KB Racing LLC: Will, team continue to eye Countdown
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: 920-733-2330 E-MAIL: PR4KBRacingLLC@earthlink.net 19th ANNUAL NHRA O'REILLY SUMMER NATIONALS HEARTLAND PARK TOPEKA – TOPEKA, KANSAS JUNE 1-3, 2007 Qualifying: No. 11: 4.644 seconds at 313.22 mph Eliminations: Round 1: Will (4.775/308.21) lost to Brandon Bernstein (4.578/323.19) Hillary Will, team continue to eye Countdown as they move to Chicago TOPEKA, Kan. (June 3, 2007) – With the addition of long time crew chief Dick LaHaie (Dick-O) as a consultant to all Kalitta Motorsports teams the timing couldn’t be better, as the push is on for one of the eight spots in the first segment of the Countdown to the Championship. In the case of the KB Racing LLC-owned, Kalitta Motorsports-managed Top Fuel Dragster driven by Hillary Will, Dick-O joins Will’s crew chief Jim Oberhofer (Jim O) as the second-year team tries to move into the elite eight in points. In the opening round of eliminations at today’s 19th annual NHRA O’Reilly Summer Nationals at Heartland Park Topeka (HPT), Will’s race against Brandon Bernstein started out promising. Will gained a starting line advantage at the green light but it was Bernstein who turned on the win light at the finish line. Will discussed the run after the round. “It was a big race for us because we brought Dick LaHaie in to help us and we were running his daughter and son-in-law (Kim and Tim Richards), who are the crew chiefs on Brandon’s (Bernstein) dragster, so there’s a little bit of rivalry there,” said Will. “Dick-O’s past (history) here (at HPT) has been great. When he was with Scott Kalitta they won here six times. So I liked our chances today. “But unfortunately our car dropped a cylinder, which is just one of those things that happen. We just have to keep our chins up and look to Chicago.” With a dropped cylinder, Will covered the HPT quarter-mile in 4.775 seconds. Bernstein recorded an elapsed time of 4.578 seconds. “Having Dick-O has been good for both me and the team,” said Jim O. “He’s one of my mentors. It helps to run things by him. We’re trying a lot of new things since he’s been on board. Those things seem to be working but we just have to be patient. We’re looking forward to going to Chicago and need to make a move there because we are running out of races and we definitely want to be in the next segment of the Countdown to the Championship NEXT RACE: The NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series moves from Topeka to the Chicago area next weekend for the 10th annual NHRA Torco Racing Fuel Route 66 Nationals at Route 66 Raceway in Joliet, Ill., June 7-10. TELEVISION: ESPN2 / ESPN2 HD will televise same-day coverage of eliminations for the 19th annual NHRA O’Reilly Summer Nationals this evening (June 3) from 4-7 p.m. The elimination show repeats early Wednesday morning, June 6, from 4-6 a.m. Television times are ET and subject to change without notice. Check your local listing. KB RACING LLC is owned by Las Vegas businessmen Ken Black and his son Kenny Black. In the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series, KB Racing LLC fields two Summit Racing Equipment Pro Stock Pontiac GTOs, one driven by Greg Anderson, a native of Duluth, Minn. who now lives in the Charlotte, N. C. area, and the other by Jason Line, a native of Wright, Minn. who now lives in the Charlotte, N. C. area, and a Top Fuel dragster, managed by Kalitta Motorsports, and driven by Hillary Will, a native of Fortuna, Calif. who now resides in Ypsilanti, Mich. Anderson won three consecutive POWERade Pro Stock Championships (2003-2005) and finished second in the point standings in 2006. Line, who finished second in points in his rookie season in 2004 and third in 2005, is the reigning 2006 POWERade Pro Stock Champion. Line was honored with the 2004 Automobile Club of Southern California Road to the Future Award, presented to the outstanding rookie in a professional category. Will finished No. 10 in her rookie season in Top Fuel in 2006 and was nominated for the Automobile Club of Southern California Road to the Future Award. The Pro Stock shop of Anderson and Line is in Mooresville, N. C. and the Kalitta Motorsports racing operation is in Ypsilanti, Mich. KALITTA MOTORSPORTS (www.kalittaracing.com), owned by the legendary drag racer and successful businessman Connie Kalitta, fields, in addition to Will's Top Fuel dragster, three additional nitro fuel cars -- two Top Fuel Dragsters and a Funny Car. -- in the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series. Doug Kalitta, Connie's nephew, drives the Mac Tools Top Fuel Dragster, Australian Dave Grubnic handles the driving duties on the Zantrex-3 Top Fuel Dragster and Scott Kalitta, Connie's son and Doug's cousin, is behind the wheel of the DHL Funny Car. #### No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.5.472 / Virus Database: 269.8.6/828 - Release Date: 6/1/2007 11:22 AM