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POMONA, Calif. (Feb. 7, 2012) – Doug Kalitta, driver of the 8,000-horsepower Kalitta Air Top Fuel dragster, believes that his chances of taking home the Full Throttle Top Fuel championship trophy got substantially better during the offseason with the addition of a new “horse” to the Kalitta Motorsports stable. Kalitta and his Team Kalitta teammates return to 300+ mph action this weekend, Feb. 9-12, at the season-opening NHRA Winternationals at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona in Pomona, Calif.

During a much milder than normal winter in Michigan, Kalitta and his Kalitta Air team were delivered some new “pipe” in the way of a new dragster chassis built by Brad Hadman to the team’s world headquarters in Ypsilanti. It’s the first new hot rod for Kalitta in five years, and it has the 15-year Top Fuel veteran beaming like a child with a shiny new toy at Christmas.

“Yeah, we’re really excited to see what we can do with our new race car,” Kalitta, a 47-year old resident of Ann Arbor, Mich., said. “We also changed the body of the car, too, from a one-piece carbon fiber body to a paneled carbon fiber one. It’s a pretty drastic change, but we’ve already seen it paying dividends in pre-season testing where we ran our quickest lap ever at 3.78 (seconds).

“I’m really optimistic about the 2012 season. I probably say that at the beginning of every season, but we really feel like we’re moving in a positive direction, as far as performance goes, with our team. I think we’re going to win some races this year and be far more competitive, hopefully starting off with a good showing in Pomona.”

Kalitta won the Winternationals in 2009.

Kalitta 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 NHRA Winternationals begin Thursday for the nitro-fueled classes with one qualifying session at 2:00 p.m. (PT). Another qualifying session takes place at 2:00 p.m. Friday. Two more qualifying attempts will take place on Saturday at 11:30 a.m. and 2:15 p.m. The top 16 qualified cars in each nitro class will race Sunday in final eliminations beginning at 11:00 a.m.

Times and dates subject to change.

ESPN2 TV Schedule

2/11/2012 Qualifying
11:00 PM-1:00 AM (ET)
2/12/2012 Eliminations
7:00 PM-10:30 PM (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 Team Kalitta. Alexis DeJoria pilots the Tequila Patrón Toyota Camry Funny Car. David Grubnic drives the Optima Batteries Top Fuel dragster while Connie’s nephew, Doug Kalitta, pilots the Kalitta Air Top Fuel dragster. Connie serves as head tuner for all Team Kalitta entries. He is assisted by co-crew chiefs Jon Oberhofer and Nick Boninfante on the DHL Funny Car, by Del Worsham on the Tequila Patrón Funny Car, and by Jim Oberhofer on the Kalitta Air Top Fuel dragster. Connie serves as crew chief on the Optima Batteries Top Fuel dragster.

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

POMONA, Calif. (Feb. 7, 2012) – Native Australian David Grubnic, driver of the 8,000-horsepower Optima Batteries Top Fuel dragster, has a new outlook and a newly-decorated, nitro-fueled hot rod as the 2012 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series gets rolling with the season-opening NHRA Winternationals this weekend, Feb. 9-12, at famed Auto Club Raceway at Pomona in Pomona, Calif.

When the action heats up on the 1,000-ft. Auto Club Raceway track this weekend, Grubnic will debut the colors of Optima Batteries as the primary sponsor on his 300+ mph race car. The new digs and recent pre-season testing performances have Grubnic brimming with optimism about the upcoming season.

“You bet, I’m very excited about getting started this season with the Optima Batteries dragster,” Grubnic, a 49-year old resident of Bozeman, Mont., said. “Our race car looks amazing and I think it’s going to put up some great numbers on the score board as well turn some heads in the grandstands. We’ve been working really hard in the offseason to come up with some new tuning combinations and we’ve already seen some great results from that during our pre-season testing last month.

“Pomona is such a special place to everyone that loves drag racing. My first Top Fuel race in the States was at the Winternationals in 1995. I think we have a really great shot at winning the trophy this year, and that would certainly be a highlight of my career.”

Grubnic, an 18-year Top Fuel veteran, earned his first career Top Fuel victory in Topeka, Kan. in 2005, becoming the first racer born outside North America to win an NHRA Top Fuel event. He has two wins in his career with 15 final-round appearances. Grubnic’s Optima Batteries Top Fueler is helmed by drag racing icon and team owner Connie “the Bounty Hunter” Kalitta who serves as crew chief.

