Just who is that smiling happy guy cruising through the pines up in the Arizona mountains, top down, and having a great time? Well, all of you probably already know of Todd, or have seen him at our events, both in the past, and certainly would recognize the sharp blue Mini Cooper S that he drives in his most recent autocrossing days these last few years. So, let's meet the man!
Todd was born and raised in a suburb of New York City called Eastchester. "It is close enough to enjoy the concerts and sporting events around New York without actually living in the big city." He has always been interested in cars, and spent his teen years wrenching on 60’s muscle cars. And that isn't the ONLY blood sacrificing that Todd has done over the years. He has also been a blood donor for 30 years and has donated over 7 gallons! So, if you have had a transfusion lately, and have a sudden urge to buy a MINI, you know who to blame!?
In 1981, his older brother Kurt, who had gone to ASU, told him that he could get a job at Motorola. So Todd drove out West and got the job, and has worked his way up to Senior Equipment Technician. He still has the same gig, although they have spun off the company into what is now called Freescale Semiconductor. Todd currently lives in Chandler with his partner of 10 years, Carol Boyd, and enjoys the grandkids, and working around their 2nd home up in Payson.
In 1985, Todd bought his first new car, a Honda CRX si. Shortly afterwards, he "came across cars driving around cones in Big Surf parking lot," and knew that was something he wanted to try! He just loved it and was instantly hooked! So much so, that he drove out to the Solo ll Nationals in Salina, Kansas and "was quickly humbled, finishing 26th out of 27 in CSP."
Not discouraged, though, he spent 6 years autocrossing his beloved CRX, and in 1991 bought a Nissan Sentra SE-R and enjoyed autocrossing that for quite a while as well. Later, his other hobbies of skiing, hiking, and camping sort of took over, so he owned mostly 4 wheel drive trucks and SUVs for quite a while after that.
In 2002, he read that the the Mini was being redone by BMW, and since he had always loved the classic Mini, knew he just HAD to have one! And besides, he had wanted to get back into autocrossing anyway, so what a perfect excuse! Shown above with Carol, he met many old friends at the local events, and has certainly made lots of new ones as well!
The Mini did well in stock class, but since Todd loves to tinker, it wasn't long before some tasteful performance modifications put him into the tough SM class. "Winning was nearly impossible, but driving the Mini was so much fun, it really didn’t matter!" He joined ProAutoSports and NASA and did a couple of HPDE days at Firebird and AMP, which led to a road trip out to Laguna Seca Raceway, where he "had a blast doing a Mini Cooper track day." This is Todd diving down through the famous corkscrew at Laguna:
Todd helped start the Dynamic Mini Collective (DMC), which is a state-wide MINI club, now with now over 150 members! {http://www.dynamicminicollective.org/} The club does fun runs all over the western states, including annual trips to Las Vegas and Copper Mountain, Colorado. They also like to participate in car shows, cruises, and ice cream nights. Todd encourages members to autocross their Mini and helps with their car set ups. After all, the Mini was just MADE for autocrossing; nimble, quick, fun to toss around turns ... I would bet that Todd and DMC are mainly responsible for the recent infusion of the many MINIs we see at our events these days. As he says, "the car is a natural!"
In 2007, the Mini S went from a supercharged to turbocharged car, so Todd bought his 2nd Mini. "It’s even better to autocross with a little more low-end torque and an LSD. Of course that old "modifying bug" bit again, so that moved him up to DSP this time, where he might not win but nearly always finishes near the top of the heap! Besides, if you look at all the little details on Todd's current car, you will see a lot of tasteful mods that are not only practical, but very pleasing to the eye.
Todd has been to most of our events, not only in Phoenix, but also in Tucson, Sierra Vista, and many other venues, just in order to enjoy his MINI. It doesn't sound like trophies are the main concern of his driving efforts, although I would bet there are a few around. Even better than that, Todd is someone who just loves to drive, and loves his car! Doesn't get any better than that, now, does it? Thanks to Todd for contributing the photos used in this profile, and for his continuing contributions to the MINI Collective and our events!
