FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

KALITTA MOTORSPORTS
2008 NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series
Event 2 of 24
Checker Schuck’s Kragen NHRA Nationals
Firebird Int’l Raceway
Phoenix, Ariz.
Feb. 22-24, 2008

Media Contact: Todd Myers
tmyers@kalittaracing.com



Doug Kalitta and the Mac Tools team determined to deter desert drought with a win in Phoenix

PHOENIX, Ariz., (Feb. 20, 2008) – It’s been seven long years since Doug Kalitta, driver of the 8,000-horsepower “Big Red” Mac Tools Top Fuel dragster, drove his bright red rail into the winner’s circle at Firebird Int’l Raceway in Phoenix, Ariz. Kalitta and his team, led by crew chief Jon Oberhofer, are hoping that this weekend’s, Feb. 22-24, annual running of the Checker Schuck’s Kragen NHRA Nationals in the Grand Canyon State will see them once again take home the Phoenix title trophy for the sport’s quickest and fastest class.

“I can definitely remember the win in Phoenix in ’01,” Kalitta, a 43-year old resident of Ann Arbor, Mich., said. “We didn’t qualify all that great and we had to run [Dave] Grubnic, who is now my teammate, in round one. We were able to get by him and had a very close race with [Larry] Dixon in the second round. [Kenny] Bernstein smoked the tires against us in the semis, and we were fortunate enough to get by the late Darrell Russell in the finals.

“As you can tell, we beat some really good drivers and teams that day, and our car ran in the 4.60s (seconds) all during eliminations. Hopefully we can get that consistency to happen again for us this weekend. It would be great to put our “Big Red” car in the winner’s circle again at Firebird.”

Kalitta was the event runner-up in 2004. He was the No. 1 qualifier at Firebird Int’l Raceway in 2003.

Kalitta’s uncle, team owner and drag racing legend Connie “the Bounty Hunter” Kalitta will celebrate his 70th birthday this Sunday, Feb. 24.

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 Checker Schuck’s Kragen NHRA Nationals begins Friday for the nitro-fueled classes with two qualifying sessions at 2:00 p.m. (MT) and 4:30 p.m. Two more qualifying opportunities take place Saturday at 12:30 p.m. and 3:00 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 Checker Schuck’s Kragen NHRA Nationals is the 2nd 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 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 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 K2M.