Kalitta won the Winternationals as a driver in Top Fuel in 1967, his first of ten NHRA national event wins. Also in 1967, Kalitta swept the winter national events for the three major drag racing sanctioning bodies at the time by also winning the AHRA and NASCAR event titles.

Event Schedule

The NHRA Winternationals begin Thursday for the nitro-fueled classes with one qualifying session at 2:00 p.m. (PT). Another qualifying session takes place at 2:00 p.m. Friday. Two more qualifying attempts will take place on Saturday at 11:30 a.m. and 2:15 p.m. The top 16 qualified cars in each nitro class will race Sunday in final eliminations beginning at 11:00 a.m.

Times and dates subject to change.

ESPN2 TV Schedule

2/11/2012 Qualifying
11:00 PM-1:00 AM (ET)
2/12/2012 Eliminations
7:00 PM-10:30 PM (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 Team Kalitta. Alexis DeJoria pilots the Tequila Patrón Toyota Camry Funny Car. David Grubnic drives the Optima Batteries Top Fuel dragster while Connie’s nephew, Doug Kalitta, pilots the Kalitta Air Top Fuel dragster. Connie serves as head tuner for all Team Kalitta entries. He is assisted by co-crew chiefs Jon Oberhofer and Nick Boninfante on the DHL Funny Car, by Del Worsham on the Tequila Patrón Funny Car, and by Jim Oberhofer on the Kalitta Air Top Fuel dragster. Connie serves as crew chief on the Optima Batteries Top Fuel dragster.

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

POMONA, Calif. (Feb. 7, 2012) – Native Canadian Jeff Arend, driver of the 8,000-horsepower, nitro-fueled DHL Toyota Camry Funny Car, completed the best season of his steering wheel-wrangling career last November at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona (Calif.). This weekend, Feb. 9-12, he and the DHL “Yella Fellas” Funny Car team return to the historic race track for the season-opening NHRA Winternationals in hopes of carrying their successful momentum into the 2012 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series.

Arend posted the best championship points finish of his career last year by finishing in eighth place in Full Throttle Funny Car points. He also earned a berth in the ultra-exclusive NHRA “playoffs”, the Countdown to the Championship, for the first time. The “flopper” veteran thinks No. 8 is great but he’s hoping for something in an even smaller size at the end of this season.

“It was very cool to put those No. 8 decals on our DHL Toyota Camry Funny Car for this season,” Arend, a 49-year old resident of San Dimas, Calif., said. “We had been competing under my competition license number (170) for the past couple of years, so we were very happy to switch those out after our first top ten finish.

“I think we have all of the puzzle pieces in place to be competitive enough to win at every event this year. I know everyone on our DHL team is really looking forward to getting out there and improving on what we did last year. Sure, finishing in eighth was awesome, but now we have our goals set even higher. I think we’ll have at least a top five Funny Car this year. We’re going to be right near the top of the pack all year and hopefully have a shot at the championship in November.

“It’s always a blast racing in Pomona. I live about five minutes away from the racetrack so it is right in my backyard. We always have a lot of friends and family come out to the track with us at Auto Club Raceway and cheer on the DHL Funny Car team. Hopefully we can hoist a Winternationals trophy for them all at the end of the weekend.”

Arend has posted three wins in eight final-round appearances in his 18-year Funny Car career. He took over the controls of the DHL Toyota Camry Funny Car for Kalitta Motorsports at the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals in 2008 after the tragic death of Scott Kalitta in a racing accident in June of that year.

Event Schedule

The NHRA Winternationals begin Thursday for the nitro-fueled classes with one qualifying session at 2:00 p.m. (PT). Another qualifying session takes place at 2:00 p.m. Friday. Two more qualifying attempts will take place on Saturday at 11:30 a.m. and 2:15 p.m. The top 16 qualified cars in each nitro class will race Sunday in final eliminations beginning at 11:00 a.m.

Times and dates subject to change.

ESPN2 TV Schedule

2/11/2012 Qualifying
11:00 PM-1:00 AM (ET)
2/12/2012 Eliminations
7:00 PM-10:30 PM (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 Team Kalitta. Alexis DeJoria pilots the Tequila Patrón Toyota Camry Funny Car. David Grubnic drives the Optima Batteries Top Fuel dragster while Connie’s nephew, Doug Kalitta, pilots the Kalitta Air Top Fuel dragster. Connie serves as head tuner for all Team Kalitta entries. He is assisted by co-crew chiefs Jon Oberhofer and Nick Boninfante on the DHL Funny Car, by Del Worsham on the Tequila Patrón Funny Car, and by Jim Oberhofer on the Kalitta Air Top Fuel dragster. Connie serves as crew chief on the Optima Batteries Top Fuel dragster.

