KB Racing LLC: For Hillary Will gymnastics and driving a Top Fuel dragster have a lot of similarities
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE KB RACING LLC NHRA POWERADE DRAG RACING SERIES KB RACING LLC-owned, KALITTA MOTORSPORTS-managed TOP FUEL DRAGSTER HILLARY WILL (www.hillarywillrace.com) -- DRIVER JIM OBERHOFER (Jim O.) - CREW CHIEF MEDIA CONTACT: Mickey Schultz PHONE: 425-557-8899 E-MAIL: mschultz@bellsouth.net SEVENTH ANNUAL NHRA SUMMITRACING.COM NATIONALS THE STRIP AT LAS VEGAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY - LAS VEGAS APRIL 6-9, 2006 Gymnastics and driving a Top Fuel Dragster have a lot of similarities LAS VEGAS (April 5, 2006) - Gymnastics and driving a Top Fuel dragster have a lot of similarities. Both sports require precision and timing. Just ask Hillary Will, who has done both. Will, 26, who will be behind the wheel of the KB Racing LLC-owned, Kalitta Motorsports-managed Top Fuel dragster at this weekend's NHRA SummitRacing.com Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, spent most of her childhood consumed with the sport of gymnastics. "I have been fascinated with gymnastics since the first time I was exposed to it as a four-year-old watching Mary Lou Retton win the gold medal in the 1984 Olympics," said Will. "Shortly after that, I began taking gymnastics. It is very demanding and requires the athlete to be determined and focused. I practiced long hours, day in and day out, all year long." When Will was ten-years-old she received specialized instruction at Bela Karolyi's gymnastics camp in Houston. Bela Karolyi made his mark in the sport of gymnastics teaching and training accomplished gymnasts such as Nadia Comanechi, Mary Lou Retton, and Kim Zmeskal. Will's is fascinated by drag racing for the same reasons she was fascinated with gymnastics. "It's about defying the laws of physics and doing the unthinkable," said Will, comparing the two disciplines. "Watching a Top Fuel dragster travel 1,320 feet in under 4.5 seconds and reach nearly 330 mph is amazing and doesn't seem possible when you think about it. Just like some of the things a gymnast can do, doesn't seem possible. It requires a lot of hard work and dedication. "I've taken what I learned in gymnastics and applied it to being a race car driver. I remember being on the balance beam where the margin of error is so small. Wrong placement of my arm or even my toe at given time would throw me off. Every movement had to be precise and deliberate. "Driving a dragster is no different. One wrong movement adversely affects the run, whether it's staging, keeping it straight, doing too short of a burnout or any number of things. You have to do everything with confidence and have no second thoughts. When wins and losses are separated by merely thousandths of-a-second the smallest error can cost a run." As a gymnast, Will learned the importance of visualization. She practiced her gymnastic routines with perfect execution over and over in her head. "I do the same thing with driving. While I have actually only made about 50 runs in Top Fuel Dragster, I have practiced thousands and thousands of runs through visualization," says Will, a native of Northern California, who grew up in Fortuna but now lives near the Kalitta Motorsports shop in Ypsilanti, Mich. Finally, her family's support - grandfather, father, mother and younger siblings - plays the same role in Will's racing life today, just as it did in gymnastic. "My entire family has always been more than supportive of my gymnastics career as well as my racing career. My success in both sports has only been possible because of their support. When I was in gymnastics, they had to drive me to and from practice every day. It was a long way away since we lived in a small town. This support carried over to racing. My Grandpa put a lot of miles in the truck and trailer hauling my race car around the country. My Dad invested in only the best racecar parts for me to drive," recalled an appreciative Will. Qualifying for Will and her KB Racing Top Fuel dragster begins with two sessions on Friday, April 7, scheduled for 3:30 and 6:30 p.m. and concludes with two additional sessions on Saturday, April 8, at 12:30 and 3:30 p.m. Will begins her quest for the SummitRacing.com Nationals Top Fuel title on Sunday, April 9, with eliminations for all classes beginning at 11 a.m. All times are local Las Vegas time (PT) and subject to change at anytime. Qualifying highlights for the seventh annual NHRA SummitRacing.com Nationals can be seen on ESPN2 on Saturday evening (April 8) from 8-10 p.m. ESPN2 will also air same-day television coverage of eliminations from 7 until 10 p.m. on Sunday (April 9). The elimination show repeats early Tuesday morning (April 11) from 2:30-4:30 a.m. Also, tune in to NHRA2Day on ESPN2, the weekly show that gives you the latest information about the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series. NHRA2Day can be seen on Sunday morning, April 9, from 11:30 a.m. - 12 noon. Television times are Eastern Time (ET) and subject to change at anytime. Check local listings. KB Racing LLC is owned by Las Vegas businessmen Ken Black and Kenny Black. KB Racing LLC fields the Kalitta Motorsports-managed Top Fuel dragster driven by rookie driver Hillary Will. Autolite Spark Plugs, Calico Coatings, Findlay Automotive, Mac Tools, Red Line Oil, Summit Racing Equipment and the Technicoat Companies are associate marketing partners for 2006. In addition to Hillary Will's Top Fuel Dragster, KB Racing LLC also fields two Summit Racing Equipment Pro Stock Pontiac GTOs, driven by Greg Anderson and Jason Line on the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series. Anderson has won three consecutive POWERade Pro Stock Championships (2003-2005). Line finished third in the 2005 POWERade point standings and was honored with the 2004 Automobile Club of Southern California Road to the Future award, presented to the most outstanding rookie in a professional category. Kalitta Motorsports (www.kalittaracing.com), owned by the legendary drag racer and successful businessman Connie Kalitta, will field, in addition to Will's dragster, three additional nitro fuel cars - two Top Fuel dragsters and a Funny Car - in 2006 on the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series. Doug Kalitta will drive the Mac Tools Top Fuel Dragster, David Grubnic will handle the driving duties on the StriVectin-SD Top Fuel Dragster and Scott Kalitta moves from Top Fuel to the Kalitta Air Funny Car for 2006. ####