Congratulations to Mission Auto Parts of San Antonio, Texas - Grand Prize Winners in the Goodson Route 66 Photo Contest
A big thank you to everyone who entered the Route 66 Photo Contest to commemorate our 66th anniversary. The drawing has been held and the winners are:
Grand Prize:
Amelia Webb, Mission Auto Parts of San Antonio, TX
Other winners are:
Hello Everyone,
I hope all of you had a great weekend and hopefully stayed away from all of the crazy weather that went on in the Midwest. Team Kalitta made our annual trek to Topeka, Kansas for the NHRA Summer Nationals, and of course, the weather was interesting to say the least. I attached a picture from our pit area on Saturday evening of a funnel cloud trying to form over the racetrack. Like the bunch of dopes that us racers can sometimes be, we thought it was a great idea to all sit there and potentially watch a tornado form right over us. I sent my wife Tammy this picture at the time this was all going on, and of course she thought we were all stupid, she was pretty much right when you think about it. A few people from other teams that were staying at the hotel we use to stay at in Topeka, got hit with a hail storm that knocked out windows in their rental cars. I guess it was a good thing we were staying at the Holiday Inn on the other side of town!
Ok, enough about weather. Going into Topeka, we felt like we were starting to make some good progress with Doug’s Kalitta Air dragster. On Friday we ran a 3.88 right out of the box, and then followed that up with a 3.84 at 320 mph on Friday evening. The 3.84 landed us in the number six spot in qualifying, which put Doug up against Morgan Lucas for first round. The only problem that we continued to have with Doug’s car is that it just won’t 60 foot as quick as we would like. On Sunday morning, our weather program that we have, indicated that the water grains were much higher and the barometer was much lower, which meant the air was much worse than the previous days. So with that being said, I did what anyone else would do, I tuned the motor up. At the time it was a good move, but about 30 minutes before first round, things started to change, and change drastically! The water grains dropped by almost 30 grains, and the barometer changed almost 20 points, which meant we had way to much compression in the motor, which meant we needed to change head gaskets. Since there wasn’t time to change head gaskets, we left the motor alone, adjusted in other areas, and hoped for the best. It turned out to be a good move, because we ran a 3.87 while Morgan smoked the tires. The good news was that our 60 foot time was our best of the weekend up until that point.
In the second round, Doug was up against Larry Dixon and the Al-Anabi Team. With the track being about 18 degrees warmer than it was in the first round, we knew we needed to be careful with our clutch application, but we also knew that we couldn’t be to cautious against the Al-Anabi Team. Again, our 60 foot time improved and the Kalitta Air car made a nice lap, running a 3.90 at 306 mph which beat Larry’s cylinder dropping 3.99. In the semi-finals, Doug was up against Bob Vandergriff, who was having one of those lucky days that you need to have every now and then. Our plan was to not beat ourselves and try and duplicate our 3.90 run from the second round. Our plan didn’t work as the Kalitta Air Car again had its best 60 foot of the weekend, but spun the tires at about 150 feet, giving Bob the win. Overall, we are excited about the direction that Doug’s car is going in, and we feel a win is coming!
Jeff and Grubby struggled all weekend with their hot rods, but as with any race, you learn something. Grubby and his Kalitta Air Team hurried back to the shop after Atlanta and assembled a new car to race with in Topeka. Unfortunately as with any new car, they had the new car blues that didn’t get worked out until first round. Since Grubby ended up qualifying 16th, he had a first round match-up against number one qualifier Tony Schumacher. Connie and Grubby finally got everything sorted out, and gave Tony a run for his money, but just came up short. Tony ran a real nice 3.84 to Grubbies very respectable 3.90. With all of the bugs worked out, we look for good things out of Grubby in the future!
Jeff actually ran good in qualifying on Friday but his 4.15 wasn’t good enough to land in the Top 12, which meant his run didn’t count going into Saturday. On Saturday Jeff struggle with tire smoke and got stuck in the number 16 spot, which also meant he would run the number one qualifier, which was Jack Beckman. The DHL car gave Jack a good race, but just didn’t have enough to get the win. Jeff’s 4.25 was decent, but just not enough against Beckman’s 4.17. The good news is that Jeff is still in sixth place and the car is becoming more and more consistent at each race.
Well that’s about it from me, I hope all of you have a great Memorial Day weekend and let’s all hope that we all enjoy some nice weather! Take care everyone and I will type at you next week.
