Qualifying key for Jack Daniel's Racing

The Jack Daniel's Racing duo of Todd and Rick Kelly once again demonstrated strong qualifying pace from their Nissan Altimas at Pukekohe Park Raceway today, with top race results next up on the team's agenda.

Todd Kelly was a front runner for the Nissan squad in qualifying, claiming a pair of ninth place efforts in the dual 10 minute sessions, however both races were soured by drive line issues during the race starts.

Bouncing back from the dramas, Todd claimed results of 13th and 19th in the respective encounters.

Rick Kelly's day took a hit when a red flag waved in the second qualifying when he was crossing the finish line, negating his flying lap time.

Regardless, Rick pushed on to claim race results of 17th and 15th.

The final day of competition in New Zealand will feature a 20 minute qualifying session at 1:00pm local time, with the 200km long race to follow at 3:25pm.

JACK DANIEL'S RACING QUOTEBOARD

TODD KELLY - #7 Jack Daniel's Racing Nissan Altima:
Qualifying Race 11- 9th
Qualifying Race 12- 9th
Race 11- 13th
Race 12- 19th

"Two top-ten qualifying runs, and two really bad starts," said Todd Kelly.

"In the first race, the clutch just locked up on the start and stalled the engine when the red lights were on, so when the lights went out, my engine wasn't running.

"So we changed the clutch and only just got back out there for the second race, again starting inside the top-ten, and it did the same thing again.

"The engine stalled, and I had a lot more trouble getting it going, we dropped down the field and that's where we stayed.

"We need to get on top of that, because there were two decent results that we lost off the line, we'll sort that out and tune the car up and move up tomorrow."

RICK KELLY - #15 Jack Daniel's Racing Nissan Altima:
Qualifying Race 11- 19th
Qualifying Race 12- 15th
Race 11- 17th
Race 12- 15th

"We had the pace in qualifying to be about third, and we didn't manage that with the red flag, which was unfortunate," said Rick Kelly.

"It seems to be the way our luck is going lately, we've had good opportunities with a great car, and we haven't been able to capitalise on it.

"That's our aim for tomorrow, qualify up the front and finish there, I know that's everyone's aim, but I believe we have the car to do that.

"We've got the qualifying car to do it if everything goes smoothly for us, and we really improved the car in the second race today as well.

"In the second race we were stuck behind Russell (Ingall), but we had the race pace to be able to run nearer the front.

"It's up to us to put the car in that right position in qualifying, and really enjoy the longer race tomorrow, twice the distance, a couple of pit stops, and a lot more can happen.

"Not the greatest result, but really positive signs."

Jack Daniel's Racing