a huge .429 to .586 advantage off the starting line. Unfortunately, I spun the tires at the 300' mark and lifted, only to watch Scotty's car break the blower belt before the finish line. Oh, but it looked good on ESPN!
  9.		The Spirit of St. Louis It wasn't pretty, but on one of the worst surfaces we raced on all season, we managed to put the Nitro Fish 'Bite Back' Camaro in the show with a last-ditch 5.21, which bumped out Dean Skuza (in the other lane at the time). Unfortunately, we killed the motor on that run, but we got to play on Sunday.
  8.		One Hit Wonder Although we're not entirely proud of our reasons, we managed to qualify at both Memphis and Dallas making only one qualifying pass. Brave? Perhaps. Counting pennies? Definitely! We felt vindicated when we found out that Whit Bazemore didn't make the cut in Memphis and Cruz Pedregon missed in Dallas.
  7.		2 for 2 at the World Series! I wish we could run an NHRA national event in Cordova, Illinois. The fact that it holds an IHRA event makes that relatively unlikely. We didn't set any world records, but we did beat John Lawson and Tim Wilkerson en route to our second straight victory at the World Series of Drag Racing.
  6.		Hooking Nitro Fish Without major sponsorship, we entered the Mac Tools Gatornationals with our '#99' white Camaro. After a brief discussion with our old friend Bob Fisher, we once again got back together with Nitro Fish Ultimate Gear. A few days later, the patriotic 'Bite Back Tour' car was born, thanks to Chuckie B.
  5.		Las Vegas 4.96 So we had a sponsor and a new paint job, but could a relatively new team hit a home run in their first official outing? The answer was a resounding "Yes!" as a 4.96 flashed on the scoreboards when the new Nitro Fish car streaked down the Strip in Las Vegas during the third qualifying session for the SummitRacing.com Nationals.
  4.		The Captain Rides Again! Another Las Vegas moment, but a very special one for all of us here at Paton Racing/Team Nitro Fish. After vacating the driver's seat of the Paton family alcohol funny car at the end of the 1990 season, Barry Paton climbed behind the wheel during a test session after the 2002 AC-Delco Nationals. Although it was his first time ever behind the wheel of a nitro funny car, he looked like he'd done it forever, making two hard 300' early shutoff passes.
  3.		The Mac Tools Thunder Valley Nationals Less than 5 miles from my house in Bluff City, Tennessee, we qualified well and managed to score a first round win over Ron Capps and a second round victory over Dean Skuza before losing to Gary Densham in Force's '#3' Mustang. A pretty good weekend overall.
  2.		First-round victory over John Force at the Lucas Oil Nationals Any time you beat the World Champion, it's gotta make the Top Ten list. Now don't get me wrong; it's not like we belted out low elapsed time of the event. I back-pedaled out of bad tire shake and was just about to throw in the towel when I saw him begin to slow. He banged the blower at about 900', and I lifted after I passed him. We killed the motor, but who cares? We beat Force!
  1.		The 4.876, 313.95 mph qualifying effort at the Craftsman Nationals in Joliet In just our second weekend tuning by committee, my dad Barry, myself, and the rest of our awesome crew, Tony, Jamie, Mike and Dave tuned the Nitro Fish to a career-best 4.876 at 313.95 mph.

  Comments are welcome. If you think we've missed something, or got some of these in the wrong order, leave a message on the Message Board, or email me at toddpaton@toddpaton.com.

  Thanks to everyone who helped us this year. Bob Fisher and Luke Nicodemus at Nitro Fish, Mac Tools, Lucas Oil Products, the Crosbie family, my wonderful family, and our terrific crew: Tony Paton, Phil Stuart, Jamie Wildgoose, Dave Chandler, Mike Roberts, Alex Crosbie, Nick Casertano and everyone else who helped us accomplish everything we did this year, or as Drag Racer magazine put it, we did "The Most With the Least". Happy New Year everyone!

• Wet Weather Idles the Nitro Fish
  Pomona, CA - Mother Nature made it difficult for the teams attempting to qualify for the season-ending Auto Club of Southern California World Finals. Todd Paton's Nitro Fish nitro funny car was one of the casualties of Thursday's "one-shot" qualifying.
  
  During that first session, Todd and the rest of the Nitro Fish team tried to take advantage of the cool evening air by tuning the car for a mid 4.8-second run. Unfortunately, the track was cool as well and Todd shook the tires hard just past the 60' mark.
  
  "I thought it was going to make it," Todd said after the qualifying session. "The car shook a bit on the launch like it was spinning the tires a bit, and then it completely broke loose just past the Christmas Tree. We went up there with an aggressive tune-up and it appears that it was too much for the track."
  
  On both Friday and Saturday, heavy rain showers moved into the area, cancelling the remaining three sessions. With the Nitro Fish outside the field looking in, things looked bleak for the team. NHRA was faced with a difficult set of circumstances. Ultimately, the sanctioning body made an unprecidented decision to go ahead and run eliminations with only one qualifying session, seeding the top ten points earners in the series.
  
  Unfortunately for Todd Paton and the Nitro Fish, that meant his aborted effort on Thursday was not quick enough to place him in Sunday's final qualified field. "Knowing what I know now, I would've approached Thursday's session quite differently," Paton admitted once qualifying was set. "I can guarantee that if the weather is questionable at a race in the future, I will do everything possible to ensure this car gets down the track one way or another. For now, all we can do is begin planning for 2003."
  
  Paton's 2003 plans are quickly coming together. Stay tuned to ToddPaton.com for exciting news and rumors surrounding Paton Racing's plans for the upcoming POWERade season.

• 'The Captain' Rides Again
  Las Vegas, NV - During Monday's test session after the AC Delco Nationals, Team Nitro Fish tested a different driver in the team's funny car. Todd's father, Barry, a former alcohol funny car racer, took over the controls for a couple of half-track runs.
  
  "He and I have discussed it since we started running our own nitro car a couple of years ago. His quickest run in the alcohol car was a 6.03, and I hope that we'll finally get him his 5-second time slip soon. The last time he let the clutch out was in 1990, so today we're just going to let him feel the acceleration of the car."
  
  Barry's first lap gave him a taste of what these cars are all about. He shut it off after about 200' after getting a feel for the car and came back for a second run a few hours later, going as far as the 330' cones and then coasting to a 7.52.
  
  "It was a terrific experience," Barry said after the second lap. "It pulls you back in the seat incredibly hard. The acceleration is incredible. That's probably why I have a headache now. I can't wait to take it to the finish line."

• Nitro Fish 'Craps Out' in Vegas
  Las Vegas, NV - Todd Paton rolled the dice with a new combination during the AC Delco Nationals in Las Vegas this past week, but came up short, ending up 18th in a 16-car field.
  
  The Nitro Fish looked strong in Friday's first qualifying session, recording a stout 5.10 at 293 mph. The team shook the tires on their next attempt. The team never got a chance on Saturday as both attempts were inexplicably hampered by sheared flywheel bolts.
  
  "We're definitely disappointed," Paton said before leaving to drown his sorrows at a nearby slot machine. "The car wanted to run, but we ended up with a couple of sets of sub-standard bolts, which let the clutch come loose from the motor. Obviously, that had an adverse affect on our performance. On our last run, Dale Creasy ran a 4.89 beside us, and we were quicker than he was at every interval until the bolts let go. We'll have that fixed for Pomona."

• Dallas Notes
  Dallas, TX - Todd Paton and the rest of Team Nitro Fish stood by their 5.18 in Friday's second qualifying session, which ultimately held up for 16th in Sunday's qualified field.
  
  "We've been trying to cut back on our qualifying attempts, to keep the freshest parts we can for Sunday's eliminations. Looking at the conditions, we sat out Friday's first session, and then after Friday night's lap, we felt that the 5.18 would stay. Cruz [Pedregon] scared us in that final session, but we managed to stay put."
  
  Paton once again had a chance to keep Tony Pedregon from taking over the POWERade points lead in the first round. He took a significant .440 to .481 starting line advantage, but dropped a cylinder early in the run, moving the car close to the ceterline and forcing him to lift.
  
  "I tried to do my part," Paton said after the run. "He looked at our tail lights for the first hundered feet or so, and then my 'Fish started strolling towards the centerline when it dropped a hole. I couldn't drag it back, so I let off the throttle before it got any closer."

• Quick Trip Down Route 66!
  Joliet, IL - Todd Paton notched a bit more Canadian drag racing history when he recorded the quickest run of his career and the quickest Funny Car run ever by a Canadian driver, during last weekend's Craftsman 75th Anniversary Nationals held at Route 66 Raceway south of Chicago. During his third qualifying effort Paton strong-armed the "Nitro Fish" Pontiac to a stunning 4.876 secs which eclipsed his previous career best run of 4.903 secs set at Route 66 Raceway back in 2000. The fast run qualified Todd 13th in the event's extremely rapid Funny Car field which featured the quickest bump spot of the season so far at 4.929 secs.

  "We watched John Force go 4.79 secs right in front of us so we knew the track was there," said Paton. "We turned the screws as far as we dared. The car got over near the wall for most of the run -- it was hard to steer because the front wheels were in the air for most of the time. But as we like to say on the Nitro Fish team -- the car was 'Hauling Bass' so I wasn't about to lift."

  Todd's terminal speed was 313.95 mph which is his best top end of the season and just shy of his career best run of 315.42 mph. Todd did confirm that the car was going 253+ mph at the 1/8th mile mark -- which is his best speed to half track so far in his career. The Route 66 race was the team's second event in a row racing with the "Silver Fish" Pontiac Firebird body instead of a Camaro. That also proved to be key in obtaining the performance improvement.

  "In this instance the Firebird worked better then the Camaro body," added Todd. "Route 66 Raceway's surface is bitchin' end-to-end so down force is not as much an issue as with other tracks. You want to cut back on drag and the Firebird body is better for that. It worked perfect because of the conditions here -- I'm not so sure we would have gotten away with it (our tune up) at Memphis last week."

  Todd raced Scotty Cannon in round one on Sunday and jumped out to significant early lead with a .497 RT compared to Cannon's .546. Shortly thereafter however the car had a small fire when a head gasket failed and Todd was forced to shut off. Cannon carved out a winning 4.828 secs at 314.31 mph.

  "More than anything our performance here was very gratifying for our team," Paton affirmed. "Larry Frazier isn't with us anymore because of our limited racing budget. We're thankful to him for turning our team around. We are now doing all of our turning by committee within our team. Everyone gets a vote and a hand in the decisions to be made. This is the fastest we've gone yet turning our own screws." - (Story and photo courtesy of Bruce Biegler, DragRaceCanada.com)

• Memphis Wrap-up
  Memphis, TN - Despite torrential rains that wiped out Friday's first session of qualifying, the NHRA managed to put on a great show for the fans in Memphis. After a lengthy track drying procedure, the nitro cars hit the track at 7:00 PM Friday evening, but Todd Paton and the Team Nitro Fish decided to sit it out. When asked about his decision to miss the first qualifier, Todd said, "With that much moisture in the air and the temperature of the racing surface it's going to be very difficult to get one of these cars down the track tonight." Sure enough, only five cars out of the seventeen who attempted a run made it to the finish line
  
  Saturday morning brought clear skies and warmer temperatures. The Nitro Fish was scheduled to be the first funny car down the track alongside Dean Skuza. Skuza's Dodge struck the tires almost immediately while Paton, in the new "SilverFish" Pontiac made a decent move to half-track, where the 6000 horsepower motor went silent. A post-run inspection revealed a broken blower drive which slowed the Nitro Fish to a 5.76 at only 176 mph. The track conditions were still questionable, as that run was good for the 11th qualifying spot in the 16-car field.
  