Jim O
Jim “O” Oberhofer
Kalitta Motorsports
Tim Wilkerson consistently mentions how every lap, whether successful or unsuccessful, is an opportunity to widen one’s knowledge. He therefore was far more philosophical, as opposed to frustrated or angry, when his Levi, Ray & Shoup Shelby Mustang smoked the tires and went down to defeat in round one, here at Heartland Park in Topeka.
Facing Matt Hagan, who missed out on Friday night’s “home run session” with mechanical problems, Wilk may have had the upper hand in terms of qualifying spots, but Hagan’s strong win was the second-quickest run of the round and this could not be classified as any sort of upset. Wilk smoked the tires early, Hagan tore down the track to a strong 4.112, and the LRS team saw it’s weekend come to a close in far too much of a hurry.
“I know it’s hard for people to see a tire-smoker and a loss in the opening round and think of that as a team making progress, but we are doing that and we’re inching up on knowing how to run this car a little better,” Wilkerson said. “Right now, we’re in a spot we’re not used to being in, because we’re making a ton of power and we’re having a hard time applying it to the track when the sun is out. It’s like the world is backwards, because we’ve always been a team that likes the hot tracks but we weren’t able to run all that strong when it was cool out.
“Now, we’ve got horsepower to spare, too much for a day like this, and we just need to keep pecking away at how to apply it to the race track without doing what we did this morning. We will get there, and when we do we’ll be tough to beat. Hey, we made three good runs out of five laps this weekend, and just a few races ago we were getting lucky to make one out of five. That’s progress.”
Wilk’s three good runs came in succession, with the best saved for Friday night’s session under the lights. His 4.081 was his quickest run of the season, his first run in 2011 in the 4.0 range, and it qualified him 6th in one of the tightest and most competitive fields of the year. A prime example was how his 4.081 landed sixth, while Hagan landed 11th with a 4.102. It’s all incremental process, if not a bit maddeningly slow.
“Believe me, I’d like to have it all just perfect tomorrow, but we really are having to find our way into the tune-up from a whole different direction, because just relying on how we used to run was not the right approach,” Wilkerson said. “You have to keep adapting and improving in this sport, or you’ll get left behind. We didn’t want to get left behind, so we’re changing things and learning how to do it this way. It’s a process, and we’re getting there, but there are some steps in the deal that we wish weren’t so hard to take.
“We ran really good here for two days, but we weren’t able to do what we wanted in round one and that’s disappointing, for us and for our sponsors. The thing is, though, we have to stick with the process and keep getting smarter. We may be a lot of things, but I guarantee you we’re not knuckleheads. We’ll get it.”
The NHRA Full Throttle tour will take Memorial Day weekend off, and then it’s on to historic Raceway Park in Englishtown, N.J, on June 3-5. The Englishtown race kicks off a stretch of seven races in 10 weeks.
Hello Everyone,
With all that seems to be going on in this world lately, I can honestly say that I enjoy writing these little updates about Team Kalitta and our travels. I know that I, along with everyone else here at Kalitta Motorsports, are fortunate to be working for a guy like Connie Kalitta, who luckily for us, loves nitromethane and drag racing.
This past weekend Team Kalitta was in Commerce Georgia for the NHRA Southern Nationals. When I arrived at Atlanta Dragway on Thursday, I checked my weather station and noticed the temperature was about 90 degrees, which didn’t surprise me at all. What did surprise me though, was that the weather forecasters were calling for temperatures to fall about 5 degrees each day. It wouldn’t be Atlanta without some crazy weather and then you throw a bumpy racetrack in the mix, and you have pure fun!
Jeff and the DHL Team were still riding high after their Houston win and made some nice runs in qualifying. Their 4.13 was good enough for the number seven spot and a first round match up with Ron Capps. The one thing we have really tried to do with the DHL Car as of late, is to not smoke the tires. Unlike the Top Fuel cars, it seems that if you can just go down the track in Funny Car, you have a good shot of winning that round. I think the DHL Team proved that in Houston with their win. Jon O and Nicky made sure the DHL Car would go A to B by running a nice 4.18 against Ron’s 4.26, giving Jeff the win. In the second round Jeff was matched up against Bob Tasca, who had been running very well all weekend. The DHL car kept Tasca honest but just didn’t have enough to beat Bob who ran a 4.12 to Jeff’s 4.21. The good thing is that the DHL Car is going rounds and in sixth place in points!
