Kalitta, a 56-time Top Fuel finalist, has raced for the Denver title three times in his career, with runner-up postings in 1999, 2001, and 2003. He is hopeful that his trip to the Rocky Mountains this year will yield an overdue winning result.

"Yeah, we've been close a few times, but we just haven't been able to leave Denver with a trophy yet," Kalitta, a 12-year NHRA veteran and 44-year old resident of Ann Arbor, Mich., said. "It's a tricky place to race with the heat and the altitude. I always enjoy going to Bandimere, though. The facility is great and the scenery of the mountains is really something.

"We've been struggling a bit at the past few races, so we've made some pretty drastic changes to our dragster since Norwalk (Ohio, previous event). We're confident we've done the right things to get our performance level back up where it needs to be. Hopefully that means we will get a shot at winning Denver this weekend."

The remaining race tracks on Kalitta's "need to win" list are located in Norwalk, Seattle, Indianapolis, and Charlotte.

Kalitta's trip to the winner's circle in Pomona this year was his first win since the fall of 2007. Kalitta has finished in the top ten in Full Throttle Top Fuel championship points in every season of his drag racing career. He is currently in 9th place in Full Throttle championship points. He is married to Josie, and they have a son, Mitchell, 8, and a daughter, Avery, 5.

Event Schedule
The Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals begins Friday for the nitro-fueled classes with two qualifying sessions at 5:30 p.m. (MT) and 8:00 p.m. Two more qualifying opportunities take place Saturday at 4:30 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. The top 16 qualified cars in each pro class will race Sunday in final eliminations beginning at noon. Times and dates subject to change.

The Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals is the 13th of 24 national events in the 2009 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series.

ESPN2 TV Schedule

7/11 - Qualifying: 10:00 p.m. - 12:00 a.m. (ET)
7/12 - Eliminations: 7:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.
7/15 - Repeat Eliminations: 1:00 a.m. - 3:30 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. 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

Courtesy of Todd Myers