  Once the necessary repairs were made, the team pulled the Nitro Fish back into the lanes for the final qualifying session. In an effort to conserve parts and help the team's overall financial picture, it was agreed that the team would not run if the 5.76 stayed in the show. Citing the quality of cars that had run slower than a 5.76, the team was relatively sure that they would be forced to make the run. However, Whit Bazemore's Matco Tools entry smoked the tires to a 6.06 effort, while Frank Pedregon driving Jim Dunn's K&N Filters-backed Firebird could only muster a 5.98 best. With a guaranteed spot in the show, Todd Paton pulled the Nitro Fish out of the lanes. The 5.76 was eventually bumped to the 16th position, meaning that Todd would face off against Tony Pedregon in one of John Force's Mustangs in the first round.
  
  Hoping to repeat last week's first-round triumph, where he put the World Champ on the trailer in the opening round, Todd and the rest of the team reviewed the computer data from the early part of Saturday's qualifying lap. "We're determined to keep the car from smoking the tires or shaking, so that we can put ourselves in a position to win, like we did last week. If he goes out and puts a low 4.90 or high 4.80 on the board, then we'll definitely have our work cut out for us.
  
  At the green, Pedregon took a .480 to .498 starting line advantage, but the Nitro Fish ran alongside Pedregon's mount for the first 300 feet, before fading back. Pedregon went on to score the win with a 4.93.
  
  "I saw Tony out the side window for a long time, and then I heard someone over the radios. For safety reasons, I have an agreement with the crew to call me if there is anything going on outside the car that I can't see, like a dropped cylinder. I lifted off the throttle, assuming that we had a problem, but come to find out that someone else was on our frequency. That's something we'll have to get looked at before next week's race in Joliet."

• Paton Downs Force In First Round Of The Lucas Oil Nationals
  Todd Paton added another significant notch to his drag racing resume when the aspiring Nitro Funny Car driver ousted non other than 11-time NHRA World Champion John Force during last weekend's rain-delayed Lucas Oil Nationals at Reading PA. After enduring a series of problems during their first three qualifying time trails, Paton and his Nitro Fish team rebounded strongly with an "11th hour" qualifier late on Saturday evening and following that up with a stunning first round win over Force on Sunday morning. Both Force and Paton had problems during that head-to-head confrontation. -- Force losing a blower belt at just past half-track and Paton battling tire spin. Todd was however able to recover and earn a narrow 5.306 secs 244.56 to 5.404 secs 191.48 mph win light.
  
  "It's kind of like being the little fish that could," said Paton. "It's shows that once you get a dance card to Sunday, anything can happen. That's only the second time I've raced John, so I'm batting .500 against him. Not many people can say that."
  
  The round one win was preceded by a truly dramatic last shot qualifying effort by Paton who ran his best time of the season so far at 4.949 secs and 300.33 mph late on Saturday night to get into the program.
  
  "After shaking the tires twice and breaking the reverser on a burnout -- we didn't have any data to work with," Todd added. "The fact that we ran that well shows the talent of Larry Frazier and the rest of the Nitro Fish crew. The 4.94 was an excellent run even though it gave up a little bit before the finish line. Luckily we got a bit of a reprieve from the rain so we could run. We had no choice -- so we swung for the fence. The conditions and track were there."
  
  Paton's second round match up against Ron Capps also proved to be exciting. Todd jumped out to a slight lead only to have the car spin it's tires. He pedaled it but then the clutch management system fully kicked in and sent the car into a wheelstand. Todd fought for control of his bucking bronco Camaro but ultimately brushed the guardwall for an automatic DQ. Damage was only superficial. However, the team will utilize their backup Pontiac Firebird body for the upcoming O'Reilly Nationals in Memphis, Tennessee this coming weekend.

• Paton's 4.99 Just Misses U.S. Nationals Field
  Indianapolis, IN The Mac Tools U.S. Nationals is the largest and most prestigious race on the 23 race NHRA POWERade schedule. Todd Paton, a former U.S. Nationals champion in the Alcohol Funny Car category, returned to the site of his 1996 triumph with his Nitro Fish Nitro Funny Car, hoping to repeat his earlier success.
  
  With 24 highly-competitive cars entered for the event, Team Nitro Fish knew that there was a distinct possibility of an all-4 second field. The team's first attempt Friday night saw Todd abort a strong run just past half-track when the engine "torched" the cylinder heads, causing a brief flash of flame, and necessitating a motor change for Saturday's qualifying sessions.
  
  During Saturday's first session, Todd drove his Nitro Fish Camaro to a 4.996, 294.43 mph run which placed him 14th in the 16-car field. Armed with valuable computer data, the team prepared to improve on that elapsed time during Saturday's evening session.
  
  Later on that evening, Todd brought the Nitro Fish to the starting line for his third qualifying attempt. With header flames high over the roof of his colorful Camaro funny car, Todd charged hard down track. Just past the halfway mark, a brief flash of flame shot from under the body, and Todd aborted the run, coasting to a 5.11 at only 227.31 mph.
  
  "That was 'the one that got away' alright," Todd said afterwards. "As it turns out, the motor burned out the exhaust gaskets, allowing some of the hot exhaust gases to pass by the engine, where they ignited under the hood. I saw the flames, and thought that the motor was in trouble, so I clicked it off. The incremental times show that the car was on a mid-4.80 pass. We'll have to try tomorrow during the heat of the day."
  
  Unfortunately, in the heat of the day the team was only able to coax a 5.029, 282.72 from the Nitro Fish, leaving the team in a vulnerable position. Todd's best run of 4.99 was eventually bumped from the program, along with the 4.95-second runs of Frank Pedregon and defending U.S. Nationals champion Whit Bazemore. Cory Lee's 4.94 ultimately anchored the quickest funny car field of the year.
  
  "We knew coming into this event that it would take a .95 or .94 to stay in the show. The 4.99 was a step in the right direction for our team, and the car consistently quick in the first part of the track. If we can keep the candles lit all the way to the finish line, this thing will fly."
  
  The next event for Todd and the rest of the Paton Racing team will be in Reading, Pennsylvania on September 13-15, the first in another series of back-to-back events for the team.

• Paton Takes Second Straight World Series Win
  Cordova, IL - For the second year in a row, Todd Paton and the Paton Racing team took home the title from the world's oldest drag race, the 49th annual O'Reilly World Series of Drag Racing.
  
  Saturday evening's first round saw Todd bring the Nitro Fish up against John Lawson's newly-repainted Mac Tools Firebird. After a pair of smoky side-by-side burnouts, Lawson and Paton left together. The Nitro Fish broke the blower belt just past half-track, but was able to coast to the win while Lawson had shut off just past the starting line.
  
  The final round brought together the evening's two quickest cars, Paton's Camaro and Tim Wilkerson's Firebird. It was all over before half-track, as Paton pedaled the Nitro Fish to a 5.50, 271 mph lap while Wilkerson went up in smoke at the hit of the throttle.
  
  "The track was tricky tonight. It seemed everyone had a tought time with it. We were fortunate to be able to get down on both our attempts. On that last lap the car shook hard but straightened out when I pedaled the throttle. Unfortunately, one of the sets of spark plug wires came loose during the tire shake. When I got back on the gas the motor was down on power but it didn't matter. Tim was apparently having his own problems with his car. I'm glad that we got to put on a good show for the fans, and defend our title from last year."

• Paton Looking Forward to Defending World Series Title
  Cordova, IL - Sure, the Yankees sponsor Darrell and Jerry Gwynn's Top Fuel dragster, but the World Series that we're talking about wasn't decided on a baseball diamond. Instead, it was decided on a quarter-mile stretch of asphalt.
  
  Last year, running out of their own pocket, Todd Paton and the rest of the Paton Racing team beat Tim Wilkerson and John Lawson to win their second match race in a row. The team returns this weekend to try and defend their title at the 'World's Oldest Drag Race'.

• Nitro Fishing in the Land of 10,000 Lakes
  Brainerd, MN - With Minnesota being so well-known for its fishing, Team Nitro Fish hoped that they would finally be able to "Let the Big Fish Eat" at the Rugged Liner Nationals in Brainerd, Minnesota.
  
  During Friday's lone qualifying session (the evening nitro session was scrapped due to weather and a lack of proper racetrack lighting), Todd Paton aborted his first attempt after smoking the tires at about the 500' mark, coasting to a 6.13 at only 158 mph.
  
  The team rebounded nicely on Saturday with a 5.074, 292.14 mph run that placed them eleventh in the 16-car field. Comfortable that they wouldn't get "bumped out" of the program, Team Nitro Fish elected to save parts, and skip the final qualifying session. Taking advantage of the excellent conditions Saturday evening, many drivers improved, moving the Nitro Fish to the 15th starting position for Sunday's eliminations.
  
  "I'd be lying if I said that we weren't a little concerned about our decision [not to run]," Todd said after qualifying was completed. "The air got really good, and the track was probably the best it's been all weekend. Still, tough cars like Ron Capps' Skoal car and Cruz Pedregon's Advance Auto Parts car didn't make the cut, so we feel pretty good about our program. We probably would've run if we hadn't hurt our supercharger on the last run. One of the rotors came apart at about 10,000 RPM and hurt the supercharger badly. With only one spare, we've got to make sure we've got enough parts on race day."
  
  And on race day, Paton drew the number two car from John Force's stable of Mustangs, with Tony Pedregon at the wheel. After falling victim to Tony's boss two weeks earlier in Sonoma, Team Nitro Fish was determined to send Pedregon home early. As the amber lights of the Christmas tree flashed, Todd took a commanding lead off the start (.476 to .503). Unfortunately, the Nitro Fish "dropped" a cylinder at about 60 feet. The loss of nearly 800 horsepower allowed Tony to make up the starting line disadvantage by about 300 feet downtrack, and continued on to post low elapsed time of eliminations at 4.86 seconds, while Todd shut off to a 5.28.
  
  "I guess the two superchargers are slightly different", Paton revealed after the loss. "Each blower is a little different in the way they compress the air/fuel mixture. These things spin at 35% over the engine's speed of 8000 RPM, and distribute their charge through the manifold. It's very rare to get two blowers to behave exactly the same. The one that we put on to race Tony allowed too much raw fuel into the #5 cylinder, and the engine just couldn't burn it. I pedaled it once, but it never picked that cylinder back up. Once I saw that he was well on his way, I backed off the throttle to save parts. Running these things on 7 cylinders can be tougher than on all eight."
  
  The team hopes to have the supercharger repaired in time for the U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis, Indiana on Labor Day. On their way, Todd and the rest of the team will swing by Cordova Raceway Park in Cordova, Illinois to defend their "World Series of Drag Racing" title they captured one year ago.
  

• Todd Paton vs. John Force
  Sonoma, CA - After 3 years of competing in the Nitro Funny Car category, Todd Paton finally got his chance to race John Force on race day.
  
  The Nitro Fish Team struggled with tire smoke during qualifying, with Todd pedaling the car on his first three qualifying attempts. Finally, in the fourth and final session, Paton bumped into the field with a fiery 5.103 at only 253.47 mph.
  
  "The car ran really well in the first part of the track, so I knew we'd get in the show if it stayed hooked up. Then, at about 800 feet, I saw a flash come out from the front of the motor and come up past the blower. I knew the motor was hurt, but I wasn't about to lift. Sure enough, it torched the heads and the block, but we made it into the field."
  
  And his reward for that wild ride was to face off against the 11-time world champion, John Force in the opening round. "Sure, I'm excited," Paton said prior to Sunday's eliminations. "I have an opportunity to do something very few people in the pits have - to establish a perfect winning record against Force. Beyond that, we're approaching it like any other first round. We'll go up there with our tune-up the way it is, and if he beats us, he deserves it, but we're not going to be intimidated and smoke the tires.
  
  After and almost dead even .490 to .496 start, Paton and Force drove alongside one another to about the 600 foot mark, where the Nitro Fish began to slow, allowing Force to move ahead by about a car length, to record a 4.91, 301 mph victory over Paton's 5.10, 279.56 mph run.
  
  "Well, we gave him a race," Paton said after the round. "I wish the car had more in it, but it burned an exhaust valve at half-track, which just killed the performance. Overall, we're pleased with the fact that we've been consistently in the field for all the events on this 3-race Western Swing. I just wish we could overcome our mechanical gremlins on race day. We'll go analyze the computer data to find out why the car was lean and burned the cylinder heads. Hopefully I'll be able to even the score with Force at the next race."
  
