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Todd Kelly’s last-ever Supercar returned to the race track over the weekend in the hands of his 17-year-old son, Mason Kelly.
Kelly Junior raced the Carsales Nissan Altima at Sandown Raceway in the National Sports Sedans field.
It was part of the 30th annual Historic Sandown meet at the Victorian venue.
He netted results of eighth, 12th, and fifth in the weekend’s three races.
The Altima that Kelly drove is the chassis his father ran at Todd’s farewell Supercars event in 2017 on the streets of Newcastle.
While the chassis was used up until the end of 2019, the panels were preserved before being restored.
Mason has driven in Hyundai Excel competition, a MARC car, and now has had his first taste of a Supercar.
Todd said: “It’s a bit stressful for me. 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 and 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, so he’s still trying to figure out his heel-and-toe and things like that.”
The Kelly family is considering the next steps for Mason’s motorsport career.
Once the current Supercars season wraps up, Kelly Racing is expected to retain control of the Ford Mustangs currently campaigned by Grove Racing, which it still owns.
“We kind of haven’t really discussed [Mason’s future], it’s just been one step at a time,” said Todd.
“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.
“It’s a pretty big thing to commit to for a full season [of Super2 or Super3], and we’d have to run a couple of other cars as well, which you have to do if you are doing it properly, so 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 fun, and a lot more cost-effective.
“It’s good to have a bit of fun without all of the pressure that comes with Supercars.”
Todd Kelly has also been involved in the build of a Ford Ranger Raptor for the Baja 1000.
