Archive for July, 2011

STEVE JOHNSON CONFIDENT HEADING INTO

Friday, July 29th, 2011

MORRISON, CO. 7/24/11 Pro Stock Motorcycle racer Steve Johnson of Irondale, Ala. is considered by many to be a pretty confident guy, but lately his racing fortunes have had him wondering. But, after a pretty good showing at the NHRA Mile-High Nationals in Denver this weekend, he knows his team is headed in the right direction.
“ We ran well in qualifying,” he said as the team prepared to head to Sonoma, California for the Fram/Autolite Nationals at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma next weekend. “We ran some strong elapsed times, particularly considering this is a high altitude track, and we qualified in the top half of the field, and that’s where you need to be,” he said. “But, we had a mechanical problem in the first round, and that ended our day early. Even though we lost, we’re encouraged by how well we performed on Friday and Saturday. Now we have to put it together for the whole weekend.
Johnson heads into this coming weekend’s race in Sonoma needing a good result to help get his Suzuki-running team closer to the Top 10 standings. “That’s what this is all about,” Johnsons said. “We absolutely have to qualify for the Countdown to 1 playoffs. We’re close, but we’re not quite there, and as frustrating as that is, we have to concentrate on the job at hand, and that’s running hard at the Fram/Autolite Nationals.”
Crew chief Tim Kulungian is looking forward to next weekend’s outing, too. “That track is just about at sea level, while the one we raced on this weekend is 5,280 feet on the starting line. We ran really well up here, so if we can translate what we did here to sea level, oh man, I can’t wait!”
Johnson added, “Infineon Raceway is in California’s wine country. I’d like nothing better than to share a good bottle of a great vintage with my guys in the winner’s circle in Sonoma. We’re really overdue for a great result, and I think it’s going to come next weekend in California!”
Johnson joined NHRA Top Fuel driver David Grubnic in Montana to film an upcoming segment on driver and rider training. The feature is shot with two specially prepared Pivot Works dirt bikes that David and Steve rode near Yellow Stone National Park and will air on ESPN2 within the next 2 weeks.

NEXT: NHRA Fram/Autolite Nationals, Infineon Raceway, Sonoma, California, July 29-31. Exclusive television coverage of qualifying and eliminations appears on ESPN2. Check local listings for broadcast times.

Posted in Steve Johnson Racing | Comments Off

WILK FOCUSED ON SONOMA MISSION

Tuesday, July 26th, 2011

SONOMA, Calif. (July 26, 2011) — The word “mission” has multiple meanings, with two of the most common being “a specific task or duty” and “a church or chapel”. Tim Wilkerson, tuner/driver of the Levi, Ray & Shoup Shelby Mustang Funny Car, will coincidentally be continuing his mission of solidifying a spot in the Full Throttle Top 10 this weekend, at a race track located near the historic and northernmost Spanish mission built during the early 1800s. The picturesque Sonoma Mission is but a few miles north of Infineon Raceway, site of this weekend’s Fram Autolite Nationals.

The “glass half full” version of Wilk’s ongoing mission for a spot in the Countdown contains the good news that he is now in the Top 10, having defeated Johnny Gray in round one at Denver to move up from 11th. The “glass half empty” rendition notes that Gray is only 19 points behind, within easy striking distance with four races left to settle things before the playoffs begin. To make the challenge even greater, Tony Pedregon lurks in 12th, only 42 points behind Wilk, and Bob Tasca, who is currently in the 9th spot, is 79 points ahead of the LRS driver.

“We took a big step in Denver, getting by Johnny in round one, but that’s just one step and there are some big moments left ahead of us,” Wilkerson said. “Those guys behind us aren’t going to let up, I can guarantee that, so we can’t either. The guys ahead of us are all very good racers, with fast-running cars, and they have a pretty good cushion on us.

“We’re going to have to scratch and claw to be in this thing, but at least we got ourselves into a position where we’re in the spot now, and it’s up to us to hold onto it. You can do it by yourself if you just win rounds. When you’re behind, you usually need some help from some other people. I don’t expect it to be easy, but a good weekend in Sonoma would sure help.”