  That next race will be the Rugged Liner Nationals in Brainerd, Minnesota on August 15-18. In the meantime, Team Nitro Fish is planning on taking a well deserved weekend off.

• Nitro Fish Runs Well in Seattle Debut
  Seattle, WA - In their debut appearance at Pacific Raceways (formerly known as Seattle International Raceway) Todd Paton and Team Nitro Fish ran quick with their steadily improving Nitrto Fish Ultimate Gear Camaro.
  
  During qualifying, Todd struggled to keep the car in the groove on their first three qualifying attempts because of problems venting the clutch dust out of the cockpit of his 6000 horsepower funny car. His 5.165 second run during Saturday's first session showed that the car was capable of running high 4.9-second elapsed times, as he clicked it off just before 1000 feet, and coasted across the finish line at 227.42 mph. The run held on for the number fourteen qualifying position, so the team elected to pass on the fourth and final session Saturday afternoon.
  
  "The car really wants to run; it leaves hard and 'dances' the front end all the way down the track. Unfortunately, by about 400 feet, the cockpit is absolutely filled with clutch dust. On the 5.16, the car pulled hard towards the wall, and I couldn't see well enough to bring it back, so I was forced to lift. We've been trying a few aerodynamic pieces on this new body, and I guess they work a little too well, and won't let the air move around the car the way it used to. We've gone back to our original setup, so that should take care of the problem."
  
  On Sunday's first round of eliminations, Todd squared off against the potent Toyota of Alan Johnson, driven by Bruce Sarver. Todd took a commanding .489 to .524 lead, which he held until just before half-track, when the Nitro Fish began to hazing the tires. Sarver slowly came by Paton's Camaro, and took the win light with a 4.99, 285.83 to Todd's 5.19, 276.97.
  
  "The track was really tricky today," Paton said afterwards. "Look at some of the first round casualties - John Force, Ron Capps, Scotty Cannon. With the change in the weather, it threw a lot of our data out the window. We thought we had him covered, because our incremental times on the 5.16 showed it to be on a 4.95 before I shut it off. All we were looking to do was repeat that performance, and we would've been fine. Nonetheless, we're encouraged by the way the car is running, and can't wait to get to Sonoma."

• Team Nitro Fish Denver Results
  Denver, CO - Team Nitro Fish enjoyed a successful outing with the their "new" Nitro Fish "Volcano" Camaro at the Mopar Parts Mile-High Nationals. Todd Paton qualified the Nitro Fish Ultimate Gear Camaro in the number 16 position during a Saturday's last qualifying effort, after being bumped out of the field early in the session. Todd's motor-wounding 6.303 at only 263 mph was enough to setup a first round match with number one qualifier Scotty Cannon.
  
  The first pair of funny cars Sunday morning featured the two most colorful entries in the 16-car field, as the Nitro Fish completed its burnout alongside Scotty's Oakley-backed "Time Bomb". With the capacity crowd at its feet, Cannon quickly lit his pre-stage bulb, in an attempt to throw Paton off his game. Not to be outdone, Paton deep-staged the Nitro Fish, and when the lights flashed green, Todd took a huge .429 to .586 starting line advantage. The Nitro Fish began to pull away for what seemed to be the first upset of the round, until the car began smoking the tires at about the 300' mark. Paton tried to pedal the car, but it didn't respond and Cannon went on to score an "ugly" 5.52 win.
  
  "I knew I left on him," Todd said after the round. "I thought we were on our way, and then it smoked the tires. I lifted, but by then he was already driving by me. When you're up against the number one qualifier, you've got to give it all you can. I guess it was just a little too much for the track today. We'll get him in Seattle."

• Team Nitro Fish Goes "Back to the Future Fisher"
  Todd Paton will be behind the wheel of a new, but familiar Nitro Fish at the upcoming Mopar Parts Mile-High Nationals in Denver, Colorado. The team purchased the Nitro Fish "Volcano" Camaro that Todd drove during the first half of the 2000 season from Whit Bazemore.
  
  "I think it'll be like trying on an old pair of comfortable shoes," Paton said. "I enjoyed a lot of success with this car. I recorded my career-best numbers in this car, and I think that the newer-style Camaro body will give us significantly more downforce, which will be crucial in Denver."
  
  This doesn't necessarily mean that we've seen the last of the 'Bite Back Tour' body Paton has run since the Las Vegas event. According to Todd, "The Nitro Fish program has always been a visually exciting program. We aim to continue this trend by running as many of our radical paint schemes as possible. The 'Bite Back' body will probably resurface again to coincide with the release of the diecast from Action Collectibles in early September."

• St. Louis Wrap-up
  
  Madison, IL - Todd Paton and the Nitro Fish Nitro Funny Car team snapped their string of recent DNQ's at the Sears Craftsman Nationals held last weekend at Gateway International Raceway near St. Louis, Missouri.
  
  Driver Todd Paton aborted his first qualifying pass Friday afternoon when the colorful Nitro Fish Camaro dropped several cylinders early in the run. Later that evening, Todd managed to record a 5.45 at only 268 mph, placing the Nitro Fish in the 14th qualified position.
  
  The team continued to struggle with dropped cylinders throughout the weekend. One more aborted run Saturday afternoon didn't help the team, who slid to the 16th position during that third session.

• St. Louis Wrap-up
  
  Madison, IL - Todd Paton and the Nitro Fish Nitro Funny Car team snapped their string of recent DNQ's at the Sears Craftsman Nationals held last weekend at Gateway International Raceway near St. Louis, Missouri.
  
  Driver Todd Paton aborted his first qualifying pass Friday afternoon when the colorful Nitro Fish Camaro dropped several cylinders early in the run. Later that evening, Todd managed to record a 5.45 at only 268 mph, placing the Nitro Fish in the 14th qualified position.
  
  The team continued to struggle with dropped cylinders throughout the weekend. One more aborted run Saturday afternoon didn't help the team, who slid to the 16th position during that third session.
  
  Early in the fourth and final qualifying session, Bob Gilbertson "bumped" his way into the field, moving the Nitro Fish car into the 17th position. With Dean Skuza's 5.23 holding the 16th position in the field, Team Nitro Fish knew what they had to do. Lined up alongside Skuza, the Nitro Fish launched hard, but once again dropped another cylinder. As Skuza went up in smoke, Paton legged it out to a 5.18, 280 mph run, destroying the motor at the finish line.
  
  "That was an ugly run, but it was quick enough to get in," a relieved Paton said afterwards. "I hate that we threw the rods out of that motor. We've been having quite a problem dropping cylinders for the last couple of races, and its been tough on our engines. We were fortunate enough to get in with that run, so we'll hope we can cure it before tomorrow's first round of eliminations.
  
  Paton's first round opponent would be Ron Capps driving Don Prudhomme's funny car. Both times these two met this season, Paton sent the Skoal team home early, and Todd wanted to keep this unbeaten streak going. Unfortunately, the NitroFish Camaro dropped a cylinder again at the hit of the throttle, while Capps' car was able to keep all eight cylinders lit all the way downtrack to take a 5.03 to 7.76 victory.
  
  "I saw him driving away from me, and I could tell that we weren't going to be able to catch him. After destroying two motors during qualifying, I thought it was better to shut it down, and save the parts for another day. We'll go back and analyze the data to try and solve our ignition problems before Denver. Maybe the new car will help us regain our earlier form.
  
  At Denver, the team will "re-introduce" the Nitro Fish Camaro they recently purchased from Whit Bazemore, which Todd drove during the first half of the 2000 season. Team Nitro Fish is hoping that the additional downforce from the swoopy new Camaro body will help prevent the motor from dropping cylinders, as well as giving the team much needed downforce during the hot summer months.

• Columbus:1, Nitro Fish:0
  
  Columbus, OH - Team Nitro Fish and their driver Todd Paton had another tough weekend at the Pontiac Excitement Nationals at National Trail Raceway near Columbus, Ohio.
  
  Todd was able to record a 5.15, 279 mph best during Friday evening's second qualifying session, which temporarily held the team in the 14th position. Following that run, crew chief Larry Frazier found a problem with the magnetos on the Nitro Fish Camaro.
  
  On Saturday's first run, the Nitro Fish overpowered the hot Columbus surface, and the team went into the final qualifying position not qualified.
  
  On that final run, the car launched hard, carrying the front wheels in the air for the first 200'. Just past half-track however, a pushrod broke in the motor, "torching" both cylinder heads, and igniting a small fire. Todd wisely backed out of the throttle, and brought the Camaro to a safe stop in the shutdown area.
  
  "If it wasn't for bad luck, we'd have no luck at all," a disappointed Paton said after the run. "Since Topeka, we've been chasing little problems with the car. We built a brand new engine for this event, after levelling one last week at a match race in Englishtown. We had high hopes for this weekend, but it just wasn't meant to be. We'll take the car back to the shop, and go over it with a fine-toothed comb to ensure we don't experience another weekend like this one."

• Larry Frazier Joins Team Nitro Fish
  
  Paris, ON - Todd Paton officially announced today the addition of Larry Frazier to Team Nitro Fish. In a statement released this afternoon, Todd was quoted as saying that both he and the team are "looking forward to the opportunity to work alongside someone with as much experience in the professional ranks as Larry."
  
  "We felt that the best course of action for our team was to bring in someone who could be an fresh set of eyes and ears, and bring with him the experience that we lack as a relatively new nitro team. Not qualifying at the last two events has put some additional pressure on us, and I felt that Larry was the best choice to help us diagnose the problems we've been having.
  
  Currently, Larry is scheduled to assist the team at their upcoming match race in Englishtown, New Jersey, and then at the Pontiac Excitement Nationals in Columbus, Ohio.
  
  "Maybe we can convince him to stay through the St. Louis event," Paton joked. "Larry has another deal in the works that could hit the track as early as the end of this month. However, I'm thrilled that he will be working with us in the meantime. Andy Nering has graciously stepped aside to allow Larry to come in and help us cure the problem with the Nitro Fish, which was a very noble gesture on his part. It's important to note that the problems we are currently experiencing are not related to the tune-up. Andy has done a lot for this team while dealing with some rather strict financial limitations that were placed upon him, and I look forward to the opportunity of again working with him at some point in the future."

• Route 66 Event Post-mortem
  
  Joliet, IL - Todd Paton and the rest of the Nitro Fish nitro funny car team endured another challenging weekend during the Chicagoland Dodge Dealers NHRA Nationals in Joliet, Illinois. After a long week which saw the team completely rebuild their Camaro funny car from scratch, mechanical 'gremlins' kept them out of Sunday's eliminations for the second straight event.
  
  During Friday's first qualifying session, the Nitro Fish Chevrolet was on a decent pass, despite having dropped a cylinder at the hit of the throttle. Not wanting to cause further damage to the engine, Todd clicked it off, coasting to a 6.15. The team's three remaining attempts also ended with similar results, and the Nitro Fish was out of the lineup during Sunday's eliminations.
  
  "Considering the fact that until Topeka, the Nitro Fish had qualified since we debuted it back at the Las Vegas event, we are quite disappointed that we weren't able to solve the problem with the car. We've got some people working with us, including [Bob] Brooks, who manufactures the AFT clutch and cannon setup we use in our car, trying to figure out where the problem is. We will find it, and soon. Our sponsors and fans deserve to see the Nitro Fish 'slug it out' with Capps, Densham and Force on raceday. We will do whatever it takes to remedy the problem. Unfortunately, we are dealing with parts failure here, not a tune-up issue. Therefore, it is a little tougher to diagnose," said Todd.
  
  The team will utilize their upcoming match race with Terry Haddock in Englishtown, NJ this coming weekend as an opportunity to troubleshoot the car before returning to the NHRA tour at the next event, the Pontiac Excitement Nationals in Columbus, OH.

