FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

KALITTA MOTORSPORTS / KB RACING, LLC
2008 NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series
Event 16 of 24
Brainerd Int’l Raceway
Brainerd, Minn.
Aug. 7-10, 2008

Media Contact: Todd Myers
tmyers@kalittaracing.com


Hillary Will, driver of the KB Racing, LLC Top Fuel dragster, qualified No. 15 (4.546 seconds, 177.07 mph) – advanced to round one

Hillary Will turned back in Brainerd


BRAINERD, Minn., (Aug. 10, 2008) – Despite a valiant comeback effort, Hillary Will, driver of the 8,000-horsepower KB Racing, LLC Top Fuel dragster, was unable to get an upset round-one win in Sunday’s final eliminations of the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series national event at Brainerd Int’l Raceway in Brainerd, Minn.

In the opening round of eliminations, Will, the No. 15 (4.546 seconds, 177.07 mph), matched up against the No. 2 qualifier (3.869 sec., 308.00 mph) Steve Torrence. Will had a tremendous starting line advantage (.098 seconds to .142 seconds) and her KB Racing, LLC group gave her the team’s best run of the weekend in her nitro-fueled rail, but it was just not enough to get her first elimination round-win in Brainerd as Torrence got to the finish line first, 3.993 sec., 305.56 mph to 3.887 sec., 307.16 mph.

“I’m so proud of my KB Racing, LLC team,” Will, a 28-year old native of Fortuna, Calif., said. “We struggled pretty bad in qualifying, but they never got down and then gave me a great car in the first round, but we just didn’t have quite enough. We’re disappointed, of course, but the way our team battled back is a testament to the great group of people we have working on our car.”

Will is currently in 7th place in POWERade championship points.

Beginning with the 13th 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, who died in a high-speed Funny Car qualifying accident in Englishtown, N.J., June 21.

Will became the fastest woman in the history of NHRA drag racing when she posted a 334.65-mph lap down the quarter-mile race track at the first of event of the 2008 season in Pomona, Calif. She became the first driver of either gender to go over 300 mph at the new 1,000-ft. finish line in Denver with a 302.21-mph mark in qualifying.

Will is currently the only female driver competing in the Top Fuel class.

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 later that year. She finished the season in 10th place in Top Fuel championship points in ‘06. Will picked up an emotional first NHRA national event title in Topeka, Kan., June 1, 2008.


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. Connie’s nephew, Doug Kalitta drives the flagship Top Fuel dragster for Mac Tools. Native Australian Dave Grubnic drives the DHL Top Fuel dragster, Jeff Arend drives the DHL Toyota Solara Funny Car, and Hillary Will drives the Ken Black-owned and Kalitta Motorsports-managed KB Racing, LLC 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) and Glenn Mikres (DHL Funny Car). Connie serves as crew chief on the DHL dragster with assistance from co-crew chief James Riola. Jon Oberhofer and Nick Boninfante are co-crew chiefs on the Mac Tools dragster.

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.


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.