Doug and the Kalitta “K” Car made some changes to the chassis before Atlanta and they seem to be working. After qualifying in the number eight spot with a 3.91, Doug was ready for a first round duel against Doug Foley, who whipped our butts in Gainesville earlier this year. Myself along with Troy Fasching and the rest of the “K” Car crew, wanted to make sure that we would not be whipped again. With the track being in better shape than it had been all weekend long, we knew we could be more aggressive with the engine and clutch combo. Of course, when you have a driver like Doug Kalitta, you always have a shot no matter what. At the start, Doug left first and never looked back, running our best time of the weekend, a 3.87 at 315 mph. With the win, that set up a second round race with number one qualifier Spencer Massey, who ran a 3.86 in the first round. At the start both Doug and Spencer had great reaction times, but in the end Spencer had just a little bit more power running a 3.90 to Doug’s 3.91. All in all I really believe that we are heading in the right direction with Doug’s car, and a win shouldn’t be to far off in the future.
Grubby and the Candlewood Suites car made some pretty good laps in qualifying, running a best of a 3.91, which ended up being good for the number 10 spot. For first round, Grubby was paired up against Antron Brown who was very capable of throwing a good number on the board. Now we all know that the Bossman, Connie Kalitta, is never afraid to be aggressive with his tuneup. With Grubby being the last pair and the track being about 5 degrees warmer than when Doug ran, Connie knew that he was going to take a chance with his tuneup. At the start Grubby and Antron both had good reaction times, with Grubby being right there until about 300 feet, when the Candlewood Suites Car spun the tires ending Grubbies day. It was really cool representing Candlewood Suites this weekend and we look forward to doing it again in Chicago.
With no weekend off between Atlanta and our next race in Topeka, Team Kalitta stayed at Atlanta Dragway on Monday, servicing the cars and then driving the rigs to Topeka. Heartland Park in Topeka has been good to Team Kalitta in the past, and we hope it is good to us again this weekend. Over the years a Team Kalitta car has visited the Topeka Winners Circle 9 times, and have been in numerous final rounds. Topeka is kind of like Atlanta, in that you never know what kind of weather you will have or how hot the track will be.
Well, that’s all of my rambling for this week. I hope all of you have a great weekend and if you can, check us out on ESPN 2 on Saturday and Sunday. You never know, you could see a Kalitta Mosh Pit on the starting line.
Take care everyone!
PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE RACING’S MOST EXPERIENCED RIDER HELPING HIS DEEP-SOUTH NEIGHBORS
BIRMINGHAM, Al 5/10/11 Jeff Taylor, executive director of the East Georgia Chapter of the American Red Cross, announced today that National Hot Rod Association Pro Stock Motorcycle racer Steve Johnson of Irondale, Alabama will represent the organization during the running of the NHRA Southern Nationals at Atlanta Dragway in Commerce this coming weekend. Johnson, drag racing motorcycle racing’s most experienced competitor, will be making his 301st start in Atlanta. A two-time winner of the prestigious NHRA U.S. Nationals, Johnson is currently in 10th place in the Full Throttle Series standings.
Johnson’s Suzuki will be decked out in official American Red Cross colors and logos for the weekend, and his team will be wearing coordinated Red Cross-themed uniforms. “We’re pulling out all the stops for this effort,” said Johnson. “This is not only important to every member of our team, it’s important for the people of Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia and the rest of the Deep South. Our neighbors really need our help right now, and we know our friends and fans in NHRA Drag Racing are incredibly generous. We’re doing everything in red and white this weekend so everyone will remember what our neighbors have gone through, and will dig deep to help them.”
“We’re excited about Steve representing us,” said Mr. Taylor. “He’s the kind of high profile competitor that will help get our message out there that we’re still collecting funds to help the people who have lost their homes in the recent tornados that swept through Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi and much of the rest of the South. We’re supported 100 percent by donations, and this effort on behalf of the American Red Cross by Steve Johnson is much appreciated. It will go a long way towards keeping this important issue in front of the public.”
“This is all about our friends and neighbors,” added Johnson. “We were personally very lucky in that the storms missed us, but the devastation is all around us, and we know people are hurting. We’re hoping that drag racing’s generous fans will help us reach our goal of $10,000 for the weekend.”