• Topeka's Special: Fried Fish
  
  Topeka, KS - It will be a busy week for Team Nitro Fish between now and the Chicagoland Dodge Dealers NHRA Nationals next weekend in Joliet, Illinois. After a lengthy rain delay on Friday, the Nitro Fish Camaro posted an early shutoff 5.16 after the car made a sharp left at about 700' downtrack. The rain eventually returned and washed out the second session.
  
  On Saturday's first attempt, the Nitro Fish spun ther tires hard on the launch, and shifted oput of the groove. As Todd fought to bring the car back into the center of the lane, it began shaking ther tires, forcing Todd to back out of the throttle and hope that the 5.16 would hold, which it did, until the final round of qualifying.
  
  During that round, Todd sat in the 16th position, lined up against Whit Bazemore's Matco Tools Pontiac, which was still sitting outside the field. The team knew that Whit was capable of running quicker than their earlier 5.16, and therefore would also have to improve.
  
  The Nitro Fish Camaro launched hard and stayed dead-center in the middle of the groove, before inexplicably smoking the tires at the 330' mark. As the engine revved up, it exploded, splitting the aluminum hemi block in half, and setting the Nitro Fish funny car on fire. Todd managed to safely stop the car in the shutdown area without contacting the guard wall or crossing the center line, but damage to the car was extensive, as the engine explosion was strong enough to bend the chassis, not to mention incinerating most of the air and computer lines that run the length of these modern funny cars. To add insult to injury, Whit recorded a 4.96 on his attempt, bumping Todd out of Sunday's program."
  
  "Did things ever change in a relatively short period of time," Todd said. "One minute we're in the show, ready to take on Sarver's Toyota, and the next minute, I'm on fire, watching Whit's elapsed time come up on the scoreboards as I hit the fire bottles. I feel bad for the team, and our sponsors. They count on me being able to get the car in the show, and I wasn't able to save it this time. We've got a lot of work to do to get this car ready for next week, and not much time. We'll be ready. I promise!"

• Englishtown Wrap-up
  
  Englishtown, NJ - Todd Paton and Team Nitro Fish returned to Englishtown for the first time since debuting the '99' Camaro in late 2000. Things looked good for the team after delivering a nice 5.00, 292 mph blast right out of the box. The team's second qualifying attempt was cut short when a dropped cylinder led to a broken blower drive belt. With the team solidly in the show for Sunday's eliminations, Todd and the rest of the Nitro Fish crew opted to forego Saturday's final qualifying session.
  
  In Sunday's first round of elimination's, Todd faced none other than Gary Densham, who was looking to take over the PowerAde points lead from his boss, John Force.
  
  The Nitro Fish Camaro took a slight lead at the start, thanks in p[art to Todd's .502 to .533 starting line advantage. However, just past half-track, both cars lost traction, and a wild pedaling contest ensued, with both drivers getting on and off the throttle numerous times, trying to salvage the round. Unfortunately for Team Nitro Fish, Densham's car recovered quicker, and he took the 5.42 to 5.66 second victory.
  
  "I was surprised that the car broke loose that far down the track, especially at Englishtown, where the track is almost always excellent," Todd said afterwards. "It moved out of the groove on the launch, and as I tried to bring it back, it began to lose traction. I tried to recover a couple of times, but ran out of racetrack. At least he went on to win the race, and take the points lead. Losing to the number 1 guy in the points sounds better, anyway."
  
  The NHRA PowerAde Tour now travels to Topeka, KS for the O'Reilly Summer Nationals this upcoming weekend.

• The Nitro Fish Runs Strong in Altanta
  
  Commerce, GA - The brightly colored Nitro Fish Ultimate Gear Camaro driven by Todd Paton ran strong all weekend at the Summit Racing Nationals in Commerce, Georgia this past weekend.
  
  After a shut-off 5.22 in Friday's first qualifying session, Paton qualified his family-owned flopper in the 12^th position with fine 4.99, 307.37 mph run. This set up a rematch of his first round meeting with Skoal driver Ron Capps for the second week in a row.
  
  Both drivers left together, and once again, Capps' Camaro broke traction early, while Paton backpedaled out of tire shake, to record a 5.05, 281.95 mph victory.
  
  "I was really glad I couldn't see him out the side window," Paton said after the win. "I had to step off the gas once to get the tires to hook up, but after that, it was smooth sailing until the motor blew up just before the finish line. The team is trying to fix the car, and we'll be tight getting ready for the next round."
  
  The Nitro Fish team brought Paton's Camaro to the line to square off with Tim Wilkerson, but when the call went out to fire the cars, Paton's motor did not light. Wilkerson went on to score an easy round win while the dejected Nitro Fish team pulled back to the pits to find out what went wrong.
  
  "I knew we were running out of time, and we weren't able to find out what happened to the car in the first round to cause the explosion and fire. There's some small thing wrong in the motor, and we didn't have time to warm the car up before the run, so we didn't get a chance to find it. We're all really disappointed, because the car was running so well. We'll take it back to the shop and tear everything down to find our problem. We'll be back for Englishtown."
  
  The team's second round finish again moves Todd further up in the NHRA PowerAde points standings. With a good showing at Englishtown in two weeks, the team hopes to break into the NHRA's Top Ten.

• The Nitro Fish 'Bites Back' at Thunder Valley
  
  Bristol, TN - Todd Paton and the rest of the Nitro Fish Funny Car team turned in a solid performance during the Mac Tools Thunder Valley Nationals held just minutes away from Todd's home in Bluff City,Tennessee.
  
  Paton qualified for Sunday's eliminations with a 5.01 second, 296 mph run that put the colorful Nitro Fish Camaro in the 13^th qualifying position, setting up a first round match with defending event champion Ron Capps.
  
  In that first round, Paton and Capps left the starting line virtually together. Both Camaros struck the tires, and Paton was able to quickly backpedal the throttle, and recover before Capps, allowing him to cross the finish line first with a 5.25 second, 286.98 mph pass.
  
  "I felt the car try to break the tires loose, like it did during qualifying," said Paton prior to climbing into the car for round two. "I pumped the throttle once, and the car hooked back up and drove. I didn't see Capps anywhere, so I just headed for the finish line, hoping he couldn't catch me. That was a big win for our team. Don Prudhomme was one of my favorite funny car drivers growing up, so having the opportunity to race with and beat one of his cars was an amazing moment for me."
  
  In round two, Todd squared off against the Mopar-backed Dodge Stratus of Dean Skuza. Again, both cars shook violently, and began spinning the tires. Once again, Paton managed to get the Nitro Fish under control, scoring another round win for the team with a 5.66, 265 mph run.
  
  "I saw Dean out the side window when I pedaled the throttle the first time, but he wasn't driving away from me, so I knew he was in trouble, too. I kept trying to get the car hooked up, while trying to keep it straight, but everytime I squeezed the throttle,the tires began to spin again. After the third time, they managed to stay hooked up a little bit better. I knew they were still spinning, but the car was accelerating, and I didn't want to let off the gas because I knew I was still ahead. There was a tremendous rush of emotion when I saw my win light come on."
  
  In the semi-finals, Todd staged the Nitro Fish Ultimate Gear Chevy up against John Force's remaining team car, driven by Gary Densham. When the lights flashed green, Todd took a .516 to .537 advantage, and held onto that lead for the first 300 feet. Densham, however, was on a strong pass, and managed to power by Paton at about half track, taking the win light with a 4.93 at only 272 mph.
  
  "It was a tremendous weekend for everyone here at Paton Racing and Nitro Fish Ultimate Gear," Paton said after the round. "For us to have the ability to put guys like Ron Capps and Dean Skuza on the trailer shows how hard this team has worked to improve our program over the last several races. Since Las Vegas, we've been showing everyone that we are a legitimate threat on race day, and I know they won't take us lightly the next time."
  
  That next time will be just one week away,as the team prepares to head to the Atlanta Dragway for the upcoming Summit Racing Southern Nationals May 3-5.

• Paton Hoping for 'Home Track Advantage'
  
  Bristol, TN - Local resident Todd Paton is hoping to taste the thrill of victory in his own backyard this weekend as the NHRA's Mac Tools Thunder Valley Nationals rumbles into town April 26-28.
  
  Paton, who moved to the area last year from Brantford, Ontario, competes in the NHRA's highly competitive Nitro Funny Car division, alongside the likes of John Force, Ron Capps and Scotty Cannon. This season, Todd has been campaigning his 300-mph 2002 Chevy Camaro with some backing from NitroFish Ultimate Gear, a performance apparel line sold primarily at the NHRA events, though recently picked up by Target stores nationwide.
  
  When asked whether or not there will be additional pressure on him and his team to perform so close to home, Paton answered, "Sure there is. We want to do well no matter where we race, but it will be really great if we can score a win at home, with our family and friends in attendance."
  
  Paton knows what it's like to win at Bristol. In 1993, when the facility was sanctioned by the IHRA, he won the Springnationals event in the Alcohol Funny Car category, en route to the 1993 IHRA World Championship.
  
  Paton also won the 1995 IHRA World Championship before switching to NHRA competition in 1996. After four consecutive Top-10 finishes in the season-long points standings, the Paton Racing team set their sights on the nitro funny car category in 2000. In their very first outing, Todd Paton drove his NitroFish-backed funny car to a semi-final finish and a career-best speed of 315.42 mph, and then backed that up with a #1 qualifying position at the next event in Las Vegas.
  
  Since then, the team has been knocking heads with the best of them. Even 11-time champion John Force noted, "Paton's one of those young guys nippin' at my heels." Todd and the rest of his team know that once they get the necessary financing, they'll make a serious run for the championship.
  
  "It's an expensive sport, there's no doubt about it," says Paton." We've managed to do well for ourselves, and with the support from the folks at NitroFish, we've been very competitive. At nearly $5000 per quarter-mile pass, these 6000 horsepower machines can break you financially if you're not careful. Right now, we tune the car to run as quick as we can without hurting the engine. There are a lot of teams that go through several motors per race without even batting an eyelash."
  
  The Mac Tools Thunder Valley Nationals will feature qualifying sessions for the Nitro categories of Funny Car and Top Fuel at 5PM and 8 PM on Friday, and again on Saturday at 1PM and 4 PM with final eliminations scheduled for Sunday morning at 11 AM. For those interested in meeting Todd Paton and getting a close-up look at his Nitro Funny Car, he will be signing autographs at the Wal-Mart Super Center in Johnson City from 11 AM to 1 PM on Wednesday, April 24th.

• The Fish swims in Texas.
  
  Houston, TX - Like most all of the the funny car teams at this weekend's O'Reilly Spring Nationals, Team NitroFish had trouble adapting to the slick racing surface at Houston Raceway Park. However, Todd Paton was able to steer his NitroFish Camaro Funny Car into the number 15 qualifying spot with a 5.16, 283 mph attempt, giving him the opportunity to face Tony Pedregon in John Force's Castrol Syntec Mustang during Sunday morning's first round of eliminations.
  
  "I'm a little surprised that the 5.16 stayed in the show," Paton said at the conclusion of Saturday's qualifying sessions. "We had problems with tire shake on our first and third attempts, but we had it backed down enough during Friday night's session to run the .16, despite dropping two cylinders at about 4 seconds into the run. We're looking at all the data we have, and hope to have the proper tune-up to send Pedregon home tomorrow morning."
  
  In that first round, Paton and Pedregon left virtually together. By the 60' mark, Todd had opened up a slight lead. Then, Paton's Camaro shook the tires again, and then began smoking the tires violently. He pedaled the throttle once, bringing the front end of the car back up in the air while still smoking the tires, and then backed off the throttle to save his ill-handling hot rod, while watching Tony take the win with a 4.98.
  
  When asked about the run, Paton answered, "That was a wild ride. Like John Force says, 'If you're not gonna win, at least be spectacular'. I guess we were."
  
  "I thought we had it calmed down enough, but it just blew the tires off at about 150'. It's too bad, beacause I knew I was driving away from Tony. I didn't see him, and we thought we had the car setup to run a mid-4.90, which would've been enough to take the win. We'll try to get him again at the next race.
  
