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Todd Paton, co-founder and CEO of Performance Data Systems, will return to the driver’s seat of the Paton Racing Top Fuel dragster at this weekend’s American Rebel Light NHRA 4-Wide Nationals in Charlotte.

For the last decade or so, the Paton team has "rented" their highly competitive dragster to upcoming drivers looking to dip their toe in the world of NHRA Top Fuel racing, helping launch the career of a handful of drivers , including Shawn Reed and Spencer Hyde. But Paton says he's taking the keys back for the weekend.

"I've been getting plenty of laps in back home when we match race the car during the summers, but it's been a few years since I got behind the wheel at an NHRA national event,” he said. “My brother Tony and our crew have been pushing for me to get behind the wheel, and I'm excited we're doing it at Charlotte, where we runner-upped a couple of years ago with Cameron [Ferré] behind the wheel.”

Paton, who has driven nitro Funny Cars and Top Fuel dragsters for more than 25 years, spends plenty of time at NHRA events when he's not wheeling the family top fueler. His "day job" is servicing and consulting his many clients who run data acquisition systems on their race cars through his company, Performance Data Systems, or PDS.

"So many of the drivers and crew chiefs keep asking, ‘When are you guys coming out with the car?’ " he shared. "So, it's been fun to tell them I'll be driving and seeing their reactions. We've really enjoyed the many drivers whom we've worked with, like Shawn, Spencer, and last year with Cody [Krohn] and still have big plans to keep doing that ... but sometimes you just gotta get back in and feel it for yourself.”

"All of our supporters from 2024 are back to help us make this happen, so big thanks to them all for being a part of this — Performance Data Systems, Fast Eddie Speedwear, Ogilvie's Auto and Fleet, Quality Plus Compressors, Engineered Racing Services, Red Line Oil, as well as a new partner — Exhaust Gas Technologies (EGT) — we couldn't do it without them and are thrilled to get back in the mix at the four-wides for all of them, too.”
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