KALITTA MOTORSPORTS
2008 NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series
Event 7 of 24
O'Reilly NHRA Midwest Nationals
Gateway Int’l Raceway
Madison, Ill.
May 2-4, 2008
Media Contact: Todd Myers
tmyers@kalittaracing.com
Dave Grubnic gets backing from St. Louis Carpenters Union for this weekend’s NHRA event
MADISON, Ill., (April 29, 2008) – This weekend, May 2-4, native Australian Dave Grubnic and his team will have primary sponsorship support on their 8,000-horsepower Kalitta Motorsports Top Fuel dragster from the St. Louis Carpenters Union as the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series rolls into Madison, Ill., just across the Mississippi River from downtown St. Louis, for the annual running of the O'Reilly NHRA Midwest Nationals at Gateway Int’l Raceway.
“The St. Louis Carpenters Union has been supporting NHRA drag racing for many years, and it’s an honor for me and our Kalitta Motorsports team to represent them this weekend in St. Louis,” Grubnic, a 45-year old resident of Ennis, Mont., said. “They’re going to bringing out a lot of guests to Gateway this weekend, and we’re looking forward to meeting them and hopefully showing them a great performance with our race car on the drag strip.”
“The St. Louis Carpenters Union is looking forward to the NHRA event at GIR this weekend, and the opportunity to promote its 21,000 union carpenters who live and work in the St. Louis region,” John Holzer, Director of Jurisdiction & Research, said. “Like Kalitta Motorsports, the Carpenters Union and our members possess the skills, desire and know-how necessary to be a winners and succeed in our profession. Sponsorship of Dave Grubnic and the Kalitta Motorsports Top Fueler gives us a unique chance to reach out to potential new members in an exciting environment while being a part of one of NHRA’s top teams.”
Grubnic was the Top Fuel runner-up in 2004 at GIR. He was a quarterfinalist at the event last season.
Grubnic and his Kalitta Motorsports teammate Doug Kalitta will also compete in the “NHRA on Dirt” event Thursday night, May 1, at Tri-City Speedway in Granite City, Ill. The event features an autograph session with Grubnic, Kalitta, and other participating stars of the NHRA POWERade Drag Series that begins at 5:30 p.m. (CT). Grubnic and Kalitta and their straight-line racing cohorts will take to the dirt oval of Tri-City Speedway at approximately 7:15 p.m. Tri-City Speedway is located eight miles north if GIR on Hwy. 203.
At the previous NHRA national event last weekend at Atlanta Dragway, Grubnic and his team, who flew the colors for DHL in final eliminations, qualified in the No. 8 position for Sunday’s race day. Unfortunately, Grubnic was on the losing end of a very close side-by-side race in the opening round against Antron Brown (4.597 seconds to 4.580 sec.).
Grubnic is currently in 9th place in POWERade Top Fuel championship points.
In early 2004, Grubnic was hired to drive for legendary team owner Connie “the Bounty Hunter” Kalitta and Kalitta Motorsports. In the fall of ‘04, Grubnic won the lucrative and coveted Budweiser Shootout in Las Vegas, becoming only the fourth driver in the special event's history to win its $100,000 prize in his first attempt. Grubnic picked up an emotional first NHRA national event win in May, 2005 in Topeka, Kans., to become the first non-native North American to win a Top Fuel trophy. He has one other event victory to date, the 2006 running of the famed Gatornationals in Gainesville, Fla.
The O'Reilly NHRA Midwest Nationals begins Friday for the nitro-fueled classes with two qualifying sessions at 4:00 p.m. (CT) and 6:30 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 O'Reilly NHRA Midwest Nationals is the 7th 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.