  That next race will be held in Bristol, Tennessee, just a few miles from Todd's new home in Bluff City. "I'm really looking forward to running that event. Since moving to the area from Canada, everyone has been really interested in the car. Bristol has a lot of ties with NASCAR, so it'll be fun to be able to show them that a 'local boy' doesn't have to drive in circles all day to be considered a race car driver."
  

• Viva Las Vegas!
  
  Las Vegas, NV - Todd Paton and the rest of the new NitroFish Nitro Funny Car team enjoyed a relatively successful outing at the Strip in Las Vegas this past weekend. After losing a blower belt on their first qualifying attempt, and a driveshaft on their second run, the team finally put the NitroFish is the show on their third run with a fine 4.960, 296.11 mph blast.
  
  "That felt really good," an elated Paton said after the run. "The car pulled hard to half-track, and we had it calmed down a little at the top end because the track is a little questionable down there. We new the car could do it; we saw good incremental numbers in Gainesville and the first two runs here. Andy (Nering) has done a tremendous job helping us get the tune-up sorted out, and it all came together today."
  
  Todd's first round opponent was Gary Scelzi, driving Alan Johnson's Toyota Celica. Gary took a slight lead (.499 to .528) at the starting line, but both cars remained almost even until the 330' mark, where Scelzi pulled away slightly from Paton's brightly-colored NitroFish. Scelzi went on to record the win with a 4.89 second lap, to Paton's shut-off 5.08.
  
  "He got out on me a little bit, but we pulled even at about the 60' mark. I pedaled the car at about 300', because I thought it was trying to smoke the tires. He put a fender on me there and we stayed that way until near the finish line where we began to haze the tires a bit. It was a shame, but we're still pleased with the way the weekend went. We'll take what we learned here and apply it next week."
  
  The Paton Racing team is taking their new NitroFish to Houston for this weekend's O'Reilly Nationals, where they will attempt to improve on their successful weekend in Vegas.

• Paton to debut new NitroFish Camaro in Las Vegas
  
  Las Vegas, NV - The paint is barely dry on Todd Paton's new NitroFish Camaro, but the team is ready to unveil it during Friday's first qualifying session at the SummitRacing.com Nationals here in Las Vegas. A sneak preview of the car is available on the main page of ToddPaton.com, but most fans will have to wait until Friday to get a good look at the whole paint scheme.
  
  The Las Vegas event will be the first event Paton has attended since acquiring the NitroFish sponsorship. However, in 2000 Todd drove Whit Bazemore-owned NitroFish funny car to Las Vegas' first-ever 300 mph run as well as the team's first-ever pole position with a sizzling 4.94, 307 mph run on the new surface.
  
  "This is one of those times you'd like history to try and repeat itself," Todd said. "We did very well here with the other car, and I hope we're able to come out swinging with the new NitroFish. The car looks awesome - I don't know how else to describe it. It looks like it's going 300 mph standing still; now we need to make it run that."
  
  The team is coming off a disappointing DNQ at Gainesville, where they were plagued by small problems that prevented Paton from making the show on Sunday. However, while the body was away being painted, the Paton Racing crew was hard at work, preparing the car for the Las Vegas event. Confident that they have the tune-up to once again capture the pole position, they are looking forward to returning to 'The Strip'.

• Up and Down Weekend for Paton
  
  Gainesville, FL - Mechanical gremlins plagued Todd Paton's much-anticipated return to the nitro funny car wars at the 2002 Mac Tools Gatornationals. "It was unfortunate, but we basically lost the first two runs on Friday because of a problem with the fuel pump linkage," said a somewhat disappointed Paton. "The problem kept us from delivering the necessary fuel volume to the engine under certain conditions. When we figured it out Friday night, the results were amazing."
  
  Perhaps a little too amazing, as Paton's two attempts Saturday were hampered by tire smoke, a problem not uncommon to many other teams at this year's event. On Todd's first run, the car posted a very respectable .901 60-foot time, but spun the tires shortly thereafter. On his second attempt later on in the day, the car posted an even better .888 60-foot time, but lost traction about 250' downtrack. “I thought it was going to make it. We had it on the edge early Saturday, but when we backed it down for our final attempt, the 60-foot time got even better. It’s a shame, because I was riding the brakes, and then let go of the handle, because we got through the area that had been given us trouble earlier. As soon as I let go, I could feel it starting to lose traction. I pedaled it once, but it didn't respond."
  
  In spite of the team's DNQ, they still managed to secure additional backing for their team, as Todd renewed his relationship with NitroFish Ultimate Gear. Many may remember Todd driving for much of the 2000 season with backing from the T-Shirt manufacturer. "Naturally, we're thrilled to be back with Bob and Luke, and everyone else at NitroFish. We had a great relationship for the first half of 2000, and I hope to pick up where we left off."
  
  "Think of it as a 'catch and release' program," Paton later joked. "What are the odds of catching the same 'Fish twice? At least now we have the ability to attend the rest of the events on the NHRA PowerAde tour, and hopefully we can take what we've learned here and apply it to the Strip in Las Vegas."

• Paton Looking Forward to Gainesville
  
  Paris, Ontario - After sitting out the 2001 NHRA season, Todd Paton is excited about his return to nitro funny car competition at the upcoming Mac Tools Gatornationals.
  
  “It’s been tough sitting on the sidelines for the last year. I can’t wait to get behind the wheel again,” said the 32 year-old driver. “The Mac Tools Gatornationals has always been an exciting event for me and my family, and I hope that this year it will be the same.”
  
  In 1999, Todd drove his family’s Optima Batteries-backed alcohol funny car to the win in a pedaling contest against Tony Bartone. Exactly one year later, he made his well-publicized debut behind the wheel of the Wayne Dupuy-tuned NitroFish, recording a pass of 4.91 seconds at 315.42 mph on his very first run.
  
  The Mac Tools Gatornationals is the first of several races the Paton Racing team plans on running in 2002. The team is working to secure a major sponsor to run the full season, but may only attend select events from the schedule if one is not found. “We’ve been very fortunate to have the support of fine companies like Mac Tools, Gates Rubber and Crosbie Industrial Services over the last several years. They have been terrific supporters of our program, and we look forward to continuing these relationships as we continue to grow our racing program.”
  
  Under the team’s now familiar “99” Camaro body will be the same McKinney chassis they debuted midway through the 2000 season, but with some subtle changes. Since their last event, the team has added a larger fuel pump, and a 5-disc clutch, both of which are standard equipment on today’s 4-second funny cars.
  
  “We used our time off to upgrade some of the components on our car. We learned a lot during the last couple of times we ran and saw some areas where we could improve the performance.”
  
  During the 2001 season, the Paton Racing team ran several match race events, winning all of them. Armed with the data acquired during those events, combined with their tuning experience on their alcohol funny car, the team is confident they will be able to post some great performances in Gainesville.
  
  “We ran 5.01 at over 302 mph the second time the car went down the track,” explained Paton. ”If we can tweak the combination a little, I think we’ll be in great shape.” To be sure, the team is planning on making some test runs the weekend prior to the Gatornationals. “We want to get a few runs under our belt before we get to Gainesville,” Todd explained. “We’ve seen that there is a bit of a learning curve with the new tire, and we want to be come into the event knowing what it wants.”

Canada's Quickest and Fastest on display at Speedorama

For the second year in a row, Todd Paton will be on hand at Speedorama to display the team's 2001 Camaro Nitro Funny Car in the Performance Racing News booth. The show runs from January 25-27 at the National Trade Center at Exhibition Place.

• Paton wins Drag Racing's oldest event.
  
  Todd Paton took out local favorite John Lawson in Sunday's rain-delayed final round of the 48th Annual World Series of Drag Racing™ in Cordova, Illinois.
  
  On Saturday evening, Paton squared off against Tim Wilkerson, who was looking to even the score from his three straight losses at the hands of the Paton team at the Can-Am Nationals in July. At the green light, Paton took a small starting line advantage, and drove away with the header flames high above the roofline of the team's white Chevrolet Camaro. As the car drifted close to the centerline, Todd reacted quickly, clicking the motor off early to a "coasting" 5.35 second run at 267.22 mph. Unfortunately, as soon as the teams began preparing for the final round, heavy rains swept through the area, cancelling the rest of the evening's activities.
  
  Early Sunday afternoon, Paton eased the #99 Camaro into the burnout area to take on John Lawson's Firebird which had set a Cordova Dragway track record the night before with a 5.11. The Paton Racing team had stepped up the power on their car, but their game plan was simple; don't give away the race by smoking the tires.
  
  Playing it safe paid off for the team, as after a nearly dead-even start, Lawson's Firebird quickly went up in smoke. Paton continued to streak away to the finish line, taking home the winner's check with another early shut-off 5.27 at 276 mph.
  
  "It was another great weekend for the Paton Racing team," Todd said after the victory. "We knew conditions changed after the weather front went through, and tuned the car up a little bit for the final, knowing that the track had changed dramatically after the rain. Obviously, it worked. The car pulled hard all the way until I clicked it a little early after I felt it start mixing up cylinders near the lights."
  
  The win allowed Paton to keep his 2001 unbeaten streak alive. "We're still using these match races for testing purposes, to see what the limits are on these nitro motors," Todd said. "They are very different animals from the alcohol motors, and everytime we go down the track from Point A to Point B, we learn more. We're busy filling out our log books, getting the necessary data together to be competitve at the NHRA National Events next year. We've got a good combination, and with the proper budget, I think we've got a very strong program for the 2002 NHRA season."

• Paton to compete at the World Series of Drag Racing™
  
  Todd Paton and the Paton Racing Team will be competing with their "#99" Chevy Camaro at the 48th Annual World Series of Drag Racing™ in Cordova, Illinois on August 24-26, 2001. Todd will be racing against fellow nitro funny car competitors Tim Wilkerson, who will be looking to avenge his loss to Paton at the Can-Am Nationals, as well as John Lawson and Jack Wyatt.

• Todd Paton scores Can-Am "hat trick"!
  
  Todd Paton and the Paton Racing Team defended Canada's honour on Canada Day by taking all three matches during the Can-Am Nationals at St. Thomas Dragway. Despite tricky track and weather conditions, Paton's Camaro made three solid passes down the quarter-mile, producing an aggregate best of 5.47 seconds at 272.45 mph.
  
  "We were very pleased with our performance this weekend," Todd said following the event. "Some of the alcohol funny cars and pro modifieds were having a hard time with the track, so we set the car up soft. It went right down there, without smoking the tires. This is a real shot in the arm for us right now. We have a whole new crew, and they did a terrific job preparing the car. Even after 6 months off, the driver even remembered how to get down the track."
  
  Paton hopes to return to the NHRA national event trail as soon as the team can locate sufficient corporate backing. "What we showed here this weekend is that we have a team that is confident, and ready to do whatever it takes to win races. Hopefully we will be able to find a corporate sponsor who is looking for some exposure in front of the NHRA fans."

• Rain and curfew end Paton's season one run too early
  With the engine warm up procedure completed, the Paton Racing crew was in the process of securing the 2000 Camaro body to the chassis when the news they feared most was announced.
  
  Due to earlier rain showers, and the 7 p.m. curfew at the LA Fairplex, the last Funny Car qualifying session of the weekend had been scrubbed, and the 16-car field officially set after just three preliminary rounds.
  
  "We were knocked for a loop," said driver Todd Paton. "During our third attempt earlier in the day, the car lost traction at the line, and the worst part is that we don't know why. Our computer problems from Thursday resurfaced, so we have no data from the track, and now we're left hanging because our last shot at the show was cancelled due to rain showers and an early curfew.
  
  "It's really disappointing," said Paton of not being in the field for the Auto Club of Southern California NHRA Finals. "With this new family Funny Car venture, we really wanted a strong finish here to use as a springboard into the 2001 season.
  
  "Of course, we've all been in this game for a long time, and realize how tough it is sometimes to get what you want. On the positive side, not quite realizing our full potential here and at Houston provides a strong incentive to fight harder to get to the top of the mountain, so we fully intend to come back stronger and more competitive next season.
  