Johnson will have a special collection point in his pit area. Additionally, the East George Chapter of the American Red Cross will have a booth set up in the Manufacturer’s Midway. Working with Steve Johnson on this effort is NHRA Pro Stock car driver Allen Johnson (no relation) of Greenville, Tennessee, who has also seen the devastation wrought by the tornados first hand. “We had some serious damage here in Tennessee,” said Allen, “along with a number of people who were seriously injured. The death toll was surprising, but we were luckier than the folks in Alabama and Mississippi. It was really bad down there.”
On Saturday afternoon there will be a formal autograph session at the American Red Cross booth after the second qualifying session at approximately 3:30 PM. On Sunday morning there will be a Track Walk with legendary 6-time NHRA Pro Stock champion Warren Johnson (no relation – again!) where the American Red Cross will again have a major presence. Steve Johnson will also participate in the Track Walk.
“We’re pleased to help the American Red Cross and Steve with these efforts,” said NHRA president Tom Compton. “We know a lot of our competitors are a lot more than racers, and Steve is an excellent example of someone giving back to his community.”
If you are unable to attend the NHRA Southern Nationals in person, donations can be made the American Red Cross by calling 1-800-RED CROSS, or online at http://eastgeorgia.redcross.org/. A $10 donation may also be made by texting the phrase “REDCROSS” to 90999.
Pro Stock Motorcycle Team
Hot Rods / Hot Cams / Vertex / Cylinder Works / Pivot Works Dirt Bike Suspensions
Cengage Learning / White Rodgers / Simpson Race Products
Mickey Thompson Tires / Alpinestars/EVS
“WE JUST WEREN’T QUICK ENOUGH” – FIRST ROUND LOSS DERAILS JOHNSON’S AMERICAN RED CROSS BENEFIT OUTING
COMMERCE, GA 5/15/11 Pro Stock Motorcycle drag racing veteran Steve Johnson of Irondale, Ala. had high hopes for the National Hot Rod Association’s Southern Nationals at Atlanta Dragway this weekend. “This was a really important race for us,” he said after a disappointing first round loss. “It was not only important for our position in the Full Throttle points standings, but even more so because we were representing the American Red Cross in their fund raising efforts to help victims of the recent tornados in the Deep South. Many of our friends and neighbors in Alabama, Mississippi and Georgia have lost their homes and virtually everything they had. I hope our efforts kept the publicity rolling for this very important fund-raising effort.”
Johnson is drag racing’s most experienced competitor on two wheels, today making his 301st NHRA national event start. “I’d be less than honest if I didn’t admit to being proud of that record,” Johnson said, “but when you get right down to it, we lost in the first round today, and that hurts. Obviously, we’d hoped to do better.”
Johnson’s American Red Cross-themed Suzuki struggled in qualifying, with crew chief Tim Kulungian making radical changes to the tune-up in an effort to make the motorcycle quicker. “We ran a pretty decent 7.091 second elapsed time on Friday afternoon,” Kulungian said, “but we knew we could run harder. The ironic part of it is that we did run quicker, but even though the elapsed times and speeds looked okay, we needed more.”
Johnson faced Hector Arana, Jr. in the first round, and after having capped off qualifying with a best effort of 6.983 seconds, the last thing he and the team expected was to have their Suzuki slow to a seven second flat elapsed time on that all-important run. Arana won with a superior 6.973 second run. “The most frustrating aspect of it,” Johnson said, “was that we didn’t do anything radical for that first round. We were fairly conservative, and maybe we should have gone the other way, and been a lot more aggressive.
“Yeah, I know. It’s like being a Monday Morning Quarterback, when you can see the whole field, including the guy who was wide open for a touchdown, that you missed when it really counted. We can’t go back, we can only go forward, and do our best in our next outing in New Jersey on the first weekend of June.”
In addition to Johnson’s Suzuki carrying the American Red Cross colors into the battle, he also participated in a Saturday afternoon autograph session on behalf of the organization, and also helped collect additional donations during Sunday morning’s Track Walk that included race fans and other drivers.
“We managed to collect some significant donations on behalf of the tornado victims, but the need is still great” Johnson said. “When all is said and done, that was really more important than what we did on the track. Winning would have been great, but we’ll sleep well tonight, knowing that we’ve at least done a little something to help our friends and neighbors.”
