KALITTA MOTORSPORTS
2008 NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series
Event 5 of 24
SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals
The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Las Vegas, Nev.
April 10-13, 2008
Media Contact: Todd Myers
tmyers@kalittaracing.com
Doug Kalitta and the Mac Tools team look to Las Vegas to build winning momentum
LAS VEGAS, (April 8, 2008) – At this weekend’s, April 10-13, annual running of the SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, just outside of the Las Vegas city limits, Doug Kalitta, driver of the 8,000-horsepower “Big Red” Mac Tools Top Fuel dragster, and his team are hoping to improve on their semi-final finish at the previous event and Houston and do some extracurricular “roundy-round” racing.
During the event in Houston, the Mac Tools team also added highly-successful nitro tuner Richard Hogan to their roster as a co-crew chief. The addition of Hogan and their competitive outing in Texas have made Kalitta and his team optimistic about their chances of taking home another trophy from Sin City.
“It’s definitely a plus to have Hogan on our team,” Kalitta, a 43-year old resident of Ann Arbor, Mich., said. “He and Jon ‘O’ (Oberhofer, co-crew chief) have already shown that they can work well together. Having an extra set of eyes is a big help, but having someone with Richard’s knowledge and experience is invaluable. Jon and Richard complement each other’s strengths, too, so this is an exciting time for the Mac Tools team.”
Kalitta will also compete with other NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series stars in Thunder Roadsters Saturday night, April 12, at The Bullring at Las Vegas Motor Speedway for a 15-lap charity race, NHRA Stars in Short Track Cars. The experience will not be Kalitta’s first with racing around in circles. He was ARCA/WWAR Midget Rookie of the Year in 1990 and USAC National Midget Rookie of the Year in 1991. In 1994, he was crowned the USAC National Sprint Car Champion. He followed his title with runner-up points finishes in 1995 and 1996.
“It should be a lot of fun. I’ll probably have a target on my back because the other drivers know I’ve got a little experience turning left, but that’s okay. Hopefully, all they’ll see is my back,” Kalitta said with a laugh.
Kalitta won the fall event in Las Vegas in 2004. He is currently in 11th place in 2008 POWERade Top Fuel championship points.
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 SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals begins Friday for the nitro-fueled classes with two qualifying sessions at 1:30 p.m. (PT) and 4:30 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 SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals is the 5th 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.