  "We know our car is good - we proved that the first time out at Englishtown in September," Paton continued. "Most of the problems we've had since then can be attributed to difficulties adapting to a new batch of clutch discs. This is not uncommon among Top Fuel and Funny Car teams, and unfortunately, we learned about it first hand over the course of the last two events."
  
  Changes are in the wind for next year, however. According to Paton, some new, and somewhat radical, parts have already been ordered for the 2001 version of the no.99 Paton Racing Camaro.
  
  "We've always liked to pioneer new technologies and leading edge modifications, and we hope to introduce some effective new systems to the class next year," Paton revealed. "We'll be totally tearing the car down over the winter in order to incorporate all the new parts. After that, with the support of our new sponsors, we'll be making plans to hit as many races and test sessions in Arizona as we can prior to kicking off out first full season at Pomona in February."

• Paton ready to make top half charge
  
  Despite the fact that today's qualifying session for the Automobile Club of Southern California NHRA Finals was a cold and windy repeat of yesterday's 'smoke and pedal' marathon, Todd Paton's crew made an excellent tune-up call under adverse conditions, and his Brantford, Ont.-based No. 99 Chevy Camaro responded assertively.
  
  The adverse conditions they were working under weren't just due to the chilly November weather, either. A computer malfunction during yesterday's session left the team without a baseline to tune from, so crew chief Ronnie Swearingen, along with Barry and Tony Paton, went back to the basics, drawing on years of experience to set the car up to best deal with the less-than-sticky Pomona Raceway quarter-mile.
  
  Out on the track, the results were evident. According to Todd, "it was really haulin' until about half track, but as the lock-ups came in on the clutch the track couldn't take it. It started to spin the tires a little bit and I hung with it as long as I dared; but I didn't want to zing the revs sky high, so I finally bailed out of it.
  
  "I thought for sure I'd be further down the track when the smoke cleared but when I looked up and saw the 1000-foot cones, I knew I'd be coasting for a good long while."
  
  The resulting 5.449 at 205.85 pass dropped Paton from 12th to 15th on the qualifying sheet, but the improved performance to half-track more than made up the difference.
  
  Tomorrow the floppers have two more chances to improve their standings, and the weather forecast calls for more cold, cloudy conditions. But Paton is confident that his team has a good handle on the situation - especially since their computer worked fine today, and they now have some electronic data to bolster their instinctive abilities.
  
  "What we do tomorrow totally depends on the track," Paton said. "If they get the surface glued down well, I'm sure that we have a real chance to climb into the top half of the field. If everybody is still going up in smoke, then we'll back everything off, slow the car down, and do our best to stay in the throttle all the way through the traps."

• Paton joins large group struggling for grip
  
  There was good news and bad news for the Paton Racing Funny Car team following the first session of qualifying at the 36th annual Auto Club of Southern California NHRA Finals. The bad news was that driver Todd Paton lost traction and smoked the tires on his no.99 Pontiac Firebird about 200 feet down track. The good news is that he was one of about 20 drivers who had the same problem: staying stuck to the cold track surface at the Fairplex.
  
  As a result, in spite of a normally non-competitive time of 8.755 at 93.14, Paton finds himself in the No. 12 spot heading into the second day of qualifying. "I really thought that we were going to lay down a full pass, "Paton said after the aborted attempt. "The car headed on down the track all right at first, but just as it was on the verge of hooking up, it decided that it had had enough. We were working with our 5.10 tune-up from Houston, and I guess it just didn't like it."
  
  There was one more bit of bad news for the Canadian team: the car's on-board computer malfunctioned, leaving them to "tune by hand" in the absence of critical first-pass base-line information. The problem was traced to a faulty switch, but for tomorrow's second run, they'll be doing it the old fashioned way.
  
  "We're going to back things off a little bit and go from there," said Paton. "We'll be doing a little 'seat of the pants' racing tomorrow."
  

• Strong finish key to Paton's 2001 game plan
  
  The word transition, as defined by Webster, refers to 'a passing from one condition, place, etc. to another.' For the Paton Racing family, brothers Todd and Tony, and their dad Barry, this traditional use of the word falls far short of describing the scope of the changes they've been through so far this racing season.
  
  At Houston, the team -- which this season went from alcohol Funny Car to Todd being a hired gun and then forming its own fuel team -- faced another minor transition as the new batch of clutch discs they were working with forced them to back off their tune-up and regroup before heading to Pomona. The strategy worked, and with a last pass elapsed time of 5.10 in their logbook, the team left Houston Raceway Park anticipating a strong showing in California.
  
  And strong performances at the legendary Pomona facility are nothing new to the Paton Family. In 1996, Todd was runner-up to Tony Bartone in FMFC competition, and the following year he took the event championship home to Canada. "This track has always treated us well, "Paton reflected. "There's just something magical about racing here. After all, California is the birthplace of our sport, and Pomona Raceway is practically the center of the drag racing universe."
  
  "Everyone wants to do well at the NHRA Finals, Paton continued, "whether the championship has been decided or not. It's just a special race. And for us, this is especially true. We would love nothing better than to qualify well and go a few rounds this weekend to carry us into our first full Funny Car season. Finishing on a high note this year is an important ingredient in our game plan for this team; not only for our own momentum and confidence, but also as a showcase for the sponsors we're currently negotiating with for next year's programs."

• Paton Winds up Texas Swing to Prepare for Pomona
  It all started with the rain-out of the O’Reilly Fall Nationals presented by Castrol Syntec in Dallas last weekend; the first sign that this trip to the top two drag racing facilities in the State of Texas, as always, had the potential to go either way for Todd Paton and Paton Racing’s new 2000 Camaro Funny Car.

  “We’ve had our share of incidents at both these tracks, that’s for sure, mainly when we ran Federal Mogul Funny Car,” agreed Paton. “Some were good, some decidedly not so. I was really hoping that we would be working from a clean sheet this time around, but apparently we still had an outstanding balance to clear up.”

  At this weekend’s 4th annual Matco Tools SuperNationals, presented by Racing Champions, Paton, his brother Tony, dad Barry and crew chief Ronnie Swearingen struggled mightily with a steeper-than-anticipated learning curve associated with a new batch of clutch discs. As a result, they ran through three of their four qualifying opportunities without making a full pass, twice due to the clutch set-up and once when they stripped an input shaft.

  In an interview following yesterday’s first two qualifying efforts, Paton was optimistic about his chances today. At the time he astutely commented, “It only takes one good pass.” And his observation was nearly right on the money. In the fourth qualifying session this afternoon, the Paton Racing crew put the right combination out on the track, and in spite of some minor hazing from the tires, Todd laid down a solid 5.100 at 298.21 to bump Del Worsham out of the field

  Unfortunately, his opponent, Tim Wilkerson, did the same to him on the same pass, relegating Paton to the no. 17 spot. When the session was over, the bump was fixed at 5.022, and several name drivers, including Scotty Cannon, Al Hofmann and Del Worsham had joined Todd on the outside looking in. “I was looking forward to being in the company of those guys this weekend, “Todd quipped, “but this isn’t quite what any of us had in mind.”

  “Seriously though, we just got behind the eight ball early on with our clutch disc and tire smoke problems this weekend,” commented Paton. “When it came down to the last session, we realized that we weren’t learning anything by smoking the tires every time, so we decided to take everything back to stage one; to see if we could get from point A to point B. We were able to do that successfully the last time out, so now we have a solid starting point to work from as we get ready to travel to Pomona for the Automobile Club of Southern California NHRA Finals on November 9-12.”

  In the meantime, as crew members return home to Canada for a few days of rest, Todd will be living on the end of a telephone, hoping to finalize some exciting sponsorship programs well in advance of the 2001 season.

• With two attempts remaining, Paton confident of cracking Houston field.
  Canadian Funny Car newcomer Todd Paton found the first day of qualifying for the 4th annual Matco Tools SuperNationals, presented by Racing Champions, quite a bit more challenging than he expected. Fortunately, however, according to the 30 year-old Rookie of the Year candidate, the lessons learned during today’s two unsuccessful qualifying attempts should definitely result in a much stronger effort on Saturday, when the team will have two more shots at claiming a spot on Sunday’s eliminations ladder.

  “In qualifying, it only takes one,” said Paton after Friday’s evening session. “But it has to be a good one. And we’re sure now that one of the two attempts that we have left will lift us into the show; we were just getting all of our bad luck out of the way early. (Crew chief) Ronnie (Swearingen) has diagnosed the relatively minor problems that sidetracked our efforts to get down the track today, and changes have already been made.”

  “In the first session, the track was a little soft - you could see that by all the ‘fives’ being run - and we were just set up too aggressively. We’re fighting a new batch of clutch discs, and that may have had a lot to do with that situation.”

  “The second time up,” Paton continued, “the car made a really good launch, and was driving out fairly well. But at about 40 or 50 feet - it was still trucking along with the wheels way up - the teeth stripped off the input shaft and we just went dead in the water. When we got looking at it later back in the pit, we found that the teeth didn’t have optimum contact in the reverser, and it just stripped them out.”

  In addition to identifying and correcting all the problems that they encountered at HRP today, a problem with throttle response that the team couldn’t pin down when they tested at the Texas Motorplex earlier this week was also sorted out just before today’s first run. “We’re looking good now,” exclaimed Paton. “The two non-runs we made today actually went a long way towards helped us correct some small, nagging problems. Now we’ve got the same 5.01 set-up that we had in the car at the rescheduled finish of the Matco Tools Spring SuperNationals, presented by Racing Champions, at Englishtown, N.J., in early September, and we’re all confident that it will do just as well here.

• Paton logs track time before heading south to Houston
  Determined not to let Mother Nature have the last say, Todd Paton's No. 99 Funny Car sat parked at the Texas Motorplex for a few extra days as the Canadian team gambled on outlasting the stubborn rain that washed out last weekend's 15th annual O'Reilly Fall Nationals presented by Castrol Syntec.

  With time to spare before making the six hour trip south to Houston Raceway Park for this weekend's fourth annual Matco Tools SuperNationals presented by Racing Champions, the team opted to stay behind for a chance to get out on the superb concrete quarter-mile to test some new systems recently implemented on their 2000 Camaro.

  "Coming into Dallas, it had been nearly six weeks since the Matco Tools Spring SuperNationals at Englishtown, where we ran the new car for the first time, "said Paton of the team's decision to stay at the Motorplex. "During that time, we made several significant changes to the car, and we were really looking forward to analyzing the results under race conditions. When we were rained out, we faced the prospect of playing the waiting game for another week - something we really wanted to avoid if at all possible. So we decided to stay in Dallas and see if the weather would clear enough to give us an opportunity to make some 600 foot test passes."

  The decision to stay turned out to be a good one, as the 30 year-old Rookie of the Year contender was finally able to strap himself back into his car on Monday and ease it to the starting line.

  "After a month and a half, it really felt great to drop the hammer again and feel it pull, if only for 600 feet, "said Paton. "Our crew chief, Ronnie Swearingen, spent hours going over the computer printouts from Englishtown, and he knew there was definitely room for improvement. Our main focus was in the areas of improving the fuel system and the clutch setup, and the results today showed that we're making real progress.

  "The motor certainly wasn't lacking for power but the track here is so good that we ate up a lot of clutch trying what we were trying. Anywhere else we would have likely blown the tires off at the starting line, but here it held it. On the first pass, the car drove out to around 300 feet just rattling the tires a little bit, but when it started to set the front wheels down it shook the tires, went into smoke and kicked itself a little sideways."

  After some adjustments and several more half-track squirts, the car settled in nicely, and Paton and crew were satisfied that they were just a little better prepared to take on the super fast HRP quarter mile this coming weekend.

  The Dallas rainout has, however, altered Paton's plans for the balance of the 2000 season.

  "Our goal has always been to make a strong finish this year," said Paton, "and now that means only one thing; showing well at the 36th annual Automobile Club of Southern California NHRA Finals on November 9 -12 at Pomona. For this new team, running three weeks in a row right now would be just a little tough. Not having an abundance of spare parts at our disposal at this point in time, there would be little chance of making repairs between events if we ran into a parts breakage situation."

