Todd Kelly's son races Nissan Supercar
Todd Kelly’s final Supercar took to Sandown over the weekend in the hands of teenage son Mason.
Mason Kelly, 17, steered father Todd’s Carsales Nissan Altima in the National Sports Sedans field.
The teenager raced the car at the event, which formed part of the 30th annual Historic Sandown meet.
Kelly junior scored finishes of eighth, 12th, and fifth in the weekend’s three races.
The car itself is the chassis 2005 Bathurst winner Todd raced in his final Supercars event in 2017.
Todd retired from Supercars competition at the end of 2017, with the Newcastle finale his last event.
He then put his focus into team ownership of the team that carried his family’s name.
The Kelly family handed the keys to the Supercars team to the Groves at the beginning of 2022.
It came after the Groves bought into the Braeside operation last year.
Todd is still a fixture of Supercars circles, most recently helping Penrite Racing repair the damaged #26 Ford.
He was also involved in the build of a Ford Ranger Raptor for the upcoming Baja 1000.
His son is now a key focus, with Mason having raced in Hyundai Excel competition and in a MARC car.
The Carsales Altima was used to the end of 2019, and has since been restored.
"It’s a bit stressful for me,” Todd said.
"I’ve never been more stressed than having Mason in the Carsales car driving around with the limited experience he’s got.
“But it’s a good, no-pressure category for him just to get a feel for what a Supercar is like.
“The only reason I’ve put him in it is that even though he is 17, he’s a pretty sensible young kid.
“He tries to do all of the work on the car himself in between his schoolwork – he knows the car back to front, and he puts a lot of effort in.
“Normally, by the time you get to this point of your career, you’ve done Formula Ford and a few other categories.
“But he’s gone straight from a Hyundai Excel into the MARC Car and now the Supercar.
“He’s still trying to figure out his heel-and-toe and things like that.”
Kelly Racing owns the Mustangs that the Groves are currently campaigning.
Penrite Racing will race new Gen3 Fords next year, meaning the Kellys could pursue a Super2/Super3 career for Mason.
Todd, however, wants to take his son’s career “one step at a time”.
"It’s easy for us to stick him in one of these things, because we’ve got all of the gear, but it’s all a bit too soon for where he’s at,” Kelly senior explained.
“It’s a pretty big thing to commit to for a full season [of Super2 or Super3].
“We’d have to run a couple of other cars as well, which you have to do if you are doing it properly.
"I’m not sure what we’ll end up doing… I’d be happy just to do laid-back stuff like this.
“It’s good to have a bit of fun without all of the pressure that comes with Supercars."
The 2022 Repco Supercars Championship will conclude on the Adelaide streets in December.