Wilk knows all about good weekends in Sonoma, and those memories have nothing to do with vineyards or Spanish missions. He has won at Infineon Raceway twice, beating John Force in the final in 2004 and Tony Pedregon in 2009. The ’09 win was the second in a pair of back-to-back victories, with the first coming in Seattle a week earlier. With the Sonoma and Seattle dates now swapped on the schedule, Wilk has the chance to repeat that feat in reverse, but he’s keeping his focus not just on the next race, but solely on the next lap.

“Being this close in the points, every lap is now extremely important,” he said. “There are no throw-aways left because those individual bonus points during qualifying might end up being the points that get you in the Countdown. We hadn’t been picking up many of those all year, but we got two of them in Denver and we’ll see if we can’t keep picking up a few here or there. We start with the first lap in Sonoma, on Friday afternoon.

“We think more in terms of rounds ahead or behind, rather than the strict number of points, and qualifying points and bonus points can really change that in a hurry. The difference between being 19 points ahead and 21 points ahead is actually a full round of racing. When a point or two can alter things that much, every run can help or hurt, and every spot on the ladder can change things too. Those little bonus points and qualifying points seem too small to matter, but right now they matter as much as anything. We have to stay focused and make the most out of every lap down the race track.”

That’s the mission, in Sonoma.

Posted in Tim Wilkerson Racing | Comments Off

Fifth Straight Semi-Final for Snyder

Monday, July 25th, 2011

For their 5th event of the year, Mick Snyder and the Snyder Motorsports Race Team headed to Martin, Michigan, and earned their 5th semi-final finish in as many races. The Team sponsored by Powersource Transportation remains 3rd in the ADRL Pro Extreme points standings, less than 3 rounds out of 2nd going into the remaining 4 races of the season.

“The car continues to run really well and we can’t really be upset with another semi-final. The crew is doing a great job and the Coan converter and car continue to respond to our changes. During the heat of the day, we ran quicker than anyone else out here, so we think we are getting a handle on her. Now we just have to apply everything we are learning and try to go rounds down the stretch of the season,” said Snyder.

The 30 year-old second generation driver, qualified #3 in the 16 car field with an impressive 3.69 at 208 mph pass in the heat of the day earning lane choice in first round of eliminations. During first round, Snyder had to pedal the car after loosing traction off the starting line to pick up the win and face teammate Jason Scruggs in the second round. He was able to pick up the win running 3.75 earning choice in the next round. During the semi’s, Snyder left just a bit too quick, turning on the red light by just .002 of a second to end his day.

“We are having so much fun out here at the ADRL races. Skip and Barb from Powersource have been coming to a lot of the races and being so close to home this week a lot of our friends and family got to come out and watch us. We are really looking forward to going to Virginia next and trying to get this car in the winner’s circle for all of the great people behind us.”

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 and The Winning Team for their continued support this year.

Please visit the Snyder Motorsports official website at www.snydermotorsports.com.

Powersource Transportation, Inc. satisfies a unique niche within the trucking industry by providing a power-only source for hauling empty or loaded trailers or trailer-mounted equipment. From mobile concrete and asphalt plants to entertainment/tour transportation and military trailers, Powersource gives owner operators the opportunity to pull a wide variety of high-paying freight without loading, unloading or tarping. Powersource is always looking for professional owner operators to join their fleet of independent businessmen. To learn more about our major sponsor Powersource Transportation, Inc. and job opportunities please log onto www.powersourcetransportation.com.

Posted in Snyder Motorsports | Comments Off

WILK LEAVES DENVER IN 10th, AFTER UP & DOWN WEEKEND

Monday, July 25th, 2011

 It was an “up and down” theme for Tim Wilkerson, during all three days of racing in Denver, but in the end the popular Illinois driver left Thunder Mountain with the first step in his overall plan accomplished. For the first time this year, Wilk is in the Full Throttle Top 10 on the points sheet, with four races to go before the Countdown playoffs begin.

 

As stated above,  each day of racing on Thunder Mountain featured one very good lap and one not very good one, for Wilk and his Levi, Ray & Shoup team. On Friday, he was 3rd-best in the heat during Q1, but smoked the tires during the night run. On Saturday, he was again 3rd-best on the first run, before smoking the tires in Q4.  The sum of that accomplishment was a No. 10 spot on the ladder and two precious bonus points.