Just because the Southern Nationals is over doesn’t mean that the need for tornado assistance has. Donations can be made to the American Red Cross by calling 1-800-RED CROSS, or online at http//eastgeorgia.redcross.org./ A $10 donation may also be made by texting the phrase, “REDCROSS” to 90999.
NEXT: NHRA Supernationals, Englishtown, NJ, June 2-5
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TOPEKA, Kan. (May 17, 2011) — Just when things were beginning to pick up for Tim Wilkerson and his Levi, Ray & Shoup Shelby Mustang Funny Car team, with a final round appearance in Charlotte and then a strong No. 2 qualifying spot in Houston, along came Atlanta. Struggling through qualifying and only earning the No. 16 spot on an imperfect Q4 lap, Wilk then was handed a first-round defeat by 15-time champion John Force in the opening round, setting his progress back a notch.
This weekend, as the NHRA Full Throttle tour completes its first back-to-back of the season, Wilkerson will take to the Heartland Park track in Topeka and look to turn around his fortunes in a big way, having learned much from his travails in Atlanta. Wilk has always strongly believed that more knowledge is gained from difficulty than from success, and his career record certainly appears to back that up. 2006 and 2007 were two of Wilk’s worst seasons ever, with a combined total of 14 DNQs and zero race victories spread evenly between them, but since then he’s won 11 races in three seasons, proving his point that failure can be the best possible teacher, if the student is willing to learn.
“I’ve always believed you can learn more when you fail than when you succeed, but only if you’re paying attention and have your eyes wide open,” Wilkerson said. “You can stumble onto something that works out here, and all of a sudden you think you’re a genius. But that’s sort of like being the kid who guesses and gets the right answer in algebra class. The answer was right, but he didn’t do the work to figure it out, so it’s not really worth that much.
“If your car is driving you a little nuts, you have to keep your head in the game and use each lap as a lesson. That way, at the very least you know what doesn’t work, or what the car doesn’t like. After a while, you ought to be able to figure out what does work and which way the car wants to run. Believe me, we had a lot of opportunity to learn some stuff in Atlanta, and hopefully we can bounce right back and put all that to good use this weekend in Topeka.”
The sprawling Heartland Park complex, located just a few miles south of the Kansas state capital, can throw a wide variety of conditions at the racers and tuners and the track’s personality can be nearly schizophrenic, depending on the weather. With a mid-May date in 2011, Topeka is not yet mired in the sultry weather of summer, but strong winds and the chance for storms are nearly constant companions out on the prairie.
“They based ‘The Wizard of Oz’ in Kansas for a reason,” Wilk said. “We’ve seen just about every possible style of weather you can imagine at Heartland Park, from tornadoes that had us running for cover, to huge thunderstorms and wild changes in temperature. The wind is pretty much a constant too, so you just have to be ready to adjust, all the time. We’ve also spent a few weekends at Heartland Park when it was just fantastic, so you never know what you’re going to get.
“The good news is the track is terrific, and the shutdown area is one of the longest on the tour, so if the weather lets you run fast you can throw the kitchen sink at it and run pretty good. Way back in 1993, Chuck Etchells ran the first 4-second run in a Funny Car and Jim Epler ran the first 300 mph speed in one of these things, and they both did it on the same weekend on this same Heartland Park track in Topeka. It’s a great place, with great fans, and we’ll just hope we get some decent weather so we can put on a good show and win some rounds with the LRS Ford.”
Knowledge is good. Heartland Park can be fast. Put together, that combination might just add up to round wins and a solid rebound for Tim Wilkerson.
COMMERCE, Ga., (May 12, 2011) – Native Australian David Grubnic, driver of the 8,000-horsepower, nitro-fueled Candlewood Suites Top Fuel dragster, is anxious to get his “new” 300+mph dragster on the 1000-ft. drag strip at Atlanta Dragway this weekend, May 13 – 15, for the annual running of the NHRA Southern Nationals in Commerce, Ga., just a few miles from the Atlanta city limits.
This weekend in Atlanta, Grubnic and his Kalitta Motorsports team will debut the Top Fuel dragster of primary sponsor Candlewood Suites, IHG’s (InterContinental Hotels Group) midscale extended-stay brand.
Candlewood Suites joined Kalitta Motorsports, one of the most accomplished teams in the history of NHRA (National Hot Rod Association) Professional Drag Racing, in 2011 as a major associate and primary sponsor for the team in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series. This sponsorship is IHG’s first for the NHRA circuit.
