FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

KALITTA MOTORSPORTS
2008 NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series
Event 1 of 24
CARQUEST Auto Parts NHRA Winternationals
Auto Club Raceway at Pomona
Pomona, Calif.
Feb. 7-10, 2008

Media Contact: Todd Myers
tmyers@kalittaracing.com



Dave Grubnic and the Kalitta Motorsports team back in black and set to attack in 2008

POMONA, Calif., (Feb. 5, 2008) – For native Australian Dave Grubnic, the quest for the 2008 NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series Top Fuel championship begins with a blank slate, in more ways than one, this weekend, Feb. 7-10, at the season-opening CARQUEST Auto Parts NHRA Winternationals at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona (Calif.).

Heading into his fifth season with Kalitta Motorsports, Grubnic finds himself beginning the year without a major sponsor on his predominantly black, 8000-horsepower, nitro-fueled Top Fueler, but that doesn’t mean that the team will be, in any way, less of a contender to win the title on any given weekend of straight-line racing.

“Not having a major sponsor will motivate us to race even harder,” Grubnic, a 45-year old resident of Ennis, Mont., said. “We think our car is going to be a front-runner for the championship this season, so we want to go out to Pomona and show that to the fans, our competitors and any potential sponsors out there. Our race car put up some incredible numbers in (pre-season) testing. Our entire Kalitta Motorsports team is eager to get on the race track and show everyone what we have.”

In early 2004, Grubnic was hired to drive for legendary team owner Connie “the Bounty Hunter” Kalitta and Kalitta Motorsports. In the fall of ‘04, Grubnic won the lucrative and coveted Budweiser Shootout in Las Vegas, becoming only the fourth driver in the special event's history to win its $100,000 prize in his first attempt. Grubnic picked up an emotional first NHRA national event win in May, 2005 in Topeka, Kans., to become the first non-native North American to win a Top Fuel trophy. He has one other event victory to date, the 2006 running of the famed Gatornationals in Gainesville, Fla.

The CARQUEST Auto Parts NHRA Winternationals begins Thursday for the nitro-fueled classes with one qualifying session at 2:30 p.m. (PT). One more qualifying session follows on Friday at 2:30 p.m. Two more qualifying opportunities take place Saturday at 12:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. The top sixteen qualified cars will race Sunday in final eliminations beginning at 11:00 a.m.

All times and dates subject to change.

The CARQUEST Auto Parts NHRA Winternationals is the 1st of 24 national events in the 2008 NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series.


About Kalitta Motorsports

Based in Ypsilanti, Michigan, Kalitta Motorsports is a Top Fuel and Funny Car drag racing team in the NHRA (National Hot Rod Association) POWERade Drag Racing Series. The racing operation was started in 1959 by now legendary drag racer and team owner Connie “the Bounty Hunter” Kalitta. His son, Scott Kalitta, drives the DHL Toyota Solara Funny Car. Scott’s cousin, Connie’s nephew, Doug Kalitta drives the flagship Top Fuel dragster for Mac Tools. Native Australian Dave Grubnic drives the Kalitta Motorsports Top Fuel dragster, while Hillary Will drives the Ken Black-owned and Kalitta Motorsports-managed Top Fuel dragster.

Connie serves as head tuner for all Team Kalitta entries. He is assisted by crew chiefs Jim Oberhofer (Hillary Will-driven dragster) and Jon Oberhofer (Mac Tools dragster). Connie serves as crew chief on the DHL Toyota Solara Funny Car with assistance from co-crew chief Glenn Mikres and as the crew chief on the Kalitta Motorsports dragster with assistance from co-crew chief James Riola.

Associate sponsors on all Kalitta Motorsports’ race cars include Red Line Oil, Summit Racing Equipment, Technicoat Companies, and Toyota.