KB Racing LLC: Will goes against Vandergriff from No. 7 position
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 27TH ANNUAL NHRA MOPAR MILE-HIGH NATIONALS BANDIMERE SPEEDWAY - MORRISON, COLO. (DENVER) JULY 14-16, 2006 QUALIFYING: Friday, Session 1: 8.941 seconds at 80.61 mph (#15) Friday, Session 2: 4.662 seconds at 318.69 mph (#7) Saturday, Session 3: 5.678 seconds at 177.84 mph (#7) Saturday, Session 4: 4.961 seconds at 290.07 mph (#7) Will goes against Vandergriff from No. 7 position MORRISON, Colo. (July 15, 2006) - After a brief mid season hiatus, Hillary Will, driver of the KB Racing LLC-owned, Kalitta Motorsports-managed Top Fuel Dragster, returned to work in the 100 plus degree heat at the NHRA Mopar Mile-High Nationals. During the break, Will visited with friends and her sister Kim in California and watched the IHRA race and her teammates Doug Kalitta shake down Scott Kalitta's Funny Car in Milan, Mich. Will chronicles her time off in her blog on NHRA.com and you can see a video interview of her from Milan on 1320TV.com. The website www.1320TV.com is the brainchild of veteran journalist Susan Wade and is an innovative and interesting site that highlights the world of drag racing with news and interviews by way of video. If your interest is drag racing, a trip to 1320tv.com is well worth the visit. But this weekend it is back to the office as Will, who is No. 10 in the NHRA POWERade Top Fuel point standings entering this event, began her quest for a season-long top ten finish in the NHRA POWERade Top Fuel point standings at the quarter-mile track at Bandimere Speedway, which has the highest elevation of any track on the circuit. "It was nice to have a break, but it felt like a really long time off," said Will, as she headed into qualifying for the Mopar Mile-High Nationals. I'm really glad to be back in my dragster even though we're here in Denver and it feels like it's about a 150 inside my firesuit, I'm loving this." During qualifying, Will, who is one of the leading candidates for the Automobile Club of Southern California Road to the Future Award (Rookie of the Year), recorded elapsed times (E.T.) of 8.941, 4.662, 5.678 and 4.961 seconds in the four qualifying session which placed her No. 7 on the final qualifying ladder. In tomorrow's opening round eliminations which gets underway at noon Denver time, Will squares off against Bob Vandergriff, Jr., who qualified No. 10 with an E.T. of 4.704 seconds. "I really glad that we qualified in the top half of the field," said Will as she ended qualifying that begins the last half of her rookie season. "I like our chances for tomorrow and I'm really looking forward to going rounds. Qualifying highlights for 27th annual NHRA Mopar Mile-High Nationals can be seen on ESPN2 on Saturday (July 15) from 10 p.m. until 12 midnight. ESPN2 will also air same-day television coverage of eliminations from 9 p.m. until 12 midnight. (Sunday, July 16). The elimination show repeats early Monday morning (July 17) 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, July 16, 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 in 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. ####