 

On Sunday, Wilk was matched up with Johnny Gray, who held the 10th spot in the standings coming into this race. For once, the chance to move up in the standings was in Wilk’s hands, and in this case he knew he controlled his own destiny.

 

“We’ve all done those mental gyrations with the points over the years, where you look at the ladder and think ‘Well, if we win, and this guy loses, and this guy red lights, and this guy doesn’t show up, we can move up a spot.’,” Wilk said. “This time, the guy we were chasing was the guy we were racing, and we were one point out of 10th when the round started. We didn’t need help from other teams, red lights, or the weather. We had to do it ourselves.”

 

Wilk did just that, running as the seventh pair in round one after an eternity of a Top Fuel session allowed the tension to build. His LRS Shelby Mustang left hard, stayed running hard, and pulled away during the back half of the run to click the beams with a 4.390 to take the win. Gray posted a 4.625 in the right lane.

 

It didn’t get any easier from that point forward, as Robert Hight as the opponent in round two. It was, however, Wilk’s first trip beyond the first round since Englishtown during the first week of June. Hight had disposed of Todd Simpson in the opening round, with low e.t. of the stanza at 4.286.

 

Hight was away with a slight jump at the tree, and never trailed in this drag race. Wilk’s LRS Ford made a valiant charge, but a dropped cylinder at about the 2-second mark made it impossible to track down Hight, who tripped the beams with a strong 4.289, nearly as stout as his opening round run.  Wilk improved slightly, recording a 4.356 in defeat.

 

“That’s a pretty darned good team over there, and we knew what we had to run if we were going to beat them straight up,” Wilk said. “A 4.28 was the target, but we didn’t have much of a chance running on seven. It’s easy to drop cylinders up here, and it’s easy to spin the tires when you get out there close to half-track. We did pretty good, but they didn’t stumble and we came up short.

 

“Still, though, you have to take it one step at a time and at least we got that one big step done today. That run felt a little different than they have recently, in a good way. There was a lot riding on it, and it felt good to line up for the race and come away with one. Now we have to build on this and keep winning some rounds or it will all turn around on us in a hurry.”

 

In addition to the racing, Wilk and his team also had a huge weekend in terms of LRS involvement. Dick Levi attended the event on Saturday, and he brought along about 250 of his best friends, family members, and colleagues for a fun-filled day at the race track. It was the single-biggest crowd ever to fill the team’s hospitality area.

 

“That was great, to have Dick and all those people with us on Saturday,” Wilkerson said. “They all had smiles from ear to ear, and that means so much to us. I can’t even imagine where I’d be in terms of racing if it weren’t for Dick and all the people at LRS. They’re great folks, they support us through thick and thin, and we all benefit from the relationship.”

 

With Denver being the first leg of the 2011 Western Swing, there’s no time for rest in the coming days. The team will head directly to Sonoma for next weekend’s race, and then will head up the west coast to Seattle the following week. Where Wilk stands in the points at that time will be the key, but a big step was taken on Thunder Mountain.

Posted in Tim Wilkerson Racing | Comments Off

Arend Races to Semifinals on Thunder Mountain in Denver; Kalitta and Grubnic Hold Steady in Points

Monday, July 25th, 2011

DENVER, Col., (July 20, 2011) – Native Canadian Jeff Arend, driver of the bright yellow and red, 8,000-horsepower DHL Funny Car, raced to his second semi-final round appearance of the 2011 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series Sunday during final eliminations of the annual running of the Mile-High NHRA Nationals on “Thunder Mountain”, Bandimere Speedway, just a few miles from downtown Denver.

Arend, who has one event victory so far this season with the DHL “Yella Fellas” in Houston, qualified the DHL Funny Car in the No. 8 spot (4.246 seconds, 293.92 mph) for “flopper” eliminations. He defeated No. 2 Full Throttle points holder Jack Beckman in round one and No. 1 qualifier for the event Cruz Pedregon in the second round.

