KB Racing LLC: Time for Anderson to show what he can
really do
*FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
KB RACING LLC
NHRA POWERADE DRAG RACING SERIES
KB RACING LLC/SUMMIT RACING EQUIPMENT PRO STOCK PONTIAC GTO
GREG ANDERSON -- DRIVER
ROB DOWNING -- CREW CHIEF
MEDIA CONTACT: MICKEY SCHULTZ
PHONE: 920-733-2330
E-MAIL: PR4KBRacingLLC@earthlink.net*
*28TH ANNUAL NHRA LUCAS OIL NATIONALS
BRAINERD INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY (BIR) -- BRAINERD, MINN.
AUGUST 9-12, 2007*
*Time for Anderson to show what he can really do *
BRAINERD, Minn. (August 7, 2007) -- Greg Anderson always looks forward
to coming to his home away from home and this weekend's 28th annual NHRA
Lucas Oil Nationals at Brainerd International Raceway (BIR) in Brainerd,
Minn., is no exception.
"It's always great going home," said Anderson, the Duluth, Minn.-native,
who now calls Charlotte, N.C. home. It's seeing all your family and all
your friends that don't get to see you but one time a year. Obviously,
you want to put on a good show for them.
"It's close to the Countdown to the Championship and the two segments
that determine who wins the POWERade championship. It's time to get
fully focus. It's time to really show what you're made of and what the
team can do. You don't want to wait until you get to the next phase of
the Countdown, you must start performing at a high level now. We want
to warm up the jets now, so that these Summit Pontiacs are going full
power when we reach Indy. You want and need a mental edge like we had
early in the season when we were performing so well.
"We've had our fun; we've done our experimenting and testing. Now it
time to go show what we can really do."
At the last race in Sonoma, Anderson drove his KB Racing LLC-owned,
Summit Racing Equipment Pontiac GTO to the 50th win of his career,
becoming just the sixth driver in the NHRA history books to win 50.
Additionally, he is the second quickest to that magic number, winning 50
in his 189th race. Pro Stock legend Bob Glidden was the quickest to the
50 mark, reaching that number in only 139 races.
At BIR, Anderson won here in 2003 when he defeated Kurt Johnson. The
three-time Pro Stock champion also has two runner-ups in the "Land of
10,000 Lakes" -- in 2002 to Jeg Coughlin and in 2004 to Dave Connolly.
*COUNTDOWN TO THE CHAMPIONSHIP: Five Pro Stock drivers -- Anderson,
Coughlin, Connolly, (Allen) Johnson, and Line -- have now clinched a
spot in segment two of the Countdown.* After 14 events, Anderson leads
the NHRA POWERade Pro Stock standings with 1253 points, which also puts
him in the lead for the first segment (first 17 races) of the Countdown
to the Championship (23 races). Anderson is followed by Jeg Coughlin in
second (1,083 points), just 170 points behind. Coughlin's teammate Dave
Connolly is third (1,078), 175 back. Allen Johnson is fourth (930), 323
behind and Anderson's KB Racing teammate and reigning NHRA POWERade Pro
Stock champion Jason Line is fifth (877), 376 points behind the leader.
Rounding out the top eight are: Kurt Johnson No. 6 (754 points/-499
behind), No. 7 Warren Johnson (684/-569), and No. 8 Larry Morgan
(662/-591). Those still within striking distance of eighth are: V.
Gaines (-15 behind eight), Richie Stevens, Jr. (-16), Jim Yates (-106),
and Greg Stanfield (-108).
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 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 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:* Pro Stock begins qualifying for 28th annual NHRA Lucas Oil
Nationals on Friday, Aug. 10, with two sessions at 2:45 and 5:30 p.m.
Qualifying for Pro Stock then concludes on Saturday, Aug. 11, with two
sessions at 11:15 a.m. and 2 p.m. (Pro Stock Motorcycles run first, Pro
Stock cars last, in all qualifying sessions.) *Final eliminations for
the Lucas Oil Nationals begin for all teams at 11 a.m. on Sunday, Aug.
12. All qualifying and eliminations times are local Brainerd, Minn.
time (CT) and subject to change. *
*TELEVISION:* Qualifying highlights for the 28th annual NHRA Lucas Oil
Nationals can be seen on ESPN2 / ESPN2 HD early Sunday morning (Aug. 12)
beginning at 12:30 a.m. and concluding at 1:30 a.m.. ESPN2 / ESPN2
HD will also air same-day coverage of eliminations on Sunday (Aug.
12) from 7-10 p.m. The elimination show repeats early Wednesday
morning, Aug. 15, 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 Lucas Oil
Nationals installment of NHRA Race Day can be seen on Sunday (Aug. 12)
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.
*SUMMIT RACING EQUIPMENT:* Since 1968 Summit Racing Equipment
(www.summitracing.com), headquartered in Tallmadge, Ohio, has been the
leader in high performance, offering a huge selection of parts for
virtually everyone from racers to street rodders, muscle car
enthusiasts, off-roaders, and sport compact fans. Summit does business
based on a simple formula: give our customers the parts they want, at a
fair price, ship those parts fast, and back them with the best customer
service on the planet. Summit Racing Equipment services its customers
from three warehouses in Tallmadge, Ohio, Sparks, Nev., and McDonough,
Ga. Summit Racing Equipment is the primary marketing partner of KB
Racing LLC, which fields the Summit Racing Equipment Pontiac GTOs driven
by three-time NHRA POWERade Pro Stock champion Greg Anderson and
reigning NHRA POWERade Pro Stock champion Jason Line. Summit Racing
Equipment is also an associate sponsor on the KB Racing LLC-owned,
Kalitta Motorsports-managed Top Fuel Dragster of Hillary Will.
####
