With heightened anticipation in both the racing and oilfield industries, J.R. Todd jumped into the cockpit of the Total Equipment And Service top fuel dragster this past weekend and settled in quickly. The Royal Purple Raceway event, where Todd won in 2007, now has another significant meaning in his career as his return to NHRA after a 3 year hiatus.

Friday opened up well for the Bob Vandergriff Racing driver with an opening Round 1 pass of 3.95sec at 312mph. Gaining confidence in qualifying, he improved to a 3.87sec at 319mph later that day in Round 2. Even though Saturday's rounds 3 and 4 (3.94 and 3.96) didn't improve his position, the passes proved he had a solid race day contention in mind. The O'Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Spring Nationals presented by Super Start Batteries Elimination Round began Sunday morning; the team was ready and the fans were excited. Todd staged next to Antron Brown, the same driver he last faced in the semifinals in Sonoma, CA (2009). With hopes to join his teammate, Bob Vendergriff Jr, who had already got a seat in the QuarterFinals, JR held a very tight race until a backfire automatically deployed his chute at about 660ft.

The weekend was a true success for the team as hundreds of employees, vendors, customers, friends and family joined in on the festivities throughout the 3 day event. Both press and fans were excited to see Todd back in the driver seat with such great track presence.

We look forward to continued racing excitement from J.R. Todd during the 2012 season, including this weekend's Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals in Atlanta, GA. Television coverage will be provided by ESPN2HD, both Saturday and Sunday evenings.

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J.R. Todd will return to Top Fuel action at this week's O'Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Spring Nationals presented by Super Start Batteries in Houston in a second car for Bob Vandergriff Jr. Racing and sponsored by Total Equipment.

The Lone Star state has been very good to Vandergriff during the past several years. He found his primary sponsor, C&J Energy Services, headquartered there and won his first Wally in Dallas last fall, and now, he welcomes Todd into the fold for several races beginning in Houston. Total Equipment is a subsidiary of C&J Energy Services.

Following the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals, Todd and new crew chief Kurt Elliot, tested in Charlotte to get Todd relicensed to compete in Houston.

Todd has not competed in Top Fuel since the 2009 event in Sonoma, but Vandergriff said that he looked as natural as ever.

"J.R. made a strong 3.90-second full pass right out of the box," said Vandergriff. "He's a great driver paired up with a strong team led by Kurt Eliott. It doesn't surprise me that the car ran good with the combination of those two guys added to largely the same crew that we had on the Yas Marina Circuit car last season, which ran a best of 3.78 seconds at 325 mph last fall."

Vandergriff's primary sponsor, C&J Energy Services, and its 300 hospitality guests attending the event race in Houston have a lot to look forward to since their last outing at the 2011 NHRA AAA Texas Falls Nationals in Dallas, where they helped cheer the team to its first ever Top Fuel event title. This time though, the guests in attendance will have twice as much to cheer for.

Barry Beadle, president of Total Equipment, is very excited about the upcoming race weekend. "This is going to be fun," he said. "We'll have a huge turnout with employees and customers of Total Equipment and C&J Energy Services attending the race in Houston. It's such an exciting atmosphere, and we have two strong drivers to root for in the Top Fuel class, so we can't wait until Friday qualifying starts to see where our guys rank and follow them throughout the weekend."

Over the past few weeks we have been preparing ourselves for the Intervention & Coiled Tubing Association (ICoTA) show in The Woodlands, TX. Early next week, we will be traveling down to the Woodlands Waterway Marriott Hotel Exhibit Hall to prepare Booth #711. We invite you to be our special guest to tour the exhibition, if you do not already have arrangement to attend, please contact us directly for a complimentary one-day registration either Tuesday or Wednesday, March 27-28th.

The Coiled Tubing and Well Intervention Conference continues its tradition as the global E&P industry's foremost venue for the latest intervention technologies, like electric line, slickline, hydraulic workover, and coiled-tubing used in the well-servicing industry.

On Friday, February 24th, we are inviting key individuals from the industry and local community to join the entire staff at Total Equipment to a on-site celebratory open house event to begin at 12:00pm. This event will mark the formal opening of our new 40,000 sqft world-class assembly facility that is currently up and running utilizing many lean manufacturing principles and techniques. We would be honored for you to accompany us to an enjoyable afternoon in Granbury, TX.

Since this truly a special occasion, we have asked the Granbury Chamber of Commerce to formally cut the ribbon on this new facility. A variety of local representatives will be present to partake in the ceremony. In addition, we are well aware that we can't enjoy a Friday afternoon without full stomachs, so in partnership with one of our generous suppliers, we will have a 50' BBQ rig parked on-site to grill up some tasty treats.

After you get the chance to tour the facility, make sure to check out the C&J Energy Services Racing NHRA Top Fuel Dragster that will be showcased. You think our 2200+ HP power plants that we use in our equipment are impressive, then you'll be blown away by this 8000 HP machine that sees speeds of 320MPH.

And of course, it wouldn't be a T.E.A.S. gathering if we didn't have company goodies making their way into the crowd! Look for apparel and promotional item giveaways throughout the afternoon.

With all the recent improvements in the Frac Pump production department, Total Equipment has completed ten 2250HP units that are ready for 2011 delivery dates. With a simple installation of one of our in-stock wet kits to your tractor, you can take your pick of the 3 various trailer configurations immediately. From CAT engine Frac Fleet and transmission with a SPM triplex power end to a Detroit MTU4000 and Allison Transmission with a Gardner Denver triplex power end... we have you taken care of!

Since the completion of our new 40,000sqft facility, our crew can build and test up to 5 Frac Units a week! Proper planning and aggressive sales tactics has allowed Total Equipment to have all current manufacturing requirements met so that we can begin testing the new Tier 4 Interim Frac plans in early 2012.

To reserve your Frac Pump today, call us at (817) 573-3550. Ask for Doyle!