FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

KALITTA MOTORSPORTS
2008 NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series
Event 14 of 24
Schuck’s Auto Supply NHRA Nationals
Pacific Raceways
Kent, Wash.
July 18-20, 2008

Media Contact: Todd Myers
tmyers@kalittaracing.com


Doug Kalitta, driver of the Mac Tools Top Fuel dragster, qualified No. 12 (3.878 seconds, 310.48 mph) – advanced to round one

Doug Kalitta and the Mac Tools team take early exit in Seattle


SEATTLE, Wash., (July 20, 2008) – Sunday during eliminations of the Schuck’s Auto Supply NHRA Nationals at Pacific Raceways in Kent, Wash., just a few miles south of Seattle, Doug Kalitta, driver of the “Big Red”, 8,000-horsepower Mac Tools Top Fuel dragster, had his day end much earlier than expected.

Kalitta, the No. 12 qualifier (3.878 seconds, 310.48 mph), raced against No. 5 qualifier Morgan Lucas (3.848 sec., 312.50 mph) in the opening stanza of eliminations. As the race began, Kalitta held a slight starting line advantage (.057 sec. to .070 sec.), but Kalitta’s Mac Tools mount started smoking the tires down track from loss of traction, and that allowed Lucas to get the win light, 4.314 sec., 258.96 mph to 3.887 sec., 302.69 mph.

Kalitta is in now in 10th place in POWERade championship points.

Only the top 10 pro drivers in points in their respective classes will be eligible for the 2008 Countdown to the Championship that begins at the 19th event in Concord, N.C. Kalitta is now only 10 points ahead of the driver in 11th place.

Beginning with the previous event in Denver, the NHRA instituted a new racing distance for the nitro-fueled classes of Funny Car and Top Fuel dragster to 1,000 ft., as opposed to the traditional distance of 1,320 ft., or a quarter of a mile, as a temporary safety solution to help the drivers of the world’s quickest and fastest racing safely bring their cars to a stop more efficiently. The unprecedented action is in response to the tragic death of Kalitta Motorsports’ Scott Kalitta, Doug’s cousin, who died in a high-speed Funny Car qualifying accident in Englishtown, N.J., June 21.

Kalitta, unofficially, recorded the quickest 1,000-ft. elapsed time in NHRA history, 3.758 sec., in Joliet, Ill., in 2004.

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 Schuck’s Auto Supply NHRA Nationals was the 14th event of the 2008 NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series.


About Kalitta Motorsports

Based in Ypsilanti, Michigan, Kalitta Motorsports is a Top Fuel 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. Connie’s nephew, Doug Kalitta drives the flagship Top Fuel dragster for Mac Tools. Native Australian Dave Grubnic drives the DHL Top Fuel dragster, and 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 (KB Racing, LLC dragster), Jon Oberhofer (Mac Tools dragster co-crew chief), and Richard Hogan (Mac Tools dragster co-crew chief). Connie serves as crew chief on the DHL dragster with assistance from co-crew chief James Riola.

Associate sponsors on all Kalitta Motorsports’ race cars include Mac Tools, Red Line Oil, Summit Racing Equipment, Technicoat Companies, K2M, and Toyota.

For more info about Kalitta Motorsports, please visit www.teamkalitta.com.