CHANDLER, Ariz. (Oct. 16, 2011) – Native Canadian Jeff Arend, driver of the Kalitta Motorsports DHL Funny Car, made his second consecutive trip to the semi-final round at an NHRA national event Sunday during final eliminations at the annual running of the NHRA Arizona Nationals at Firebird Int’l Raceway in Chandler, Ariz., just a few miles outside of Phoenix.
Arend, a 48-year old resident of San Dimas, Calif., qualified his bright yellow DHL hot rod in the No.16 position (4.411 seconds, 276.80 mph) for Sunday’s 16-car Funny Car eliminations field.
In the opening round, Arend faced off against No. 1 qualifier Cruz Pedregon. For the third time in the past five NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series events, Arend put Pedregon “on the trailer” after a first round defeat – 4.550 sec., 275.39 mph to 4.917 sec., 227.80 mph.
In the quarterfinals, Arend’s opponent in the other lane was Bob Tasca III. The two Funny Car Countdown to the Championship contenders put on a fantastic race for the fans at Firebird Int’l Raceway with Arend getting a very close win on a holeshot, 4.459 sec., 278.06 mph to 4.449 sec., 275.45 mph. Arend’s slight starting line advantage (.070 to .087) allowed him to get the DHL “flopper” to the finish line first by only .007 seconds.
In the semifinals, Arend raced against Jack Beckman. Arend and the DHL Funny Car came up short to Beckman in their bid to race to their third final round this season as Beckman got the win, 4.416 sec., 277.26 to 4.299 sec., 286.62 mph.
With his advancement to at least the semifinals for the sixth time this season, Arend moves up from eighth to sixth place in Funny Car Full Throttle Countdown to the Championship points (2239). He is 65 points away from making it into the top five.
The other three nitro-fueled race cars in the Team Kalitta contingent, the Technicoat Top Fuel dragster driven by Doug Kalitta, the Candlewood Suites Top Fuel dragster driven by native Australian David Grubnic, and the Tequila Patrón Toyota Camry Funny Car driven by Alexis DeJoria, all suffered first round losses in Sunday’s eliminations.
Kalitta remains in seventh place in Top Fuel Full Throttle Countdown to the Championship points (2200) while Grubnic remains in eighth place in Top Fuel Full Throttle Countdown to the Championship points (2168).
ESPN2 TV Schedule
10/20 – Re-air Eliminations 3:00 A.M.-4:30 A.M. (ET)
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 Toyota Camry Funny Car for the team. Newly added in the fall of 2011, Alexis DeJoria pilots the Tequila Patrón Toyota Camry Funny Car. 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. Oberhofer also serves as crew chief for the Tequila Patrón team. 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