Todd was born and raised in a suburb of New York City called Eastchester. "It is close enough to enjoy the concerts and sporting events around New York without actually living in the big city." He has always been interested in cars, and spent his teen years wrenching on 60’s muscle cars. And that isn't the ONLY blood sacrificing that Todd has done over the years. He has also been a blood donor for 30 years and has donated over 7 gallons! So, if you have had a transfusion lately, and have a sudden urge to buy a MINI, you know who to blame!?
In 1981, his older brother Kurt, who had gone to ASU, told him that he could get a job at Motorola. So Todd drove out West and got the job, and has worked his way up to Senior Equipment Technician. He still has the same gig, although they have spun off the company into what is now called Freescale Semiconductor. Todd currently lives in Chandler with his partner of 10 years, Carol Boyd, and enjoys the grandkids, and working around their 2nd home up in Payson.
In 1985, Todd bought his first new car, a Honda CRX si. Shortly afterwards, he "came across cars driving around cones in Big Surf parking lot," and knew that was something he wanted to try! He just loved it and was instantly hooked! So much so, that he drove out to the Solo ll Nationals in Salina, Kansas and "was quickly humbled, finishing 26th out of 27 in CSP."
Not discouraged, though, he spent 6 years autocrossing his beloved CRX, and in 1991 bought a Nissan Sentra SE-R and enjoyed autocrossing that for quite a while as well. Later, his other hobbies of skiing, hiking, and camping sort of took over, so he owned mostly 4 wheel drive trucks and SUVs for quite a while after that.
In 2002, he read that the the Mini was being redone by BMW, and since he had always loved the classic Mini, knew he just HAD to have one! And besides, he had wanted to get back into autocrossing anyway, so what a perfect excuse! Shown above with Carol, he met many old friends at the local events, and has certainly made lots of new ones as well!
The Mini did well in stock class, but since Todd loves to tinker, it wasn't long before some tasteful performance modifications put him into the tough SM class. "Winning was nearly impossible, but driving the Mini was so much fun, it really didn’t matter!" He joined ProAutoSports and NASA and did a couple of HPDE days at Firebird and AMP, which led to a road trip out to Laguna Seca Raceway, where he "had a blast doing a Mini Cooper track day." This is Todd diving down through the famous corkscrew at Laguna:
Todd helped start the Dynamic Mini Collective (DMC), which is a state-wide MINI club, now with now over 150 members! {http://www.dynamicminicollective.org/} The club does fun runs all over the western states, including annual trips to Las Vegas and Copper Mountain, Colorado. They also like to participate in car shows, cruises, and ice cream nights. Todd encourages members to autocross their Mini and helps with their car set ups. After all, the Mini was just MADE for autocrossing; nimble, quick, fun to toss around turns ... I would bet that Todd and DMC are mainly responsible for the recent infusion of the many MINIs we see at our events these days. As he says, "the car is a natural!"
In 2007, the Mini S went from a supercharged to turbocharged car, so Todd bought his 2nd Mini. "It’s even better to autocross with a little more low-end torque and an LSD. Of course that old "modifying bug" bit again, so that moved him up to DSP this time, where he might not win but nearly always finishes near the top of the heap! Besides, if you look at all the little details on Todd's current car, you will see a lot of tasteful mods that are not only practical, but very pleasing to the eye.
Todd has been to most of our events, not only in Phoenix, but also in Tucson, Sierra Vista, and many other venues, just in order to enjoy his MINI. It doesn't sound like trophies are the main concern of his driving efforts, although I would bet there are a few around. Even better than that, Todd is someone who just loves to drive, and loves his car! Doesn't get any better than that, now, does it? Thanks to Todd for contributing the photos used in this profile, and for his continuing contributions to the MINI Collective and our events!