FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

KALITTA MOTORSPORTS
2008 NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series
Event 4 of 24
O’Reilly NHRA Spring Nationals
Houston Raceway Park
Baytown, Tex.
March 28-30, 2008

Media Contact: Todd Myers
tmyers@kalittaracing.com


Doug Kalitta, Mac Tools Top Fuel dragster – No. 9 qualifier, advanced to semifinals

Doug Kalitta and the Mac Tools team race to the semifinals in Houston

HOUSTON, (March 30, 2008) – Sunday during eliminations at the annual running of the O’Reilly NHRA Spring Nationals in Baytown, Tex., just a few miles out of the Houston city limits, Doug Kalitta, driver of the “Big Red”, 8,000-horsepower Mac Tools Top Fuel dragster, picked up his first and second round-wins of the 2008 NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series in his march to the semifinals in the Lone Star State.

Kalitta, the No. 9 qualifier (4.606 seconds, 317.87 mph), faced his Kalitta Motorsports teammate Hillary Will, the No. 8 qualifier (4.599 sec., 316.45 mph) in the opening round of the 16-car eliminations. Kalitta defeated Will in a great side-by-side lap for both cars, 4.607 sec., 317.19 mph to 4.619 sec., 310.84 mph. In round two, Kalitta and his Mac Tools machine blasted to the finish line in 4.635 seconds at 311.13 mph to get the quarter-final win over Urs Erbacher (4.785 sec., 309.70 mph).

In the semifinals, Kalitta raced against Antron Brown. Kalitta was away from the starting line first (.044 sec., to .056 sec.), but his 4.689-sec., 311.56-mph run was not quite enough to keep Brown from getting the win light in a good race, 4.570 sec., 321.88 mph.

“Making the semifinals is a big, big step for our Mac Tools team,” Kalitta, a 43-year old resident of Ann Arbor, Mich., said. “We’ve been struggling for a while, so this was a really good weekend for our team. I think we’ve turned the corner now, and hopefully you’ll see the Mac Tools car in more and more rounds now.”

With his semi-final showing, Kalitta moves up from 14th to 11th place in 2008 POWERade Top Fuel championship points.

Also, Team Kalitta announced Sunday that famed nitro tuner Richard Hogan has been hired to be the co-crew chief on the Mac Tools Top Fueler. Hogan joins co-crew chief Jon Oberhofer to equally share the tuning responsibilities on “Big Red”.

Since winning the NHRA’s equivalent of Rookie of the Year, the Automobile Club of Southern California’s Road to the Future Award after the 1998 drag racing season, Kalitta has driven his dragster to 30 Top Fuel national event titles, which places him in sixth in career wins for the sport’s quickest and fastest class. In the past five NHRA seasons, Kalitta has solidified his place among the best Top Fuel pilots of all-time. In 2006, he won a career-high five national events in 2006 and led the POWERade points for almost the entire second half of the season. After finishing just 14 points shy of his first NHRA championship, Kalitta garnered his third career runner-up points finish in 2006. He was also points runner-up in 2003 and 2004. In 2007, he won one event – the event held in Richmond, Va.

The O’Reilly NHRA Spring Nationals was the 4th 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, K2M, and Toyota.