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

YPSILANTI, Mich., (Nov. 7, 2011) – The late Scott Kalitta, two-time NHRA (National Hot Rod Association) Top Fuel World Champion, and his cousin Doug Kalitta, driver of the Technicoat Top Fuel dragster for legendary Kalitta Motorsports, based in Ypsilanti, Mich., were both inducted into the Michigan Motor Sports Hall of Fame Sunday, Nov. 6, during the 28th annual MMSHoF Induction Ceremony in Mt. Pleasant, Mich.

Scott, who tragically lost his life in a racing accident in June of 2008 in New Jersey, was born in Mt. Clemens, Mich., Feb. 18, 1962. Scott’s celebrated drag racing career included 18 NHRA national event victories in 34 final-round appearances. In 1994, Scott became the first Top Fuel driver in NHRA history to win four consecutive national events en route to his first of two consecutive Top Fuel World Championships.

Scott’s two sons Corey, 18, and Colin, 11, along with longtime Kalitta Motorsports team member and crew chief Jon Oberhofer, were on hand at the ceremony Sunday and accepted the induction plaque for Scott at the ceremony attended by approximately 400 friends, family members, and fans of the ten total inductees.

Scott was the only son of drag racing pioneer and icon Connie “the Bounty Hunter” Kalitta, who also is a Michigan native and resident. Connie continues his roles as Kalitta Motorsports’ team owner and chief tuner to this day. He was inducted into the Michigan Motor Sports Hall of Fame in 1985.

Doug, Connie’s nephew, is a 47 year-old resident of Ann Arbor, Mich. Doug, a 14-year drag racing veteran, is still very active in NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series action and is currently in 8th place in Full Throttle Top Fuel championship points. To date, Doug has 32 career NHRA Top Fuel trophies from 64 final-round appearances, which currently places him in the No. 7 slot for most NHRA Top Fuel career wins. He has finished in the top ten in championship points in every season of his NHRA career which began in 1998, including runner-up points finishes in 2003, 2004, and 2006.

Doug and his daughter Avery, 8, also attended the ceremony yesterday. “It’s truly an honor for me to be inducted alongside my cousin Scott and join my Uncle Connie in the Michigan Motor Sports Hall of Fame,” Doug said while accepting his induction plaque. “Our family is very proud to be a part of the great history of racing in the state of Michigan.”

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

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

CHANDLER, Ariz. (Oct. 13, 2011) – Kalitta Motorsports will field all four of its nitro-fueled, 8,000-horsepower hot rods this weekend at the annual running of the NHRA Arizona Nationals at Firebird Int’l Raceway in Chandler, Ariz., just a few miles outside of the Phoenix city limits.

The massive, Michigan-based team helmed by NHRA drag racing legend and pioneer Connie “the Bounty Hunter” Kalitta competes in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series, the world’s quickest and fastest auto racing championship series, with the Candlewood Suites Top Fuel dragster driven by native Australian David Grubnic, the Tequila Patrón Toyota Camry Funny Car driven by newcomer Alexis DeJoria, the DHL Toyota Camry Funny Car driven by native Canadian Jeff Arend, and the Technicoat Top Fuel dragster driven by Connie’s nephew Doug Kalitta.

This weekend in Phoenix, Grubnic, a 48-year old resident of Bozeman, Mont., will drive the specially-decorated Candlewood Suites Top Fuel dragster. Grubnic and his team also flew the banner for Team Kalitta’s first-year partner, Candlewood Suites, at NHRA national events in Atlanta, Chicago, and Indianapolis.

Also this weekend, Grubnic and the Candlewood Suites team will welcome the winners of the Honorary Pit Crew Member Sweepstakes held earlier this season to commemorate Candlewood Suites’ inaugural foray as a primary and associate sponsor of Grubnic and Kalitta Motorsports.

Grubnic and the Candlewood Suites team go into Phoenix coming off an impressive semi-final finish at the previous event in Reading, Pa., his second trip to the semis this season. He posted a Top Fuel runner-up showing in Phoenix in 2008, and he was the No. 1 qualifier for the event at Firebird Int’l Raceway in 2004. Grubnic is currently in eighth place in Top Fuel Full Throttle Countdown to the Championship points (2136).

DeJoria and the Tequila Patrón Toyota Camry Funny Car team will be making only their second appearance in the 2011 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series in Phoenix. She previously competed at the Dallas event last month.