“When we contemplated a relationship with Kalitta Motorsports, it became clear that their core fan base aligns with the Candlewood Suites target customer,” said Del Ross, vice president, U.S. Sales and Marketing, IHG. “This partnership gives us the unique opportunity to encourage NHRA fans that may not have stayed at Candlewood Suites before to give us a try. We know that once they stay with us, they’ll love us.
“Our Candlewood Suites Top Fueler looks fast and I can’t wait to get it on the track in Atlanta,” Grubnic, a 48-year old resident of Ennis, Mont., said. “Our new partnership with IHG and Candlewood Suites is such a great fit. We are extremely honored to race for them this weekend and in the future.
“We are making some big strides with our race car and I’m optimistic we will see that performance pay dividends this weekend in Atlanta.”
Grubnic, a quarterfinalist at the previous event in Houston two weeks ago, is currently in 11th place in Full Throttle championship points, only 24 points away from the top ten.
Candlewood Suites will also serve as the primary sponsor on the Grubnic-driven Top Fueler at three more events in 2011 –
• Route 66 NHRA Nationals, Chicago, IL—July 7-10, 2011
• Mac Tools US Nationals, Indianapolis, IN—August 31-September 5, 2011
• NHRA Arizona Nationals, Phoenix, AZ—October 14-16, 2011
Event Schedule
The NHRA Southern Nationals begin Friday for the nitro-fueled classes with two qualifying sessions at 4:30 p.m. (ET) and 7:00 p.m. Two more qualifying attempts will take place on Saturday at 11:45 a.m. and 2:15 p.m. The top 16 qualified cars in each pro class will race Sunday in final eliminations beginning at 11:00 a.m.
Times and dates subject to change.
TV Schedule
5/14/2011 Qualifying – 7:00 PM-9:30 PM (ET) ESPN2
5/15/2011 Eliminations – 7:00 PM-10:00 PM (ET) ESPN2
Times and dates subject to change.
About Kalitta Motorsports
Based in Ypsilanti, Mich., Kalitta Motorsports is a Top Fuel and Funny Car drag racing team in the NHRA (National Hot Rod Association) Full Throttle Drag Racing Series. The team was founded and is owned by drag racing icon Connie “the Bounty Hunter” Kalitta. For more than 50 years, Connie has been involved in the sport as a driver, tuner, and an owner. Kalitta Motorsports is one of the most successful teams in the history of auto racing with five world championships and over 50 national event titles in five different professional drag racing sanctioning bodies since it was established by Connie in 1959.
Jeff Arend drives the DHL Funny Car for the team. Connie’s nephew, Doug Kalitta, drives the Kalitta Air Top Fuel dragster entry while Dave Grubnic drives the team’s second Top Fueler under the banner of Kalitta Air as well. Connie serves as head tuner for all Team Kalitta entries. He is assisted by crew chief Jim Oberhofer and assistant crew chief Troy Fasching on Doug’s Top Fueler and by co-crew chiefs Jon Oberhofer and Nick Boninfante on the DHL Funny Car. Connie serves as crew chief on the Grubnic-driven racer with help from assistant crew chief James Riola.
Associate sponsors on Kalitta Motorsports’ race cars include Candlewood Suites, ROCKY Boots, Red Line Oil, Technicoat Companies, OPTIMA Batteries, JEGS, and Mac Tools.
For more info about Kalitta Motorsports including exclusive content such as videos, photos and more, please visit www.teamkalitta.com. Follow Us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/TeamKalitta. Like Us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/KalittaMotorsports. Check out videos about Team Kalitta on our YouTube Channel: www.youtube.com/user/TeamKalitta
COMMERCE, Ga., (May 12, 2011) –Doug Kalitta, driver of the 8,000-horsepower, 300+mph Kalitta Air Top Fuel dragster, is very optimistic about his trip to Atlanta Dragway this weekend, May 13 – 15, for the annual running of the NHRA Southern Nationals.
“We’re really excited about returning to Atlanta this year,” Doug Kalitta, a 46 year-old resident of Ann Arbor, Mich., said. “We qualified our Kalitta Air dragster in the No. 2 slot last year and made it to the semifinals, so Jim (Oberhofer, crew chief) and the guys know what it will take to get us down the drag strip consistently again on a race track that can be pretty tricky. I think we’ve got a great chance of winning in Atlanta this year.”
