KALITTA MOTORSPORTS / KB RACING, LLC
2008 NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series
Event 10 of 24
Torco Racing Fuels Route 66 NHRA Nationals
Route 66 Raceway
Joliet, Ill.
June 5-8, 2008
Media Contact: Todd Myers
tmyers@kalittaracing.com
Hillary Will heads to Joliet looking for back-to-back NHRA wins
JOLIET, Ill., (June 4, 2008) – A permanent smile is beginning to form on the face of NHRA Top Fuel star Hillary Will, driver of the 8,000-horsepower KB racing, LLC dragster, as she and her team make the trip to Joliet, Ill., just south of Chicago, this weekend, June 5-8, for the annual running of the Torco Racing Fuels Route 66 NHRA Nationals at Route 66 Raceway.
At the previous NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series event in Topeka, Kan., last Sunday, Will, the world’s fastest female (334.65 mph), won the first Top Fuel title trophy of her three-year career. She became the 11th female to win an NHRA event, and the Ann Arbor, Mich., resident has been overjoyed ever since the triumph.
“It’s still all just starting to soak in,” Will, a 28-year old native of Fortuna, Calif., said. “It’s been a whirlwind since we won, and I’ve not had a lot of time to just relax and think about it. I’m still pinching myself to make sure it’s not all a dream.
“It’s a huge relief for me and my KB Racing, LLC team to finally get a win. We’ve been through a lot together, and we’ve been through some really tough times together, but going through the down times makes us all appreciate this accomplishment even more. We’ve had to fight through quite a bit of adversity, but we persevered and it paid off.
“Route 66 Raceway is a great facility, and the race track is one of the best in the country, so we’re really looking forward to racing in Joliet this weekend, and hopefully we’ll have a chance to make it two wins in a row.”
Will became the 8th female Top Fuel winner in NHRA history with her Topeka victory. She joined other auto racing female winners in what has become the year of the woman racer so far in 2008. Recently, Ashley Force became the first female event winner in the NHRA Funny Car class, and Danica Patrick became the first woman to win in the Indy Car Series earlier this year. Also, in May, Melanie Troxel became the first woman to win event titles in both of the NHRA’s nitro-fueled classes – Top Fuel and Funny Car.
Will is currently in 4th place in POWERade championship points.
At the first two events of this season’s 24-event NHRA national event schedule, Will set the track record for speed, for either gender, at both of the quarter-miles at Phoenix Int’l Raceway (334.32 mph) and at the Auto Club Raceway at Pomona (Calif.) (334.56 mph). Will’s speedy blast in California established her as the fastest woman ever in drag racing. She and the KB Racing, LLC team were also the fastest of the racing weekend (tie) at the third event in Gainesville, Fla., with a 330.63-mph lap. They were again the fastest team of the fifth event in Las Vegas, 331.85 mph.
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.
The Torco Racing Fuels Route 66 NHRA Nationals begins Friday for the nitro-fueled classes with two qualifying sessions at 3:30 p.m. (CT) and 7:00 p.m. Two more qualifying opportunities take place Saturday at 1:00 p.m. and 4:00 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 Torco Racing Fuels Route 66 NHRA Nationals is the 10th 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.
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.