Doug Kalitta, driver of the No. 50 Kalitta Motorsports Top Fuel dragster, raced his way to the
final round of eliminations Sunday at the annual running of the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals at
Bristol Dragway in Bristol, Tenn.
Kalitta took on Tony Schumacher in the final round. The two venerable Top Fuel pilots put on a
great side-by-side race for the fans, but Schumacher was able to barely edge out Kalitta at the
finish line stripe to get the event win, 3.879 sec., 303.43 mph to 3.857 sec., 310.91.
En route to the final round, Kalitta, a 12-year Top Fuel veteran, defeated Doug Herbert, Cory
McClenathan, and Shawn Langdon respectively. Kalitta's trip to the "money round" was the 57th of
his career, the 2nd this season, and the fourth of his career at Bristol Dragway.
"What an awesome day for our entire Kalitta Motorsports team," Kalitta, a 44-year old resident of
Ann Arbor, Mich., said. "We sure would've liked to get the win, but it just wasn't meant to be for
us today. Our whole team did a great job all weekend making our No. 50 dragster better and better,
and going rounds today was a huge boost for our team."
Kalitta's teammate, Jeff Arend, driver of the DHL Toyota Solara Funny Car, qualified his
nitro-fueled flopper in the No. 14 slot (4.335 sec., 280.02 mph). He was defeated in round one of
Funny Car eliminations Sunday by Del Worsham, 5.321 sec., 179.04 mph to 4.378 sec., 254.57 mph.
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.
The NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals was the 8th of 24 national events in the 2009 NHRA Full Throttle
Drag Racing Series.
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 racing operation was
started in 1959 by legendary drag racer and team owner Connie "the Bounty Hunter" Kalitta. Jeff
Arend drives the DHL Toyota Solara Funny Car for the team while Connie's nephew, Doug Kalitta,
drives the 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.