  So when the troops gather back in Dallas on November 3-4 to settle the O'Reilly Fall Nationals presented by Castrol Syntec, the Paton crew will head back to Canada to regroup and reintroduce themselves to their families. Then, it's off to the West Coast, where Paton fully intends to give the Funny Car competition at Pomona something to think about as they prepare for the 2001 season.

• Paton Racing team ready to "mess with Texas"
  Todd Paton and the rest of the Paton Racing team are preparing their new Chevy Camaro for an assault on the Texas Motorplex, home of the NHRA's O'Reilly Fall Nationals on October 19-22. After successfully debuting their new car three weeks ago in Englishtown, New Jersey the team is looking forward to competing at the Dallas event.
  
  "The last time we campaigned our own funny car at this track, we won the Federal Mogul Funny Car title. With Ronnie Swearingen calling the shots, I think we can put some respectable numbers up on the scoreboard and try and make some of the "big-budget" teams a little nervous. Our performance in Englishtown let everyone know that we're serious about winning. We are getting more information every run, and I hope to have a four-second race car on race day."
  
  After the Dallas event the team is planning on running the Matco Tools SuperNationals one week later in Houston, Texas and then the season-ending Auto Club NHRA Finals in Pomona, California on November 9-12.

• Paton Racing's new Camaro impressive in debut
  Todd Paton and the Paton Racing Team enjoyed a successful outing with their new 2000 Chevrolet Camaro, running as fast as 5.01 @ 302.21 mph and winning their first round match at the rescheduled Matco Tools Spring SuperNationals.
  
  "It was a great weekend for our team," driver Todd Paton said after final eliminations concluded Saturday evening. "Although we didn't win the event, we exceeded the performance goals we set for ourselves, and showed that this team is serious about winning. We basically built this car in less than two weeks, and are thrilled with its performance."
  
  With the qualified fields set from the original date of the event back in May of this year, the professional teams were allowed two "time trials" on Friday, to get a feel for the race track after being away for over 3 months.
  
  Paton's white Camaro was the second car down the quarter-mile, and brought the crowd to their feet with a 5.18, 286 mph pass, which stood as one of the quickest runs of the session. Under the lights later that evening, Paton gave the fans an even better show as he ran a 5.01 at over 302 mph with header flames well above the roof of the car.
  
  The Paton Racing entry featured a large '99' on the side door, similar to a NASCAR Winston Cup car. "The crowd loved it! Many of our Canadian fans know that I chose that license number to honour not only Wayne Gretzky who also came from Brantford, but also as a tribute to the late Greg Moore." All eyes were on the first round match between Paton's #99 Camaro and Dean Skuza's Matco Tools-backed entry, which was running a specially painted body for his sponsor's race.
  
  Although Skuza took a slight lead off the starting line, Paton's Camaro began to charge hard, and passed Skuza at about the 330' mark. Skuza's machine then broke traction, and the Ohio driver could only watch as Paton drove away. About 500' before the finish line, Paton's motor went silent as the blower drive belt snapped, but he was still able to coast across the finish line to take the win light with a 5.76 at only 174 mph.
  
  In the second round Paton squared off against Del Worsham in the CSK Auto Parts Pontiac. This time, Paton was first off the line with one of the best reaction times of the round. Unfortunately, his day ended in a cloud of tire smoke at about the 100' marks as the 6000 horsepower engine proved too much for the slick racing surface, allowing Worsham to advance.
  
  "We ran fast, had a great time, and with the help of Ron Swearingen, we were able to get some experience running the nitro car on our own. We're very pleased with the weekend, and look forward to our next event. We're tentatively planning on running a few more events this season, but all that depends on how our sponsorship programs work out over the next several weeks."
  
  When asked about the team's plans for sponsorship, Paton responded, "That is where we are currently concentrating our efforts. We have proven that we have a solid program which could be a tremendous asset to any company interested in advertising in this sport. When we win races, we get our sponsors the exposure they need to excel in the marketplace, and the performance we need to try and run for the championship."

• Ron Swearingen named as crew chief for Paton Racing
  During the Paton's first event in their new Nitro funny car, the team has enlisted the help of veteran tuner Ron Swearingen for the upcoming Matco Tools Nationals.
  
  "We're thrilled to have Ron helping us while we continue our transition to the nitro ranks," Todd said. "He has a tremendous amount of experience and knowledge about these cars, and that will obviously help us with this steep learning curve."
  
  Swearingen has a long list of credentials, including several years tuning Dean Skuza's Matco Tools funny car. Ironically enough, Skuza will be Todd's first-round opponent when eliminations begin on Saturday afternoon.

• Paton Racing to debut new car at Englishtown
  NHRA Rookie of the Year candidate Todd Paton has announced that family-owned Paton Racing will roll out their newly purchased 2000 Camaro Funny Car at Englishtown, NJ on September 9th. The event, a continuation of the rained out Matco Tools Spring Nationals, will see Paton continuing his hunt for Rookie of the year recognition, as well as provide a test bed for the new car and the crew.
  
  "We're already into our game plan of preparing for 2001 at this point," said Paton. "With a new car to shake down, and a crew that wants to spend as much time as possible working under race conditions, we're looking forward to getting back out on the track this year. Don't look for anything too aggressive, though", cautioned Paton. "We have a plan and we're going to work our way very methodically towards opening day at Pomona next year. By then, we'll be ready to go for a top ten or better finish in 2001. The team's challenge, and my personal goal at this point in time, is to be a strong title contender within 24 months."
  
  Although considered a rookie in the fuel ranks, Paton is no stranger to flip-top hot rods. He's a former two-time IHRA Alcohol Funny Car champion, with seven IHRA national event victories during his career. In 1996, he made the move to NHRA, and won the prestigious U.S. Nationals in Federal-Mogul Funny Car that same year . He followed that with a win at the 1997 Winston Finals. In 1999, Paton won two more NHRA national events in Federal-Mogul Funny Car, the Mac Tools Gatornationals and the Castrol Nationals. He finished in the top 10 of the points standings during his entire stint in Federal Mogul competition.
  
  Todd made the move to the Nitro-burners this past spring at the 31st annual Mac Tools Gatornationals in Gainesville, FL, when he got behind the wheel of the Nitro Fish Firebird for the first of nine races he signed to run for crew chief Wayne Dupuy. Paton's tremendous talent and depth of experience served him well during his tenure with Dupuy and Nitro Fish. He excelled at performing all the duties required of a top Professional in the sport, including media and sponsor responsibilities.
  
  But it was behind the wheel where he was most at home. He quickly served notice to the class stalwarts tha t he was a serious contender for a piece of their action. For example, in his first qualifying pass at Gainesville, Todd sailed through the lights at 4.916/315.42, good enough for a top five qualifying spot. He subsequently went on to the semi-finals that weekend. The next race on the schedule was the SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals at the new Las Vegas facility. Todd was on his game once again, qualifying in the top spot, and running through to the quarterfinals.
  
  Todd's original deal with Dupuy expired after the Pontiac Excitement NHRA Nationals in Columbus, OH. Overall, in the eight races Paton drove for the team , he qualified an average of seventh in the qualified fields, with an average time slip of 4.95/306. Looking back, Todd said, "When the Nitro Fish deal first came along, we recognized it as a great opportunity. And in the end, it proved to be just that, providing us with invaluable insights into what was required at this level of the sport. And we found out that there's a whole lot more than car, driver and crew. Working with the media and sponsors is a major part of the job as well. It's a whole new world: press conferences, autograph sessions, TV and radio interviews; the whole media whirl. Most of the time you have to handle that as carefully as a high-power ed racecar. We enjoyed racing with Wayne and NuTrend for the first half of the season, and can't thank them enough for the great opportunity they gave us."
  
  Armed with their newly-gained experience, and hooked on the excitement of Nitro-fueled competition, the Paton family recently set into motion their plan to begin building a competitive Top Fuel Funny Car team of their own. Todd explained, "We're shifting our entire focus to our own program now. My dad Barry, brother Tony and I have always wanted to own our own Nitro team, and now the wheels are turning, literally." Todd's new ride is a Murf McKinney-built car, a top quality piece with "loads" of titanium components. The Patons also purchased five engines and one of the latest SFI superchargers to complete the deal.
  
  Todd said enthusiastically, "All the pieces are in place now. We have a good car, good pieces, Dad and Tony, along with a few talented F/C buddies, are going to tune and crew, and we're all looking forward to getting back out on the road. And of course, not to be overlooked is the source of the 'ways and means' by which we fund all this excitement. Our negotiations with several major brand name sponsors are ongoing presently, as well as talks with crucial associate sponsors. In reality, this is just a natural extension of our Federal Mogul program. After all, none of this is new to us; we've been building, working on, getting sponsors for and hauling Funny Cars up and down the roads for quite a few years now."
  
  In conclusion, Paton was quite adamant when he stated: "We're going to take it progressively, and to use that key phrase, be as methodical as we have to be to prove that we're capable of doing this on our own, and of going head to head with any Nitro car in the game today."

• Paton Racing takes delivery of new 2000 Camaro
  Todd Paton and the Paton Racing Team announced the acquisition of their new Chevy Camaro Nitro Funny Car, ending a few months of speculation regarding Todd Paton's return to NHRA Nitro Funny Car competition.
  
  "This is something we've been working toward since I began driving in '91," Todd Paton said. "With the experience we gained earlier this season, we're confident that once we find sufficient funding for the team, we can bring out this car and pick up where we left off."
  
  The team is currently working on securing sponsors and expects to make an announcement in the next few weeks. Stay tuned to www.ToddPaton.com for the latest details.

• Rumors...
  Look for an exciting announcement in the next few days here at ToddPaton.com regarding the Nitro Fish's return to NHRA Funny Car competition.

• Team Nitro Fish on scheduled hiatus
  "A lot of people were surprised that we weren't in St. Louis," Team Nitro Fish driver Todd Paton said during an early Sunday morning interview. "The simple truth is that our contract with NuTrend Manufacturing was up after the Columbus event and we are taking a few races off in order to make a couple of changes to the program."
  
  Paton, along with his crew chief Wayne Dupuy and the rest of the Nitro Fish team, are hard at work preparing for the Mopar Parts Mile-High Nationals. "Our plan at this point in time is to bring the Nitro Fish back in Denver, and compete at all the remaining events on the NHRA schedule.
  
  Stay tuned to this site for more details.

• Mad Scientist - 1, Nitro Fish - 0
  Todd Paton in the Nitro Fish nitro funny car faced off against Scotty Cannon's "Mad Science" Oakley machine during Sunday's first round of eliminations at the Pontiac Excitement Nationals in Columbus, Ohio.
  
  After a pair of long, smoky burnouts, both Paton and Cannon brought their colorful Chevrolet Camaros to the starting line. Cannon staged first, followed almost immediately by Paton. When the Christmas tree lights flashed, Paton took a huge .481 to .531 second advantage.
  
  With the Nitro Fish car out in front at the 1000' mark on the course, it looked like the Nitro Fish team had finally shaken the first round curse they have been under at the last several events. Unfortunately, the engine in the purple and grey Nitro Fish began to expire, and Scotty went on to record a career-best 4.91 at 311 mph, to Todd's 5.03 at only 287 mph, handing the team their third straight first round loss.
  
  "That was tough," a dejected Paton said after the loss. "I knew I left on him, and I looked over at half track but didn't see him. I thought we had the win, but then he came by me like a freight train. I knew I couldn't catch him, because we were less than a hundred feet from the finish line and our car was beginning to slow. I don't know why the engine killed those two cylinders, but we'll have to look on the computer and find out where we went wrong. It's unfortunate that we had to be on the other end of his best run. We're going through a rough patch right now, but I'm sure things will turn around for our team soon."

• Team Nitro Fish qualifies eighth on first day at Columbus
  Last year, the Wayne Dupuy-led Nitro Fish team left Columbus, Ohio with the trophy after recording one of the biggest updet wins of the 1999 racing season. This year, Wayne picked up where he left off, qualifying his car solidly in the field with a 5.151, 283 mph pass during Friday's sole qualifying session, on what many would call a very tricky racing surface.
  
