FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

KALITTA MOTORSPORTS
2008 NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series
Event 7 of 24
O'Reilly NHRA Midwest Nationals
Gateway Int’l Raceway
Madison, Ill.
May 2-4, 2008

Media Contact: Todd Myers
tmyers@kalittaracing.com

Dave Grubnic and the St. Louis Carpenters’ Union team qualify No. 1 in St. Louis

MADISON, Ill., (May 3, 2008) – Native Australian Top Fuel dragster driver Dave Grubnic, driving this weekend for the St. Louis Carpenters’ Union, will begin tomorrow’s final eliminations of the O'Reilly NHRA Midwest Nationals at Gateway Int’l Raceway, just across the Mississippi River from downtown St. Louis, from the top spot in the Top Fuel qualifying order for the first time since the 2005 NHRA Gatornationals event in Gainesville, Fla.

Grubnic’s booming blast of 4.467 seconds, 326.32 mph down the quarter-mile at GIR not only sets him as the favorite to win tomorrow’s Top Fuel title trophy, but it also set a new track record for elapsed time and is the quickest ET recorded by in driver in any class so far this season in the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series.

“I can’t say enough about how great my team is,” Grubnic, a 45-year old resident of Ennis, Mont., said. “Connie (Kalitta, crew chief and team owner) and James (Riola, co-crew chief) and all my guys have been working so hard, and our No. 1 in St. Louis is a testament to that. We’ve got all the great people from the St. Louis Carpenters’ Unions out here supporting us this weekend, and this a fantastic way of showing them how much we appreciate what they are doing for us and everything they’ve done for the St. Louis area.”

Grubnic is currently in 9th place in POWERade Top Fuel championship points.

Grubnic’s Kalitta Motorsports Top Fuel teammates, Hillary Will, driver of the KB Racing, LLC dragster, and Doug Kalitta, driver of the Mac Tools dragster, will join Grubnic in the top-half of tomorrow’s 16-car field as they enter eliminations qualified in the No. 3 and No. 5 spots respectively (4.502 sec., 324.59 mph and 4.524 sec.) Scott Kalitta, driver of the DHL Toyota Solara, qualified his fuel flopper in the No. 15 slot for Funny Car eliminations (4.822 sec., 324.98 mph).

Tomorrow’s eliminations are scheduled to start at 11:00 a.m. (CT)

The O'Reilly NHRA Midwest Nationals is the 7th 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.