In the semifinals, Arend, a 48-year old resident of San Dimas, Calif., rolled to the starting line to race against 15-time Funny Car world champion John Force. In the seventh semi-final showing of his 17-year NHRA Funny Car career, Arend left the starting line dead even with the “champ”, but the DHL racer fell victim to traction woes soon thereafter and Force was able to get the win, 5.154 sec., 188.12 mph to 4.294 sec., 289.01 mph.

“Not a bad day on the mountain for our DHL team,” Arend said. “Our car has been so much more consistent this season and that has been all the difference. We just keep finding a way to go a few rounds here and there. I’m really proud of all of the DHL crewman and our co-crew chiefs Jon Oberhofer and Nicky Boninfante in the gigantic turnaround in performance that we’ve made this year.”

Arend and the DHL team now have 15 elimination-round wins in the 2011 season with ten events remaining on the schedule. That mark is one more than the total amount of round wins the DHL team claimed in 2010.

Arend maintains his hold on the No. 6 spot in Full Throttle Funny Car championship points.

Arend’s Kalitta Motorsports Top Fuel teammates Doug Kalitta and David Grubnic were defeated in the second and first rounds respectively today in their class’s eliminations.

Kalitta, a 46-year old resident of Ann Arbor, Mich., qualified his Kalitta Air Top Fueler in the No. 3 spot (3.973 sec., 312.21 mph) for eliminations, marking his best starting effort of the 2011 season. In the opening round, Kalitta posted the third quickest lap of the stanza with a 4.018-sec., 302.35-mph run when he defeated Morgan Lucas (4.610 sec., 192.33 mph).

In the quarterfinals, Kalitta matched up against Rod Fuller. Both drivers’ rails had traction troubles on the tricky and slick 1,000 ft. track at Bandimere, but Fuller was able to sneak by Kalitta at the finish line to get the very close win, 4.158 sec., 285.23 to 4.116 sec., 288.03.

Kalitta remains in sixth place in Full Throttle Top Fuel championship points.

Native Australian and 48-year old Ennis, Mont. resident Grubnic, driver of Team Kalitta’s other Kalitta Air Top Fuel dragster, qualified his hot rod in the No. 12 slot for Sunday’s eliminations. He faced off against No. 5 qualifier Shawn Langdon (4.042 sec., 305.36 mph) in the first round. Both machines struggled to get traction, but Grubnic’s Kalitta Air race car struggled the most as Langdon got the win, 4.459 sec., 243.28 mph to 4.242 sec., 259.96 mph.

Grubnic holds on to the No. 10 spot in points, but is now only eight points ahead of 11th place driver Bob Vandergriff, Jr.

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

Posted in Kalitta Motorsports | Comments Off

Subject: Mile High Racing

Thursday, July 21st, 2011

Hey Everyone,

I hope all of you are doing well and are having a great week! All of us at Kalitta Motorsports are ready to begin the second half of our 2011 season, and we are going to start off by racing at one of my favorite tracks, Bandimere Speedway in Morrison, Colorado, which is just west of Denver. Team Kalitta has enjoyed alot of success there over the years, as each of the Kalitta’s, Connie, Scott and Doug, have taken home the Wally from the Mile High race. In fact, Doug comes into this years event as the defending champ.

Racing in Denver is a challenge to say the least. First off the altitude at the Denver track is over a mile high, and when you correct it for temperature and humidity, that altitude can be over 9000 feet. The highest altitude we race at besides Denver, is in Las Vegas, and it is about 2000 feet with a corrected altitude of about 4000 feet. To say that our engines struggle to make horsepower is an understatement. We run our engines harder in Denver than we do anywhere else, but we probably still come up about 1000 horsepower short than we would anywhere else because of the altitude. Along with the horsepower loss in Denver, comes a loss of downforce on the rear wings of the dragsters, and the bodies on the Funny Cars. Normally we are only allowed to run 2 degrees of rear wing, but at Denver there is no limit, so we run as much as 5.5 degrees of rear wing to try and achieve the most downforce we can on the dragsters. The Funny Cars run their rear wing in the highest position they can as well to create downforce.

