FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

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 WINS IN TOPEKA – The world’s fastest female gets her first NHRA event win

TOPEKA, Kan., (June 1, 2008) – The question of “when” for Hillary Will has been answered – It’s today. Sunday at Heartland Park Topeka in Topeka, Kans., Top Fuel rising star Hillary Will, driver of the 8,000-horsepower KB Racing, LLC Top Fuel dragster, picked up the first NHRA national event of her young career at the O'Reilly NHRA Summer Nationals, the 9th event of the 2008 NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series, with a final round victory over Larry Dixon, 4.744 seconds, 304.53 mph to 4.960 seconds, 281.42 mph.

Will becomes the eighth female Top Fuel winner in NHRA history and now joins 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. Two weeks ago 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’s KB Racing, LLC team’s, led by crew chief Jim Oberhofer and co-crew chief Troy Fasching, last trip to the finals was at the event in Memphis in 2006. The event in Topeka was the 55th NHRA national event of Will’s career.

“Words can’t describe how I feel right now,” Will, a 28-year old native of Fortuna, Calif., said. “I have dreamed of this day for so long, and it’s finally here. My KB racing, LLC team is awesome. They’ve given me such a great race car all year long, and I can’t thank them and my team owners Ken Black and Kenny Black enough for everything that they have done for me and this wonderful opportunity.

“We knew we had everything to win, and today everything went our way. Thank you to all of our sponsors and everyone who has supported us and stuck with us. Now that we have gotten a win, I’m sure it’s just going to make us hungrier for more.

“This is definitely the year of the woman racer. It’s an honor for me to be mentioned with all of the great women who have raced and won.”

En route to the landmark win and the second final of her three-year Top Fuel career Will defeated Doug Herbert in round one, Morgan Lucas in the quarterfinals, and Cory McClenathan in the semifinals.

With her victory, Will moves up to 4th in POWERade championship points standings. It’s the highest points placement for Will in her career.

Will and the KB Racing, LLC team have now won 13 rounds of eliminations so far in 2008, four more than they won in all of the 23 events last season.

Will’s Kalitta Motorsports teammate Dave Grubnic, driver of the DHL Top Fuel dragster, also got his first NHRA event win in Topeka in 2005.

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.


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.