Fri, 25 Sep 2009, 01:46 PM AREND and the DHL Team to Delve Deep with Dogged Determination to Deliver DALLAS Win

Courtesy of Todd Myers

ENNIS, Tex. -- Jeff Arend, driver of the 8,000-horsepower, 300+mph DHL Toyota Solara Funny Car, knows that a trip to a NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series winner's circle is inevitable for him and his DHL team. He hopes that their due diligence for success will pay off this weekend, Sept. 25-27, at the annual running of the O'Reilly Super Start Batteries NHRA Fall Nationals at Texas Motorplex in Ennis, Tex., just a few miles south of the Dallas city limits sign.

In the previous three NHRA events, Arend has reached the quarter-final round of eliminations.

"Our DHL Funny Car is going to surprise some people before the season ends," Arend, a 46-year old resident of San Dimas, Calif., said. "It's not a big secret that we have struggled this season to get our DHL car where we expect it to be performance-wise, but in the past three races we've gotten everyone's attention with the strides we've made in getting our car down the track consistently and with good numbers.

"Our team is devoted to winning more rounds and winning events, and we all know we will. Our determination will pay off soon, hopefully in Dallas."

Arend, a native Canadian, has 26 round-wins in his career. He is married to Windy, and they have a daughter, Jenna, 9.

Event Schedule
The O'Reilly Super Start Batteries NHRA Fall Nationals begin Friday for the nitro-fueled classes with two qualifying sessions at 2:45 p.m. (CT) and 5:30 p.m. and again on Saturday at noon and 3:15 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 O'Reilly Super Start Batteries NHRA Fall Nationals is the 20th of 24 national events in the 2009 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series.

ESPN2 TV Schedule

09/27/2009 - Qualifying - 12:15:00 AM - 2:15:00 AM ET
09/27/2009 - Repeat Qualifying - 1:00:00 PM - 3:00:00 PM ET
09/27/2009 - Eliminations - 7:00:00 PM - 10:00:00 PM ET
10/02/2009 - Repeat Eliminations - 1:30:00 AM - 3:30:00 AM 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. 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 http://www.teamkalitta.com

Follow Team Kalitta on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/TeamKalitta

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/kalitta

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