DeJoria, a 34-year old resident of Venice, Calif., is one of only a very few female drivers currently competing in the ultra-competitive NHRA Funny Car class. In order to be considered as “rookie” for the 2012 season, DeJoria is only allowed to compete in four events this season. She and the Tequila Patrón Toyota Camry Funny Car team will also compete at the final two events of the season in Las Vegas later this month and in Pomona, Calif. next month.

DeJoria begins her eagerly anticipated career in Funny Car this year after several years of successful competition in the Top Alcohol Funny Car class, including a recent win at the O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Northwest Nationals in Seattle.

Like his teammate Grubnic, Arend, a 48-year old resident of San Dimas, Calif., also rolls into Phoenix with the momentum of racing to the semifinals in Reading.

Arend and the DHL team have one event win this season (Houston) and have advanced to at least the semifinals at five events in 2011 so far. He is currently in eighth place in Funny Car Full Throttle Countdown to the Championship points (2168) and will finish in the top ten this season for the first time in his 17-year Funny Car racing career.

Doug , a 47 year-old resident of Ann Arbor, Mich., is quite familiar with racing in the final round in Phoenix. He won the Top Fuel title trophy in 2001 and posted runner-up finishes in 2004 and last year. He raced his 300+mph Top Fueler to the No. 1 qualifying position in Phoenix in 2003.

Doug has raced to the semifinals four times so far in 2011. He leads Team Kalitta with 32 career Top Fuel event wins in 64 final-round appearances.

Doug and the Technicoat team are currently in seventh place in Top Fuel Full Throttle Countdown to the Championship points (2165). He will finish in the top ten in Full Throttle points for the 14th consecutive season this year (every year since his Top Fuel career began in 1998).

Event Schedule

The NHRA Arizona Nationals begin Friday for the nitro-fueled classes with two qualifying sessions at 2:00 p.m. (PT) and 4:30 p.m. Two more qualifying attempts will take place on Saturday at noon and 2:30 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.

ESPN2 TV Schedule

10/16 – Qualifying 12:30 A.M.-2:00 A.M.
10/16 – Eliminations 7:00 P.M.-10:00 P.M.
10/20 – Re-air Eliminations 3:00 A.M.-4:30 A.M.

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

Hello Everyone,

I hope all of you have had a great week thus far, and have great plans in place for the coming weekend! Everyone here at Kalitta Motorsports, have been working extra hard getting ready for our final three races of the 2011 season. The first of these races is at Firebird Raceway in Chandler, Arizona, which is just south of Phoenix. Now normally, we would race in Phoenix towards the end of February, but for reasons only the NHRA knows, we are racing there this coming weekend, and the weather doesn’t look anything like it would be in February! As of this morning, good ole AccuWeather.com says it will be sunny, and in the mid 90′s each day. Oh joy, another snot-box of a racetrack awaits us! Lol.

Even though the weather doesn’t look like it will produce the kind of track conditions we saw in Reading, or in Charlotte, it won’t stop Team Kalitta from trying to win one of those NHRA 60th Anniversary Wally’s this coming weekend! Alot has been going on the last week or so at Team Kalitta World Headquarters in Ypsilanti, Michigan, as we prepare for the final three races of 2011. Since we start out this weekend in Phoenix, and then have a weekend off before we head to Vegas, followed by another weekend off, before we then head to Pomona, California, alot of work had to be done. Since all of these races are being run in the Southwestern part of the country, it makes no sense for the Team Kalitta rigs and crews to travel back and forth between each race, so it was important that all of the Kalitta teams worked hard to make sure we have enough parts and equipment, to run four cars, at three races, without going back to the shop. Trust me, it’s not as easy or simple as it sounds!

In Phoenix, Grubby will again run his cool looking Candlewood Suites Dragster, and both he and the bossman, Connie Kalitta, have a few new tricks up their sleeve to try and get the Candlewood car in the Firebird Winners Circle. It’s always cool when Connie is at the shop as much as he has been as of late, because he is always thinking of ways to make his hot rod run better. Doug will finish the year out in his Chip Foose designed Technicoat Dragster, and try and get back on track with some round wins and hopefully a race win! There really is no reason why either Team Kalitta Top Fuel car can’t get a win before 2011 season ends!