For some strange reason I enjoy racing in Denver and I think Connie does as well, even though he may not admit it. Maybe it is because we have done so well there over the years, or maybe it is because the Bandimere Family does a great job promoting their race and filling their stands up with some great fans, but I think the real reason we all like Denver, is because Connie breaks out his black shorts and shows off his white legs at the Mile High race! It is funny that so many people look forward to seeing Connie in his shorts! Now that I say this, Connie will leave his shorts home.

Anyway, enough about Connie in his shorts. The race in Denver also marks the beginning of the annual Western Swing, after Denver, the Kalitta Team heads further west to Sonoma, California and then up north to Seattle, Washington before they head back to good ole Michigan. This is one of the toughest stretches for the Team Kalitta Crew-Members, and one that could make or break the season for the Team Kalitta. A good Western Swing by all of the Kalitta cars will go a long way in keeping Team Kalitta in the Top 10 and in the running for the Championships in 2011!

Take care everyone and I hope you enjoy your weekend and if you have a few minutes, check us out on ESPN2 on Saturday and Sunday, maybe you might get to see Connie’s legs as well!

Jim O

Posted in Kalitta Motorsports | Comments Off

WILK FOCUSED ON THUNDER MOUNTAIN BREAK-OUT

Tuesday, July 19th, 2011

DENVER (July 18, 2011) — Entering this weekend’s Mile-High Nationals in Denver, Tim Wilkerson remains just outside the Full Throttle Top 10, but with the gap between his 11th spot and Johnny Gray’s 10th-place position now whittled to only two points, he’s not yet ready to press the button marked “Now Or Never”. Still, a good showing on Thunder Mountain would go a long way toward earning a coveted spot in the Countdown playoffs.

In order to mount such a charge, Wilk realistically knows he probably only needs to continue the performance he has been showing of late, with his Levi, Ray & Shoup Shelby Mustang, but a little more of that elusive good fortune would certainly help. Although he’s exited in the first round at the last three races, he’s been qualifying well for much of the year and has too often earned the dubious distinction of being the guy who would’ve been beaten any other driver in the round, except the one he faced.

“If we were scuffling along and not winning rounds because we were lost with the tune-up, then it might be time to start thinking about panic mode,” Wilkerson said. “But the truth is, just about the only thing I’d change in the way we’ve been running would be to find a way to race somebody else in the first round. We’ve really had an unlucky streak going here, where we just consistently end up racing the one car that can beat us.

“I’m not really a believer in luck, because I think you make your own, but after a while you begin to wonder. We know better than that, though, so we’ll follow our brains and rely on the numbers, just like we always do. If you add them all up right, you have to start winning some rounds. It’s just math and probabilities, really. So, I guess now would be a really good time for the numbers to start adding up in our favor.”

Qualifying well and winning rounds at Bandimere Speedway, located just to the west of Denver, can be a difficult exercise based in the “one time only” area of the tuning curve. Racing at one mile of altitude is one thing, and a difficult thing at that, but adding in the typical July weather in the Rocky Mountain foothills can make the cars think they’re racing as high as 9,000 feet. The mountain does, indeed, present a mountain of challenges.

“That’s the thing about Denver; you don’t use this data anywhere else so you have to figure it out on the spot,” Wilkerson said. “You have to spin the blower as fast as you can, to create some kind of air to burn with the fuel, and then if you do get the car to go you have to deal with far less downforce than we have anywhere else. It’s a double-whammy for sure.

“And, if it gets as hot as it usually does, the track gets slick under that bright sun and the corrected altitude goes through the roof. It’s like a combination of all the things they could throw at you to make it impossible to race, but we all do our best to figure it out and get to the other end at some decent speed. There’s only one track like this, and it makes you earn everything you get.”

With five races left in the NHRA Full Throttle regular season, the mission for Wilk is to move into the Top 10 on the points sheet so that he can be a part of the Countdown playoffs in the fall. If he’s able to do that on Thunder Mountain, he will have earned it the hard way.

Posted in Tim Wilkerson Racing | Comments Off

Kalitta Ready to Rebound with Round Wins at Revered Route 66 Raceway

Thursday, July 7th, 2011

JOLIET, Ill., (July 7, 2011) – Doug Kalitta, driver of the 8,000-horsepower Kalitta Air Top Fuel dragster, is hoping to get back to his and his team’s winning ways this weekend, July 8-10, at one of his favorite drag strips in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series, Route 66 Raceway, as the stars of the world’s quickest and fastest auto racing converge at the annual running of the Route 66 NHRA Nationals in Joliet, Ill., just a few miles from the Chicago city limits.
 
