KB Racing LLC: Will knows visit to Infineon Raceway important
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 20TH ANNUAL NHRA FRAM AUTOLITE NATIONALS INFINEON RACEWAY – SONOMA, CALIF. JULY 27-29 Will knows visit to Infineon Raceway important SONOMA, Calif. (July 25, 2007) – As Hillary Will returns to Infineon Raceway for the second time as a professional driver in her Kalitta Motorsports-managed Top Fuel dragster owned by KB Racing LLC, she knows how important the 20th annual NHRA FRAM Autolite Nationals is this weekend. With only this race and two other remaining in the first segment of the Countdown to the Championship, Will must make up a current 85 point deficit for an opportunity to land a spot among the eight Top Fuel drivers that will advance to the second segment of the Countdown. In the Top Fuel class only Rod Fuller has clinched a position but others are rapidly closing in on a spot in the elite eight. Will definitely wants to be among the eight. (For more information on the Countdown to the Championship, see below.) “My entire KB Racing team knows how important this race is in Sonoma,” said Will. “We know it’s critical for us to do well if we are going to land ourselves in the top eight. There’s no doubt that the desire is there and the ability is there as well. “Our whole team is really intense right now because we want to win so badly. Sometimes I think there’s such thing as wanting something too much. I’ll admit that I’ve probably been trying too hard lately. There comes a point when you just have to take a step back and go have some fun. We are going into this race with a positive outlook. Racing at Infineon Raceway, my home track, will be a lot of fun and so will winning rounds.” Infineon Raceway, in Sonoma, Calif., the site of the FRAM Autolite Nationals this weekend, holds many memories for Will on her road to a career as a Top Fuel driver. “I’m looking forward to seeing a lot of friends and family this weekend,” said the 27-year-old driver. “My family and I have done a lot of racing at the Sonoma track over the years. Even before I raced, we used to come watch this event. It was a family vacation for us. I would spend the whole weekend getting driver autographs and watching from the grandstands.” As a sportsman racer, Infineon Raceway is where Will, who was born and raised in the Northern California town of Fortuna, advanced to her first final round in Super Street. “I came here in 1999 as a novice racer and after advancing to my first final ever left Infineon knowing that I wanted to be a drag racer,” recalled Will. Now seven years later, Will hopes that she can duplicate or better that outing. COUNTDOWN TO THE CHAMPIONSHIP: In its simplest form, the Countdown breaks the $50 million, 23-event NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series season up into three distinct segments: the 17-race Countdown to 8, the four-race Countdown to 4 and the two-race Countdown to 1. After the 17 regular season races, all teams will continue vying for points, with full fields, but only the top eight drivers continue to vie for the championship in the four-race second segment. The top four drivers after the four-race playoff – Indy, Memphis, Dallas, and Richmond – then move to the third and final segment that will be run over the final two races – the NHRA ACDelco Las Vegas Nationals in Las Vegas and the NHRA Auto Club Finals in Pomona. While all teams will continue vying for points, with full fields, only one of the four in each of the four professional classes – Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock Cars, and Pro Stock Motorcycles – can be crowned the 2007 champion. Also of special note is that after the first segment the top eight drivers in each of the four professional classes will have their points adjusted in 10-point increments with No. 1 receiving 2,000 points and No. 8 receiving 2,070 points. After the second segment the top four drivers in each of the four professional classes will have their points adjusted again in 10-point increments with No. 1 receiving 3,000 points and No. 4 receiving 3,030 points. QUALIFYING: Nitro fuel cars begin qualifying for the 20th annual NHRA FRAM Autolite Nationals on Friday, July 27, with two sessions at 4:30 and 8 p.m. (Funny Car is up first, followed by Top Fuel.) Qualifying for nitro fuel cars then concludes on Saturday, July 28, with two sessions at 12:30 and 2:45 p.m. (Top Fuel starts the sessions, followed by Funny Car.) Note the later start for eliminations: Final eliminations for the FRAM Autolite Nationals begin for all teams at 12 noon on Sunday, July 29. All qualifying and eliminations times are local Sonoma time (PT) and subject to change. TELEVISION: Qualifying highlights for the NHRA FRAM Autolite Nationals can be seen on ESPN2 / ESPN2 HD on Saturday (July 28) from 6-7:30 p.m. ESPN2 / ESPN2 HD will also air same-day coverage of eliminations on Sunday (July 22) from 8-11 p.m. The elimination show repeats early Tuesday morning, July 31, from 4-6 a.m. Also, be sure to tune into NHRA Race Day, the show which provides the drag racing fan with the latest information about the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series. The FRAM Autolite Nationals installment of NHRA Race Day can be seen on Sunday (July 29) on ESPN2 / ESPN2 HD from 11-11:30 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: 7.5.476 / Virus Database: 269.10.19/917 - Release Date: 7/25/2007 1:16 AM