Todd Atkinson, Sportsman Extreme

Riding the tsunami of fast bracket racers

- Rod Short

WHEN 11-YEAR-OLD TODD ATKINSON WAS WORKING AT RICHMOND DRAGWAY, HE NEVER IMAGINED ONE DAY HE’D BE GOING QUICKER AND FASTER THAN ANY of the cars he was seeing at the time. Years later, however, he’s within a blink of an eye of the quickest bracket racers out there with this mid-six second Top Sportsman Camaro.

Inhaling tire smoke must have left an indelible impression on the youngster, because it wasn’t long before he was back running at Richmond in a ’70 Monte Carlo. His skills readily apparent, Todd began driving for others in different types of cars and classes. He eventually became track champion at Richmond Dragway and Virginia Motorsports Park, plus he also notched victories at high-profile events, including the World Footbrake Challenge at Bristol.