KALITTA MOTORSPORTS / KB RACING, LLC
2008 NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series
Event 6 of 24
Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals
Atlanta Dragway
Commerce, Ga.
April 24-27, 2008
Media Contact: Todd Myers
tmyers@kalittaracing.com
Hillary Will to balance straight car stars and parallel bars in Atlanta
COMMERCE, Ga., (April 22, 2008) – This weekend, April 24-27, at the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals at Atlanta Dragway in Commerce, Ga., a few miles northeast of downtown Atlanta on I-85, KB Racing, LLC Top Fuel dragster driver Hillary Will, the fastest female in the history of the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series (334.65 mph, Feb., 2008 – Pomona, Calif.), is hoping to continue her climb up in the POWERade championship points standings and to see even more vaulting and jumping in her trip to one of the original 13 colonies of the United States of America.
“We just keep inching our way up in points,” Will, a 28-year old native of Fortuna, Calif., said. “We want to go out and win every round and every race, but in the big picture, points are critical and it’s never too early to start thinking about that. We’re up to 6th place now, so hopefully we can continue to keep moving up this weekend.
“Atlanta is a special race for us because one of our best supporters, Summit Racing Equipment, is the title sponsor of the event. Summit has been with our team as an associate sponsor for my entire career in Top Fuel and with my KB Racing, LLC teammates Greg Anderson and Jason Line (Pro Stock) as a primary sponsor for several years as well. It would certainly mean more to me for us to get our first win at a Summit-sponsored event. Hopefully, that will happen Sunday.”
Will, a gymnast in her childhood and a current resident of Ann Arbor, Mich., is excited for another reason to be in the Peach State this weekend because of another event that is taking place just a few miles down the road from Atlanta Dragway.
“I’m a big fan of the University of Michigan gymnastics team, and I’ve gone to about five of their meets this year. They had a difficult season last year but fought back to a 28-2 record so far this season. Being a former gymnast, I understand their hard work and dedication. They are an inspiration to me. A lot of what I know and learned from gymnastics can be applied to driving my dragster. I’ll be rooting for them at the NCAA Gymnastics Championships this weekend in Athens, Ga. Since our race in Commerce is not far from there, I’m going to try to drive over and see some of the competition when I’m away from the race track.”
A former standout in the Top Alcohol Dragster class, Will moved up to the quickest and fastest NHRA professional class, Top Fuel, in 2006 behind the wheel of a newly formed team owned by Las Vegas businessman Ken Black and managed by Kalitta Motorsports, the multi-car team founded and owned by drag racing icon Connie “the Bounty Hunter” Kalitta. She won her first Top Fuel event trophy in Norwalk (IHRA) in her rookie season and made her first NHRA final-round appearance in Memphis. She finished the season in tenth place in Top Fuel championship points in ‘06.
The Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals begins Friday for the nitro-fueled classes with two qualifying sessions at 3:00 p.m. (ET) and 6:30 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 Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals is the 6th 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 (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 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.
For more info about Kalitta Motorsports, please visit www.teamkalitta.com.
About KB Racing, LLC
KB Racing, LLC is owned by Las Vegas businessmen Ken Black and his son Kenny Black. In the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series, KB Racing, LLC fields two Summit Racing Equipment Pro Stock entries, one driven by Greg Anderson and the other by Jason Line, and a Top Fuel dragster, managed by Kalitta Motorsports and driven by Hillary Will.