Kalitta, a 14-year drag racing veteran in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series, has amassed 31 NHRA Top Fuel title trophies in 62 final-round appearances. He has finished in the top ten in Full Throttle championship points in every year of his straight-line career. He was the 1994 USAC National Sprint Car champion.
Kalitta won back-to-back Top fuel title trophies in Atlanta in 2005 and 2006. He set the Atlanta Dragway speed record at last season’s event, 318.09 mph.
Event Schedule
The NHRA Southern Nationals begin Friday for the nitro-fueled classes with two qualifying sessions at 4:30 p.m. (ET) and 7:00 p.m. Two more qualifying attempts will take place on Saturday at 11:45 a.m. and 2:15 p.m. The top 16 qualified cars in each pro class will race Sunday in final eliminations beginning at 11:00 a.m.
Times and dates subject to change.
TV Schedule
5/14/2011 Qualifying – 7:00 PM-9:30 PM (ET) ESPN2
5/15/2011 Eliminations – 7:00 PM-10:00 PM (ET) ESPN2
Times and dates subject to change.
About Kalitta Motorsports
Based in Ypsilanti, Mich., Kalitta Motorsports is a Top Fuel and Funny Car drag racing team in the NHRA (National Hot Rod Association) Full Throttle Drag Racing Series. The team was founded and is owned by drag racing icon Connie “the Bounty Hunter” Kalitta. For more than 50 years, Connie has been involved in the sport as a driver, tuner, and an owner. Kalitta Motorsports is one of the most successful teams in the history of auto racing with five world championships and over 50 national event titles in five different professional drag racing sanctioning bodies since it was established by Connie in 1959.
Jeff Arend drives the DHL Funny Car for the team. Connie’s nephew, Doug Kalitta, drives the Kalitta Air Top Fuel dragster entry while Dave Grubnic drives the team’s second Top Fueler under the banner of Kalitta Air as well. Connie serves as head tuner for all Team Kalitta entries. He is assisted by crew chief Jim Oberhofer and assistant crew chief Troy Fasching on Doug’s Top Fueler and by co-crew chiefs Jon Oberhofer and Nick Boninfante on the DHL Funny Car. Connie serves as crew chief on the Grubnic-driven racer with help from assistant crew chief James Riola.
Associate sponsors on Kalitta Motorsports’ race cars include Candlewood Suites, ROCKY Boots, Red Line Oil, Technicoat Companies, OPTIMA Batteries, JEGS, and Mac Tools.
For more info about Kalitta Motorsports including exclusive content such as videos, photos and more, please visit www.teamkalitta.com. Follow Us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/TeamKalitta. Like Us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/KalittaMotorsports. Check out videos about Team Kalitta on our YouTube Channel: www.youtube.com/user/TeamKalitta
Three races into the ADRL 2011 season, 2010 Rookie of the Year Mick Snyder is sitting in third place in the points standings after the Reading event was called due to curfew before the semi-final round could be contested.
“In just our second year in this class, it is safe to say we are still learning a lot. Being able to go rounds over the past few races has really helped us gather some data and try some new things with the car. And we really think the Powersource Transportation Corvette has quite a bit left in her,” said Snyder.
The Snyder Motorsports Race Team qualified number #7 for the event with a 3.69 second pass at 207 mph. In the first round Snyder used his horsepower to drive around his opponent with a 3.74 second pass and earn lane choice in the second round. The 29 year-old driver, ran a career best 3.65 at 209 mph to earn the win light and his way into the semi-finals.
“We would have really liked to have finished this race, but unfortunately between mother nature and the curfew in Reading, it just wasn’t possible. I think that we are in really good shape heading into the next race and look forward to the challenge of making it to the Winner’s circle against some of the best racers in the country.”
The Snyder Motorsports Race Team would also like to thank their associate sponsors Lencodrive Racing Transmissions, R & R Racing Products, Flatout Gaskets, NGK, Lucas Oil, Snyder Auto, VP Racing Fuels, JE Pistons, PSI Springs, Long Printing, Goodson, Jeg’s, Safety-Kleen and The Winning Team for their continued support this year.
Please visit the Snyder Motorsports official website at www.snydermotorsports.com.
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Submitted by: Shanna Snyder-Bell
Contact email address: shanna.bell@cnoinc.com