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