KB Racing LLC: Will to make IHRA debut at Norwalk

NORWALK, OHIO (August 25, 2006) -- When qualifying gets underway at Norwalk Raceway Park this evening, the IHRA Skull Shine World Nationals will have a new look as Hillary Will, fresh from a final round appearance at the NHRA O'Reilly Mid-South Nationals in Memphis, Tenn., makes her IHRA debut in the KB Racing LLC-owned, Kalitta Motorsports-managed Top Fuel dragster.

Will, who finished runner-up at the Memphis event and is currently ranked No. 9 in the NHRA POWERade point standings, and her Kalitta Motorsports team led by crew chief Jim Oberhofer, chose the IHRA event in Norwalk because it is near their shop in Ypsilanti, Mich., and is one of the largest and most prestigious events on the IHRA circuit.

"I was really excited when my team said they wanted to race at Norwalk," said Will as qualifying for the Skull Shine World Nationals neared. "I would race my dragster every weekend if we could; however, I know it is a lot of extra time and effort for the guys who already work really hard.

"For us, it is the closest race to our shop in Michigan so it's hard to pass up the opportunity to go try and win some more rounds. Even though it's the first IHRA event for KB Racing, we have as good a shot as anyone to get our dragster into the Winner's Circle. There are a lot of good competitors in IHRA, as there are in the NHRA, so there is no way I think it will be easy. But we can't go to the race without our goal being to win.

"We're hoping that the momentum and confidence we gained from going to the finals in Memphis will carry through to the Norwalk race and then on to 'The Big Go' -- the NHRA Mac Tools U.S. Nationals -- at Indianapolis the following weekend."

Will made her professional Top Fuel debut at the NHRA Winternationals in February. The 26-year-old driver was born and raised in the Northern California town of Fortuna, but now resides in Ypsilanti, Mich.

Her first drag race was at her local track near her hometown -- Samoa Dragstrip. From there she graduated to Super Street, then to Super Gas and Super Comp. After attending Frank Hawley's Drag Racing School, Will moved to Top Alcohol Dragster before getting the call from Ken Black and his son, Kenny, Las Vegas businessmen, who specialized in framing for house construction, to drive their Top Fuel dragster managed by Connie Kalitta and his team at Kalitta Motorsports.

Mixed with her racing Will found the time necessary to finish high school and college. She attended Wheaton College in Norton, Mass., graduating in 2002 magna cum laude with a degree in Economics, winning the prestigious Wall Street Journal Student Achievement Award.

After graduating college, like most college students, Will tells that she had no idea what she was going to do. The one thing she did know was that she loved racing. Will found a job near her hometown that paid enough to get her by and still let her go racing. In April of 2005, Will decided that she wanted to go all or nothing and make racing her career. She took a big risk and left her job to try to devote 100% of her time to turn what was then a hobby into a career. The rest, as they say, is history.

Will and her KB Racing LLC-owned, Kalitta Motorsports-managed team begin qualifying when Top Fuel rounds out the "Friday Night Thunder" show which begins at 7 p.m. tonight, August 25, and concludes with two additional sessions tomorrow, August 26, the first beginning at 3 p.m. and then the "Night of Fire" beginning at 7 p.m., with Top Fuel once again rounding out the program. Will begins her quest for the IHRA Skull Shine World Nationals Top Fuel title on Sunday, August 27, with eliminations for Top Fuel scheduled to begin around 12:15 p.m. *All times are local Norwalk, Ohio time and subject to change at anytime. *

/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.