for them in Sonoma
For California resident Jeff Arend, driver of the bright yellow, nitro-fueled, 8,000-horsepower DHL
Toyota Solara Funny Car, this weekend, July 24-26, will be a homecoming of sorts when he and the
other competitors in the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series "go the grand" on the 1,000-ft. drag
strip at scenic Infineon Raceway for the annual running of the NHRA Fram Autolite Nationals in the
heart of the Northern Californian wine country in Sonoma.
"We always have a lot of family and friends come out to see us at the races in Sonoma," Arend, a
46-year old resident of San Dimas, Calif., said. "It's such a great track and great facility
anyway, but then you have all the wonderful scenery of the area, which makes it that much more
enjoyable for everyone. I consider Pomona to be my home track, but Sonoma is very special, too.
"Having all of our friends and family there just gives me and our DHL team more motivation to win
this weekend. We are as hungry as we could possibly be to get some round wins under our belt. It's
going to happen and we're all confident we can make it happen in Sonoma."
Arend, a native Canadian, has 24 round-wins in his career and one NHRA Funny Car national event win
to his credit - Reading, Pa., 1996. He is married to Windy, and they have a daughter, Jenna, 9.
Event Schedule
The Fram Autolite NHRA Nationals begin Friday for the nitro-fueled classes with two qualifying
sessions at 4:45 p.m. (PT) and 7:15 p.m. and again on Saturday at 12:30 p.m. and 3:00 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 Fram Autolite NHRA Nationals is the 15th of 24 national events in the 2009 NHRA Full Throttle
Drag Racing Series.
ESPN2 TV Schedule
7/25 - Qualifying: 6:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. (ET)
7/26 - Eliminations: 9:00 p.m. - 12:00 a.m.
7/29 - Repeat Eliminations: 3:00 a.m. - 5:00 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 http://www.teamkalitta.com
Follow Team Kalitta on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/TeamKalitta
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/kalitta
