NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

Championship-winning tuner Todd Smith has been named as the crew chief on the McLeod Racing Toyota Camry Funny Car driven by Paul Lee. Smith will lead the third Funny Car team for Kalitta Motorsports that will begin running at the NHRA Keystone Nationals later this fall.
 

“I am excited to be back with Team Kalitta and to be able to work with Paul and the McLeod team on putting this new operation together,” said Smith. “Lee is a talented driver, and with the Kalitta equipment, I am confident in our chances to have success.”
 

Smith has spent five seasons previously with Kalitta Motorsports working with drivers Connie, Doug, and Scott Kalitta throughout the late 1990s. After departing, he led Jack Beckman to the 2012 Funny Car Championship. Last season, he worked with Brittany Force and the Monster Energy Top Fuel team.
 

“I’m excited that Todd Smith has joined our McLeod Racing Kalitta Motorsports Funny Car team,” said Lee. “Todd is very experienced and is a proven winner. He has won races with many different teams and cars over the years, culminating with the 2012 Funny Car world championship with driver Jack Beckman. Jim [Oberhofer] is assembling an awesome team, which will make our Funny Car a contender and capable of winning each time we pull up to the staging beams. I’m looking forward to working with Todd and our Kalitta Motorsports team!”
 

Smith will join an elite group of crew chiefs at Kalitta Motorsports, including Connie Kalitta, Jim and Jon Oberhofer, Nicky Boninfante, Tommy DeLago, Glen Huzsar, and Rob Flynn.
 

“Todd has been part of the Kalitta Motorsports team in the past, and I am excited that he is back with us,” said Jim Oberhofer, vice president of operations, Kalitta Motorsports. “He is a championship-caliber crew chief and will not only add a lot to Paul’s McLeod Racing team, but Kalitta Motorsports as a whole.”