In the ever crazy Team Kalitta Funny Car World, both the DHL and Patron Toyota Funny Car Teams have been busy preparing everything they can think of for a full on assault on the rest of the Funny Car field. The DHL boys are coming off of a pretty good Reading race, and would like to keep that momentum going into Phoenix. I’m pretty proud of our DHL Toyota Funny Car Team, as they have fought through some adversity to become a solid car in the ever tough Funny Car class! Since Alexis and her Tequila Patron Toyota didn’t make the trip to Reading, it gave the Patron boys and girls, an extra week to get ready for Phoenix, and they needed it! After a couple of problems with the pretty black and green Toyota at Dallas, some repairs needed to be done to the Patron Toyota Camry, which included a trip back to the paint shop. I can tell you that the repairs look great, and the Patron Toyota is ready to rock again! I know Alexis, along with her team, is excited to get back onto the racetrack and finish 2011 off in Gran Patron Style!

Well, that’s my short story for the week! I hope all of you have a great weekend, and if you can’t be in Phoenix with us, I hope you can check us out on espn2. Take care everyone!

Jim O

Hello Everyone,

I hope this week has been good to all of you. Everything has been going well here at Kalitta Motorsports this week, as the team prepares for our next race at Z-Max Dragway in Concord, North Carolina. Another reason everything is going well is because Team Manager, Rachel Brunner’s favorite team, besides Kalitta Motorsports, the Michigan Wolverines, pulled and unbelievable comeback to win against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. On Saturday after the Annual Kalitta Company Picnic, myself, along with my wife Tammy O, Rachel Brunner, DHL Funny Car crew-member Mike Morris and the “Volume King Car Dealer of Ypsilanti” Rick Fischer, made our way to Ann Arbor, for the first ever night game at “The Big House”, and were part of an NCAA record crowd of 114,804 fans. It was truly an unbelievable sight and an unbelievable game! I attached a picture of the crowd after Michigan scored the winning touchdown and another picture of how happy our gracious host, Rick Fischer was after the Wolverines won! Now is that the face of a guy you want to buy a car from or what?

Ok, on to the racing since I don’t want to talk about how bad the Steelers got whipped last Sunday (I sat and watched it all)! Everyone here at Kalitta Motorsports has been working very hard getting ready for our next three race swing, which includes this weekends race in Charlotte, followed by the following weekends race in Dallas and then finishing up the next weekend in Reading, PA. Now that’s alot of driving for the Team Kalitta truck drivers! On top of preparing Jeff’s DHL Toyota Funny Car, Grubbies Rocky Boots Dragster and Doug’s Kalitta Air Dragster, the team has been working overtime getting Alexis DeJoria’s Tequila Patron Toyota Funny Car ready for its big debut in Dallas. I have to tell you that the paint job on Alexis’ car is one of the coolest I have seen in quite some time! The best part of the whole deal is that Alexis and Kalitta Motorsports PR Genius, Todd Myers, worked on the design together, and I must say, they did a great job! Now I can’t show any pictures of the new Patron Toyota, because there will be an unveiling of the car before the race in Dallas, and if I did, Alexis would probably hurt me real bad! Since she has been workin out with boxers and MMA fighters as of late, I am NOT going to mess with her!

Going into this weekends race in Charlotte, all three of Team Kalitta’s hotrods are in the final phase of the Countdown to the Championship. It is pretty exciting for everyone here, as we have all been given new life in the points battle. I know I am excited about the way the cars have been running as of late, and maybe just maybe, we are gonna hit our stride at the right time! At the Kalitta Company picnic this past Saturday, I spent some time talking with the Bossman, Connie Kalitta about the direction he wants to take with the engine program in Grubbies Rocky Boots dragster and Jeff’s DHL Toyota, and to say I am excited, is an understatement! I really feel that you are going to see some great performances out of both of those teams! I also feel that you will see some great things out of Doug’s Kalitta Air Dragster, as we have been pecking away at a combination that really seems to be coming together! You know, I was never a big fan of this Countdown deal, but I have grown to like it this year because I feel we can make some noise in it!

I am also looking forward to seeing our friend Steve Graham from Rocky Boots in Charlotte this weekend. Steve, Grubby and the Rocky Boots Team, did a display yesterday at Bass Pro Shops at the Concord Mills Mall by the track, and I hope it was a huge success for Steve and everyone at Rocky Boots!

Well, that’s all of my rambling for today, I need to get to the airport for the first time since our Seattle race, and go through all of the security BS! Man, will I miss flying with Connie and Doug! Anyway, take care and have a great weekend!

