KALITTA MOTORSPORTS / KB RACING, LLC
2008 NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series
Event 9 of 24
O'Reilly NHRA Summer Nationals
Heartland Park Topeka
Topeka, Kan.
May 30-June 1, 2008
Media Contact: Todd Myers
tmyers@kalittaracing.com
Hillary Will feeling the need for speed in the Heartland
TOPEKA, Kan., (May 27, 2008) – NHRA rising star Hillary Will, the fastest female in the history of professional drag racing and driver of the KB Racing, LLC Top Fuel dragster, is eager to climb back behind the wheel of her 334 plus-mph, nitro-fueled rail runner for this weekend’s, May 30-June 1, annual running of the O'Reilly NHRA Summer Nationals at Heartland Park Topeka in Topeka, Kan.
Will, along with several other NHRA stars, spent this past Memorial Day weekend not only remembering those who have fought and gave the ultimate sacrifice to keep the United States free, but also helping to promote the inaugural national event that will take place in Concord, N.C., just a few miles from Charlotte, in September.
“I can never get enough of racing, so for our weekend off, I went to the Coca-Cola 600 (NASCAR) at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Charlotte,” Will, a 28-year old native of Fortuna, Calif., said. “Being there made me miss the smell of nitro and the sound of an 8,000-horsepower race car. It also made me miss being in the driver’s seat. I was there watching those cars go around in circles, but I was actually thinking about driving our dragster down the quarter-mile.”
Due in part to consecutive semi-final showings at the previous two NHRA nationals events, Will enters the event in Topeka in 5th place in POWERade Top Fuel championship points, the highest points placement of her career so far. She is 271 points shy of the points leader.
“Even though we’ve only had one weekend off since the previous event in Bristol, it seems like it’s been too long. I can’t wait to get back in the race car, especially because our KB Racing, LLC dragster is running better than ever right now. I’m really glad we have back-to-back races coming up. I look forward to continuing our upward momentum.”
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. She finished the season in tenth place in Top Fuel championship points in ‘06.
The O'Reilly NHRA Summer Nationals begins Friday for the nitro-fueled classes with two qualifying sessions at 4:30 p.m. (CT) and 7:00 p.m. Two more qualifying opportunities take place Saturday at noon and 2:30 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 O'Reilly NHRA Summer Nationals is the 9th 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.