FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
KALITTA MOTORSPORTS
2009 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series
Event 24 of 24
Automobile Club of Southern California NHRA Finals
Auto Club Raceway at Pomona
Pomona, Calif.
Nov. 12-15, 2009
Media Contact: Todd Myers
tmyers@kalittaracing.com
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Team Kalitta to celebrate 50 years of “the Bounty Hunter” one last time in
Pomona
POMONA, Calif., (Nov. 11, 2009) – Only one event remains in this season’s Full
Throttle Drag Racing Series – this weekend’s, Nov. 12-15, annual running of the
Automobile Club of Southern California NHRA Finals at legendary Auto Club
Raceway at Pomona (Calif.). For the race car drivers at Kalitta Motorsports,
it’s not only the end of another successful season, but it’s also one last
chance to go fast and hopefully take one more trip to the winner’s circle in
2009.
The end of the 2009 racing season also marks the end of team owner and drag
racing legend Connie “the Bounty Hunter” Kalitta’s year-long celebration of 50
years in NHRA drag racing. Over the past 50 years, Connie, who has been involved
in the sport as a driver, tuner, and as an owner, has dedicated unequalled
amounts of time and resources to building one of the most successful teams in
the history of auto racing. Kalitta Motorsports has won five world championships
and over 50 national event titles in five different drag racing sanctioning
bodies since it was established by Connie in 1959.
Team Kalitta driver Jeff Arend, pilot of the 300+mph, nitro-fueled DHL Toyota
Solara Funny Car, is optimistic about his team’s chances of picking up the Funny
Car title trophy in his “backyard” this weekend for the “Old Man”.
“I don’t live very far from Pomona so it’s my home track,” Arend, a 46-year old
resident of San Dimas, Calif., said. “I’ve always dreamed of winning in Pomona
with all of my friends and family there to see it, but most importantly we would
like to get one more win for Connie this year. He is one of the cornerstones of
drag racing as we know it today. He has done so much for me and my family and
our entire sport. I can’t thank him enough for all that he has done for me.”
Arend picked up an emotional victory last month in Memphis, his first win with
Kalitta Motorsports since joining the team last August, and the first win for
the Kalitta Motorsports DHL Funny Car team since the tragic death of Scott
Kalitta in June of last year. Scott was the 2005 Winternationals winner in
Pomona in Top Fuel.
Arend, a native Canadian, has two NHRA career Funny Car victories (Reading, Pa.,
1996). He is married to Windy, and they have a daughter, Jenna, 9.
Connie’s nephew Doug Kalitta, driver of the 8,000-horsepower No. 50 Technicoat
Companies Top Fuel dragster, is hoping he and his team can relive the glory that
they captured at the season-opening NHRA Winternationals event in Pomona in
February.
“We’re pretty confident going into this weekend since we won in Pomona at the
beginning of the season,” Kalitta said. “It really is a great track and a great
facility. There is so much drag racing history in Pomona. It’s a great place to
race. Hopefully we can bookend our 2009 season with Pomona wins.
“Getting another win for Connie this season would be the best way I can think of
to finish celebrating his 50th year in NHRA racing. I’m very fortunate to get to
go racing with my uncle, who also happens to be one of the biggest names in the
history the sport.”
Kalitta’s win in Pomona in February was his first trip to the famed drag strip’s
winner’s circle in his 12-year Top Fuel career. Connie’s only win as a driver in
Pomona came in the 1967 Winternationals in Top Fuel.
The event this weekend in Pomona is the sixth and final event in NHRA’s
six-event “playoffs”, the Countdown to 1. Kalitta is currently in the No. 9
points position, 215 points off of the lead and only 67 points away from sixth
place. By making this season’s Countdown to 1, Kalitta guarantees himself
another top-ten finish in championship points, a fete he has incredibly
accomplished in every season of his Top Fuel driving career which began with his
Rookie of the Year award-winning season in 1998.
Kalitta, a 45-year old resident of Ann Arbor, Mich., has 31 NHRA Top Fuel event
victories in his career in 58 final-round appearances. He is married to Josie,
and they have a son, Mitchell, 8, and a daughter, Avery, 6.
“Aussie Dave” Grubnic will once again race for Team Kalitta in Pomona’s finale
as well. Like he did at the previous event in Las Vegas, Grubnic will drive the
Hawaiian Industrial Structures/DHL Top Fuel dragster in competition this
weekend.
Grubnic, a 47-year old native of Brisbane, Australia, also drove for Kalitta
Motorsports at NHRA national events in Brainerd, Minn., Reading, Penn., and
Indianapolis this season and full-time from 2004-2008, but he’s been sidelined
for much of this season due to budget constraints. He has two NHRA national
event wins in 14 final-round appearances in his 14-year Top Fuel career. In May,
2005, he became the first racer born outside of North America to win an NHRA Top
Fuel event.
“Anytime you get to go racing with Connie Kalitta, it’s a very good thing, to
say the least,” Grubnic, who now resides in Ennis, Mont., said. “He’s forgotten
more things about nitro racing than most of the people racing now have ever
learned. He’s one of a kind and a larger-than-life icon who is whole-heartedly
dedicated to winning. It’s a pleasure to race with him and call him a friend.”
Event Schedule
The Automobile Club of Southern California NHRA Finals begin Thursday for the
nitro-fueled classes with one qualifying session at 2:30 p.m. (PT). One more
qualifying session follows on Friday at 2:30 p.m. Two more qualifying attempts
will take place on Saturday at noon and 3:30 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.
The Automobile Club of Southern California NHRA Finals is the final event of 24
national events in the 2009 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series.
ESPN2 TV Schedule
11/14/2009 – Qualifying: 10:30 p.m. - 12:30 a.m. (ET)
11/15/2009 – Eliminations: 7:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.
11/18/2009 – Repeat Eliminations: 2:00 a.m. - 4:00 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. In 2009, Kalitta Motorsports is celebrating 50 years of drag racing by
team owner and drag racing legend Connie “the Bounty Hunter” Kalitta. Over the
past 50 years, Connie, who has been involved in the sport as a driver, tuner,
and as an owner, has dedicated unequalled amounts of time and resources to
building one of the most successful teams in the history of auto racing. Kalitta
Motorsports has won five world championships and over 50 national event titles
in five different drag racing sanctioning bodies since it was established by
Connie in 1959.
Jeff Arend drives the DHL Toyota Solara Funny Car for the team while Connie’s
nephew, Doug Kalitta, drives the No. 50 Top Fuel dragster entry. Connie serves
as head tuner for both 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.
Associate sponsors on Kalitta Motorsports’ race cars include Red Line Oil,
Summit Racing Equipment, Technicoat Companies, Rocky Boots, Toyota, and Mac
Tools.
For more info about Kalitta Motorsports, please visit www.teamkalitta.com
Follow Team Kalitta on Twitter: www.twitter.com/TeamKalitta
Facebook: www.facebook.com/kalitta