Jim O

Hello Everyone,

 I hope all of you are doing well and have had a great week so far! All of us at Team Kalitta are excited about the Mac Tools US Nationals, coming up this weekend at Indianapolis Raceway Park in Indianapolis, Indiana. I am pretty excited as well because we feel that we may have figured out was has been plaguing Doug’s car all year, and the fact that my wife Tammy, actually won a $1,000 jackpot on a slot machine down at Greektown Casino in Downtown Detroit this past weekend! Since we never seem to do well at Indy, and my wife never seems to do well at the casinos, I hope you can understand why my confidence is high for this weekend!

This weekend at Indy will be a fun race for Doug’s team, as our long time sponsor, Mac Tools, will be the primary sponsor on Doug’s car. From 2001 to 2008, Doug won alot of races driving the Mac Tools dragster, but one of the races we never won with “Big Red”, was the Mac Tools US Nationals, but we hope to change that this weekend! While Doug will be back in Mac Tools colors, Grubby will bring back out the Candlewood Suites dragster like he had in Chicago, the same one that was runner up at that race. I know Grubby and the team are excited about racing in Indy with the chance to secure a spot in the Top 10, but they are more excited that the Bossman, Connie Kalitta will be back in Indy, making the tuning decisions on the Candlewood Suites Dragster! After spending some time with Connie over the last week, I can tell you that he is ready and as sharp as ever!

While both Doug and Grubby are changing colors for the weekend, Jeff will be in his familiar yellow and red DHL Toyota Funny Car with a chance to secure a spot in the Top 10. After making some good runs in testing last week, Jeff, Jon O and Nicky, are confident that the DHL car will have a great weekend! While the DHL car has struggled the last few races, the team keeps working hard to make sure that everything is put together right, which gives the DHL car the best chance to run well and hopefully win some rounds. 

Well, that’s all from me for now, I need to get in my truck and drive to Indy, and for the first time in a long time, I am looking forward to the drive and racing in Indy! I hope my attitude is the same after Monday! Lol. Take care everyone and I hope you enjoy your Labor Day Weekend!

Jim O

Jim “O” Oberhofer

Kalitta Motorsports

INDIANAPOLIS (Sept. 1, 2011) – Native Canadian Jeff Arend, driver of Kalitta Motorsports’ nitro-fueled DHL Funny Car, is eager to go racing and potentially accomplish what would be one of the biggest highlights of his 16-year pro racing career this Labor Day weekend, Aug. 31-Sept. 5, at the most prestigious drag racing event in the world, the 57th annual running of the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals at Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis.

Arend enters the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals in ninth place in Full Throttle Funny Car points, only six points away from eighth place and 16 points ahead of 10th. He is 78 points ahead of 11th place.

“This is something we really, really want,” Arend, a 48-year old resident of San Dimas, Calif., said. “Everyone on our DHL team and at Kalitta Motorsports are doing all that we can to ensure that we get a spot in the Countdown. A few races ago it looked like we had it locked up, but we’ve had some bad races and the teams behind us in points have been doing much better, so it’s gotten pretty tight.

“I’m extremely confident in my team and everyone in our organization that we’ll get the job done in Indy this weekend. I’ve never finished in the top ten in points so to be this close to making that a reality is very exciting. And, this is Indy, the biggest race of the year, and we want to get an Indy ‘Wally’ for the trophy case.”

The 2011 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series Countdown to the Championship breaks the 22-event season into two distinct sections: the 16-event Countdown to 10 and the six-event Countdown to 1. After the first 16 events, only the top 10 drivers advance into the final segment of the playoffs, and their points are reset to within 10 of one another with the exception of the points leader, who will have a 30-point advantage over second place. The 10 drivers will then compete for Full Throttle world championships at the season’s final six events beginning at the next event in Charlotte. Each round of eliminations is worth 20 points.

Arend 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 at the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals in 2008 after the tragic death of Scott Kalitta in a racing accident in June of that year in New Jersey.

Event Schedule

The Mac Tools U.S. Nationals begin Friday for the nitro-fueled classes with one qualifying sessions at 7:00 p.m. (ET). Two more qualifying attempts will take place on Saturday at 4:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. followed by two more qualifying efforts Sunday at noon and 3:00 p.m. The top 16 qualified cars in each pro class will race Labor Day Monday in final eliminations beginning at 11:00 a.m.

Times and dates subject to change.

TV Schedule

9/4 Qualifying – 11:00 A.M. – 2:00 P.M. (ET) ESPN2
9/4 Qualifying – 5:00 P.M.-7:00 P.M. (ET) ESPN2
9/5 Eliminations – 12:00 P.M.-6:00 P.M. (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