  "We went out with a relatively conservative tune-up, and it got us down the track," Paton said after the run. "With the weather forecast we've got to deal with, it was the best call. A lot of cars like Toliver and Capps made strong runs in the early part of the run, and the smoked the tires further downtrack. Our car was smooth, and now we've probably got a better starting point now than some of the other teams who have to try and back things down."
  
  The Nitro Fish team will try to improve their position during Saturday's two scheduled qualifying laps, should the weather permit.

• Team Nitro Fish Still Trying to Shake First Round Woes
  For Team Nitro Fish fuel Funny Car pilot Todd Paton the first round of eliminations has always been the hardest to conquer, as it is for most drivers.  Once again, the talented young Canadian suffered another tough first round defeat, this time at the hands of Del Worsham during the 3rd annual Prestone Route 66 Nationals.
  
  Paton ran a career best 4.903 in qualifying to take No.7 spot, despite severe tire shake near the end of the run which forced him to lift off the throttle well before the finish line, which was reflected in the 277 mph speed on the run. The Nitro Fish driver still made the top half of the qualifying ladder for the sixth time this season and extended his consecutive qualifying string to eight straight national events.
  
  Crew chief Wayne Dupuy is working overtime to find a tune up that will work well with the new Chevrolet Camaro body.  With its increased down force, the Camaro body is forcing the engine to want to make more power, and that requires a number of changes regarding the fuel system delivery and the clutch set up.  Dupuy and Team Nitro Fish made some critical changes in Chicago, and for the most part the team feels they are headed in the right direction with their fancy new fish.
  
  Unfortunately, the new-look Nitro Fish began shaking the tires early in the run during Sunday's first round. Todd's repeated efforts to backpedal the 6000 horsepower Camaro yielded only more tire smoke, forcing the young Canadian to lift off the throttle, and watch Worsham drive away for the win. Despite the first round loss, Paton is still lingering just outside the top ten in the Winston points chase, and making a strong bid for the NHRA Rookie of the Year award.
  
  "We made great strides with the Nitro Fish car this weekend," said Paton after the race.  "We tried some new pieces on the car, a new fuel system and a new chassis set up, and it all worked quite well.  On both the 4.93 and 4.90 in qualifying I shut it off early and that shows great potential for the team and the car.  We know we've got a 4.80 race car out here, so we're really thrilled about that."
  
  The next national event for Team Nitro Fish will be the 36th annual NHRA Pontiac Excitement Nationals in Columbus Ohio, June 15-18.  Dupuy will bring the radical fish into the event as the defending Funny Car champion, and he hopes to repeat the effort from last year.  On the way the NuTrend Manufacturing sponsored team will stop by Englishtown, New Jersey, for a Wednesday night match race on June 7th.

• Team Nitro Fish makes an early exit in Dallas
  Todd Paton's dream of breaking into the Winston Top 10 points standings literally went up in smoke during Sunday's first round of the Castrol Nationals in Dallas, Texas. Todd staged the new 2000 Nitro Fish Chevy Camaro, which minutes earlier had been awarded the NHRA's Best Appearing Vehicle award, against Cristen Powell in Helen Hofmann's Firebird funny car. At the green light, Todd moved first with a .484 to .513 starting line advantage, but then smoked the tires almost immediately. He looked on helplessly as Cristen drove on to take the round win, and the opportunity to run against eventual event champion John Force in the second round.
  
  "I don't know why it did that," a disappointed Paton said after the run. "The Nitro Fish ran consistently quicker all weekend long. We went to the line knowing that we simply needed to repeat our qualifying performance, and we set the car up to do that. We're looking carefully at the clutch mechanism to see if there was a possible malfunction in the system. Nonetheless, we're looking forward to competing at the Prestone Route 66 Nationals in Joliet, Illinois, and hopefully that's where we'll put this new Nitro Fish in the winner's circle.

• Todd Paton and Team Nitro Fish qualify solidly in Dallas
  After running laps of 5.149, 279.06 mph and 5.087, 300.50 mph during Friday's first two qualifying sessions, tuner Wayne Dupuy found his consistent race day tune-up, and put the new Nitro Fish Camaro in the number nine spot with back-to-back runs of 4.978, 305.70 mph and 4.967, 295.85 mph.

• Todd Paton and the Nitro Fish Swim into Englishtown field
  It wasn't pretty, but Todd Paton was able to pedal his way into the fourteenth position in the Matco Tools Spring Supernationals funny car field with an off-pace 6.37 at 290.69 mph. "I'm just glad we were able to get the car in the show," a relieved Paton said after the second and final qualifying session. "We smoked the tires immediately on both passes, and I had to wait for it to settle down before I could hit the throttle again on the last run. Obviously, we would've liked to qualify better, but the weather and track conditions have been less than cooperative. Now that the event has been delayed until September, we'll have a chance to figure out the tune-up."

• Nitro Fish Ultimate Gear Now Available at www.toddpaton.com
  The wait is over. Nitro Fish Ultimate Gear is finally available in Canada. Although our new secure online ordering system is just a couple of weeks away, you can email your orders, or call them in at (519) 442-7223. Click here to visit the new Online Store at ToddPaton.com.

• Team Nitro Fish To Debut New Camaro in Englishtown
  If you were lucky enough to be in Atlanta last weekend to witness Nitro Fish Funny Car driver Todd Paton's semifinal round performance, than you were one of the many to see the awesome "Big Fish" run for the last time.
  
  Team Nitro Fish will retire their '99 Pontiac Firebird body in favor of a brand new 2000 Chevrolet Camaro shell.  The Nitro Fish Firebird enjoyed considerable success, including winning last season's NHRA Pontiac Excitement Nationals in Ohio, and qualifying number one and setting the track record at "the Strip" at the brand new Las Vegas Motor Speedway.  The team hopes the new body style with its advanced aerodynamics will cure a problem they've had with tire spin.
  
  The new Chevrolet Camaro will feature a brand new cutting edge paint scheme featuring the radical bone fish that has become the mascot of fuel racing.  Be sure and come by the pit area and check out the new "Big Fish" at the 30th annual NHRA MATCO Tools Springnationals at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park in New Jersey, May 18-21

• Team Nitro Fish Swims to the Semifinals in Atlanta
  Team Nitro Fish fuel Funny Car driver Todd Paton rebounded from two straight first round loses at the last two races to advance to the semifinals at the 20th annual NHRA Southern Nationals.  Team Nitro Fish once again gave the NHRA Rookie of the Year candidate a consistent low 4.90 Funny Car to race with, and Paton made the most of crew chief Wayne Dupuy's excellent tune up.
  
  Paton qualified the Nitro Fish Pontiac Firebird in the No. 5 position with a great 4.95 at 290 mph, making the top half of the qualifying ladder for the fifth straight event.  The young Canadian faced Del Worsham in round one of eliminations on Sunday and drilled Worsham with a 4.98 at 303 mph to Worsham's problem plagued 5.15 at 290 mph.
  
  The second round was a little tougher for Paton as the Nitro Fish car faced the potent Kendall Camaro driven by Whit Bazemore.  After nearly identical reaction times, Paton took an early lead and never looked back as he streaked to a 5.01 at only 283 mph to Bazemore's game 5.04 at 300 mph.
  
  Team Nitro Fish faced red-hot Ron Capps in the semifinal round and it was a real dog fight.  Team Nitro Fish replaced a motor for the run against Capps and they were confident going into the round despite not having lane choice. 
  
  Paton chopped down the tree against Capps with a .467 to a .508 reaction time, and had a half a car length lead at half track when the Nitro Fish motor expired and Capps flew by for the win with a 4.94 at 296 mph, to Paton's disappointing 6.77 at 130 mph.  Despite the loss, Paton did cut his best light yet in a fuel car which proves he is improving with each run.  The engine failure was the first major damage that Team Nitro Fish has had this season, which shows a tremendous amount of consistency by Dupuy and his excellent crew.
  
  "It was another good weekend, and it's only a matter of time before I feel we can win one of these events," said Paton.  "We regained the momentum that we built up earlier in the season and I feel we have what it takes to crack into the top ten in the points as early as Englishtown."
  
  "We hurt a few motors this weekend due to lack of down force at the top end of the run, which spins the tires and over revs the motor," Paton continued.  "We hope to have a new body and radical new cutting edge Nitro Fish paint scheme in New Jersey and hopefully it will cure the tire spin and put us in the 4.80 zone.  This team has been just awesome and I'd love nothing more than to let the Big Fish eat in Englishtown for four rounds so I could give this team a win, they really deserve it."

• Paton and Team Nitro Fish Advance to the Semifinals at the Gatornationals
  By Bill Walters

  Gainesville, Sunday- The 31st annual NHRA Mac Tools Gatornationals may have been Team Nitro Fish fuel Funny Car driver Todd Paton's first race as a professional, but you sure couldn't tell by his performance.  Nitro Fish crew chief Wayne Dupuy gave Paton a car that ran in the low 4.90's all weekend at Gainesville, and Paton handled the step up to a fuel car like a veteran.  The young Canadian driver drove to crowd pleasing victories over Tim Wilkerson and Kenny Sayers before losing to the eventual Gatornationals Funny car winner and NHRA points leader, Jerry Toliver.

  Paton qualified in the No. 7 spot with a 4.91 at 315 mph on his first run of the weekend and that gave him lane choice over Wilkerson in the first round on Sunday. The NuTrend Manufacturing sponsored Nitro Fish Funny Car brought the jam packed crowd at Gainesville to their feet as it thundered to a great 4.91 at 312 mph, easily covering Wilkerson's 8.09 at 107 mph.  

  The Big Fish kept eating in the second round when Wayne Dupuy's consistent tune up gave Paton the muscle to run a 4.92 at 309 mph, which was more than enough to cover Kenny Sayers, who went up in smoke and coasted to a 15.97 at 70 mph.  The Nitro Fish car spun the number two main bearing on the run which forced the crew to swap motors before the semifinals.  As the team worked feverishly behind him Paton worked the crowd.  The Nitro Fish fan's in Gainesville crowded the team's pit area all weekend and Paton handled the attention from both the spectators and the media with enthusiasm and a professional flair.

  The Team Nitro Fish crew, which performed brilliantly all weekend, had a few problems during the motor change which forced the team to abbreviate their normal warm up procedure with the car.  Paton also lost lane choice for his semifinal match up with the WWF-sponsored Funny Car of Jerry Toliver, who has been red hot this season.  Paton left first against Toliver, who deep staged his car, but the Nitro Fish car smoked the tires several hundred feet into the run and Toliver blew by for the win, running a 4.91 at 307 mph to Paton's 9.34 at 89 mph.

  For Todd Paton, who won the Gatornationals last year in Federal-Mogul Funny Car, this year's race was just about as thrilling.  This weekend marked the first time that the 31-year-old had ever driven a fuel car all the way to the finish line under full power.  Paton handled it about as well as anyone could have hoped for and his family was beaming with pride at the end of the day despite his loss to Toliver.  

  "It was a dream weekend," Paton said smiling after the race.  "Winning this race last year in Federal-Mogul was definitely a high, but nothing can compete with collecting win lights on Sunday in a nitro Funny Car. This Nitro Fish car is an animal and I was glad I was able to come up to speed quick enough to handle all the power that Wayne Dupuy gave me.  This Big Fish is going to eat a lot this season."

  Crew chief Wayne Dupuy was more than happy with the results for Team Nitro Fish at the Gatornationals.

  "We really had a great weekend," said Dupuy, "Todd did a fantastic job and I can't say enough about him, he really brought our program together. He had really good reaction times during eliminations and he jumped right in this Nitro Fish car and went 4.91 at 315 mph.  The car ran flawlessly all weekend and we are going to move forward with this team.  I'm very happy with the crew and Todd Paton and we're going to let this Big Fish eat."

  Team Nitro Fish and Todd Paton proved they're for real this weekend at the Gatornationals, and all the other Funny Car competitors know the feeding frenzy has just begun.