Doug Kalitta, driver of the Red Line Oil Top Fuel dragster, heads to Reading, Pa., this weekend,
Aug. 21-23, with hopes of winning his 2nd Top Fuel trophy at Maple Grove Raceway and subsequently
giving him and his team some "breathing room" at the annual running of the Toyo Tires NHRA
Nationals.
Kalitta currently sits in 9th place in Full Throttle championship points. Only the top ten in
points are eligible for NHRA's "postseason", the Countdown to 1, which begins at the Charlotte
event, Sept. 17-20. With only two events remaining in the "regular" racing season, Kalitta, who is
81 points in front of 10th place and 105 ahead of 11th, is hoping that he and his Red Line Oil team
can get a few round wins tallied in Dutch country this weekend.
"We're in a tricky spot where we would like to get some round wins to make sure we're safe," Doug,
a 44-year old resident of Ann Arbor, Mich., said. "We're essentially 5-6 rounds ahead of the teams
behind us, so it's pretty close with eight rounds still on the table. We'd like to have a little
more breathing room than that going into Indy (next event). Reading has been good to us in the
past, so hopefully we can get the Red Line Oil dragster qualified well and get some win lights
Sunday."
Kalitta, a 12-year NHRA Top Fuel veteran and 31-time national event winner, brought home the Top
Fuel title from Reading in 2002.
Event Schedule
The Toyo Tires NHRA Nationals begin Friday for the nitro-fueled classes with two qualifying
sessions at 4:00 p.m. (ET) and 7:00 p.m. and again on Saturday at noon 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 Toyo Tires NHRA Nationals is the 17th of 24 national events in the 2009 NHRA Full Throttle Drag
Racing Series.
ESPN2 TV Schedule
8/23 - Qualifying: 1:00 a.m. - 3:00 a.m. (ET)
8/23 - Repeat Qualifying: 10:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.
8/23 - Eliminations: 10:00 p.m. - 1:00 a.m.
8/26 - 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