Kalitta is a three-time Top Fuel champion at Route 66 Raceway with trophies in 2006, 2004, and 2002 (discontinued fall event). Since 2008, NHRA nitro classes now “Go the Grand” and race to a 1,000-ft finish line, but before the track was shortened for safety, Kalitta became the quickest racer in NHRA history with an incredible 4.420-second blast on the quarter-mile track at Route 66 Raceway.
 
Kalitta is currently in sixth place in Full Throttle Top Fuel championship points, 348 points away from the lead. He has posted three semi-final showings so far this season in Las Vegas, Houston, and Topeka, Kan. However, he and his Kalitta Air team have struggled of late with two uncharacteristic first-round of eliminations losses at the past two events in Bristol, Tenn., and Norwalk, Ohio.
 
“Yeah, that’s not like us to go out that early,” Kalitta, a 46 year-old resident of Ann Arbor, Mich., said. “The competition in Top Fuel this year is tremendous, but we’re not making excuses.
 
“We stayed and tested after the event in Norwalk, and we think we have a good handle on what to fix and make our dragster run like it’s capable of running. That’s the first time we’ve tested since the beginning of the season, so it was time to get in there and figure some things out and now we’re ready to get back out there this weekend in Joliet.”
 
Kalitta, a 14-year drag racing veteran in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series, has amassed 32 NHRA Top Fuel title trophies in 64 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.

 
Event Schedule
 
The Route 66 NHRA Nationals begin Friday for the nitro-fueled classes with two qualifying sessions at 5:00 p.m. (CT) and 8:00 p.m. Two more qualifying attempts will take place on Saturday at 5:00 p.m. and 8:00 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
 
7/9/2011 – Qualifying 9:30 PM-11:30 PM (ET) ESPN2
7/10/2011 – Eliminations 9:00 PM-12:00 AM (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

Posted in Kalitta Motorsports | Comments Off

Nighttime is the Right Time for Arend and DHL Funny Car Team in Joliet

Thursday, July 7th, 2011

JOLIET, Ill., (July 7, 2011) – Native Canadian Jeff Arend, driver of the 8,000-horsepower, nitro-fueled DHL Funny Car, is nearly as giddy as a schoolboy in anticipation of this weekend’s, July 8-10, night qualifying sessions at famed-for-fast Route 66 Raceway at the annual running of the Route 66 NHRA Nationals in Joliet, Ill., just a few miles southwest of the Windy City Chicago.
For the first time this year in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series, all four qualifying sessions for the professional nitro classes (Funny Car and Top Fuel) will be “night” sessions with laps scheduled to be run at 5:00 p.m. (CT) and 8:00 p.m. Friday and again at the same times on Saturday.

“If the weather cooperates, we could see some of the best runs of the season in qualifying in Joliet,” Arend, a 48-year old resident of San Dimas, Calif., said. “Route 66 Raceway is really quick anyway but conditions are always better for us the later in the day we get to run so we could see some records set Friday or Saturday.

“Our DHL Funny Car is certainly capable of putting up big numbers so we hope we are right up there at the top of the qualifying sheet and then put ourselves in a position to win the whole thing on Sunday.”

Arend is currently in eighth place in Full Throttle Funny Car championship points, 362 points away from the lead. He and the DHL team have one win this season in Houston in last month.

Arend took over the controls of the DHL Funny Car in late 2008 after the tragic death of Scott Kalitta in a racing accident in June of that year in New Jersey.

Event Schedule

The Route 66 NHRA Nationals begin Friday for the nitro-fueled classes with two qualifying sessions at 5:00 p.m. (CT) and 8:00 p.m. Two more qualifying attempts will take place on Saturday at 5:00 p.m. and 8:00 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

7/9/2011 – Qualifying 9:30 PM-11:30 PM (ET) ESPN2
7/10/2011 – Eliminations 9:00 PM-12:00 AM (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

Posted in Kalitta Motorsports | Comments Off