FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

KALITTA MOTORSPORTS
2008 NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series
Event 11 of 24
Lucas Oil NHRA SuperNationals
Old Bridge Township Raceway Park
Englishtown, N.J.
June 19-22, 2008

Media Contact: Todd Myers
tmyers@kalittaracing.com
901-301-4078


Team DHL looks to carry winning momentum into Englishtown

ENGLISHTOWN, N.J., (June 18, 2008) –This weekend, June 19-22, at the annual running of the Lucas Oil NHRA SuperNationals Scott Kalitta, driver of the DHL Toyota Solara Funny Car, and native Australian Dave Grubnic, driver of the DHL Top Fuel dragster, will put their bright yellow and red entries on the famed drag strip at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park in Englishtown, N.J., in hopes of building upon their recent successes.

At the previous national event in Chicago, Kalitta and the DHL Funny Car team posted a runner-up finish. It was Kalitta’s first trip to the final round in a nitro-fueled flopper since 1989. Grubnic, a 45-year old resident of Ennis, Mont., and the 8,000-horsepower DHL dragster also made a strong showing in Chicago with a quarter-final finish.

“The runner-up finish in Chicago has breathed new life into our entire DHL team,” Kalitta, a 46-year old resident of Palmetto, Fla., “Everyone knows the struggles that our team has been through with our Funny Car. It’s been terribly frustrating for all of us not to see the performances that we know we’re capable of, so to finally turn a corner in Chicago was the shot in the arm that we needed so badly. Hopefully we’ll be able to keep it up this weekend in Englishtown and continue to improve and move forward with our car and the DHL dragster as well.”

Grubnic is currently in 10th place in POWERade Top Fuel championship points, while Kalitta is in 18th place in Funny Car 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.

Kalitta is the son of team owner and drag racing legend Conrad “Connie” Kalitta. He returned to the Funny Car class in 2006 after many successful years at the helm of a Top Fuel dragster. He won the NHRA Top Fuel World Championship in 1994 and 1995 as well as 17 NHRA national event trophies, but got his first professional NHRA national event win under the carbon fiber canopy of a Funny Car in Houston in 1989.

The Lucas Oil NHRA SuperNationals begins Friday for the nitro-fueled classes with two qualifying sessions at 4:00 p.m. (ET) and 7:00 p.m. Two more qualifying opportunities take place Saturday at 1:00 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 Lucas Oil NHRA SuperNationals is the 11th 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 DHL 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 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.