KENT, Wash., (Aug. 4, 2011) This weekend, August 5-7, at the annual running of the O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Northwest Nationals at Pacific Raceways in Kent, Wash., just a few miles from downtown Seattle, the drivers of the 300+ mph drag racing hot rods of Kalitta Motorsports are all hoping to end the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series’ demanding “Western Swing” with a couple of trips to the winner’s circle.
Doug Kalitta and native Australian David Grubnic drive the nitro-fueled Kalitta Air Top Fuel dragsters for Team Kalitta while native Canadian Jeff Arend pilots the 8,000-horsepower DHL Funny Car for the team. Seattle marks the end of NHRA’s famed Western Swing that consists of three events in three weekends in the western United States (Denver, Sonoma, Calif.).
Kalitta, a 46 year-old resident of Ann Arbor, Mich., is currently in sixth place in Full Throttle Top Fuel championship points. He has posted three semi-final showings so far this season in Las Vegas, Houston, and Topeka, Kan. He is a 14-year NHRA drag racing veteran and has amassed 32 NHRA Top Fuel title trophies in 64 final-round appearances.
Pacific Raceways is one of the few drag strips in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series that has eluded Kalitta for an event win. He has three runner-up finishes in Seattle (2003, 2000, and 1999).
Grubnic, a 48-year old resident of Ennis, Mont., began his Top Fuel career in the United States in 1995. He was hired by Kalitta Motorsports in 2004. He has two career NHRA national events wins, and he became the first non-native North American to win an NHRA Top Fuel event in Topeka, Kan. in 2005. He is currently in tenth place in Full Throttle Top Fuel championship points, only 80 points away from ninth place and ten points ahead of 11th place.
Like his teammate Kalitta, Grubnic has been close to winning in Seattle, but has not grabbed a Northwest NHRA Nationals trophy yet. He raced to runner-up finishes at Pacific Raceways in 2006 and 2004.
Arend, a 48-year old resident of San Dimas, Calif., and the DHL team are currently in eighth place in Full Throttle Funny Car championship points. He and the DHL team have one win this season (Houston), one runner-up posting in Chicago, and two semi-final finishes in Bristol, Tenn. and Denver. 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.
At last year’s event in Seattle, Kalitta captured the No. 1 qualifying position for the event’s 16-car eliminations, where he scored a semifinal showing. Grubnic was a quarterfinalist last year, and Arend was defeated in the opening round of Funny Car eliminations.
Event Schedule
The O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Northwest Nationals begin Friday for the nitro-fueled classes with two qualifying sessions at 2:30 p.m. (PT) and 5:00 p.m. Two more qualifying attempts will take place on Saturday at 11:30 a.m. and 2:00 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
08/06/2011 Qualifying – 6:00 PM – 7:00 PM ET/3:00 PM – 4:00 PM PT (ESPN2)
08/07/2011 Eliminations – 7:00 PM – 10:00 PM ET/4:00 PM – 7:00 PM PT (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