KB Racing LLC: A look to the future hints of good things to come for Hillary Will at BIR
*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* *28TH ANNUAL NHRA LUCAS OIL NATIONALS* *BRAINERD INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY (BIR) -- BRAINERD, MINN.* *AUGUST 9-12, 2007* *A look to the future hints of good things to come for Hillary Will at BIR* BRAINERD, Minn. (August 7, 2007) -- With 15 races in the books and two left in the first segment of the Countdown to the Championship, Hillary Will, driver of the KB Racing Top Fuel dragster, is still looking for one of the spots in the top eight drivers that will advance to segment two of the Countdown. At the last race in Sonoma, Calif., Will picked up important points and now is only 64 points from the coveted No. 8 position held by her Kalitta Motorsports teammate David Grubnic. In addition to picking up points, Will and her KB Racing-LLC, Kalitta Motorsports-managed team also got a jolt at Sonoma when GumRunners LLC, makers of Jolt Energy Gum, signed on as an associate marketing partner. She will need all the energy she can get, and then some, at the 28th annual NHRA Lucas Oil Nationals being held at Brainerd International Raceway (BIR) this weekend, as she tries to narrow the point gap. Her team is ready to narrow that gap and a look to the future has Will ready to get things underway at BIR. "I read my horoscope and it said that I'll be celebrating on the 12th of this month," said Will. "That happens to be race day at Brainerd and the only thing I want to celebrate on that day is a win for our KB Racing Top Fuel team." Now Will knows it will take more than her horoscope to put her KB Racing Top Fuel dragster in the winner's circle, but she feel that her team is up for the task. "We plan to be in the top eight for the Countdown to the Championship, so a Brainerd win would be great timing since we only have two more races to move up. Our team definitely has extra incentive to win. We are going to do everything we can to do just that." *QUALIFYING:* Nitro fuel cars begin qualifying for the 28th annual NHRA Lucas Oil Nationals on Friday, Aug. 10, with two sessions at 3:30 and 6:15 p.m. (Funny Car is up first, followed by Top Fuel.) Qualifying for nitro fuel cars then concludes on Saturday, Aug. 11, with two sessions at 12 noon and 2:45 p.m. (Top Fuel starts the sessions, followed by Funny Car.) 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. * *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 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. *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. *JOLT ENERGY GUM:* GumRunners LLC, the makers of Jolt Energy Gum, is the newest associate sponsor of the KB Racing LLC-owned, Kalitta Motorsports-managed Top Fuel Dragster driven by Hillary Will. GumRunners LLC is headquartered in Hackensack N.J., and is the innovation of former marketing executives Kevin Gass and T. Molloy, who left their respective positions to found the company that would become "the world's most useful gum company." Jolt Energy Gum contains caffeine, plus Guarana and Ginseng to give you more energy. Jolt Energy Gum whose fitting slogan says "Chew More. Do More" is as safe as coffee (and arguable even safer). The caffeine is exactly the same molecule as in coffee. In two flavors -- Spearmint and Icy Mint -- Jolt Energy Gum has 2-times the energy; no other gum or mint even comes close to the energy boost in Jolt Energy Gum. Look for Jolt Energy Gum in your favorite store, including Circle K, Speedway, 7-Eleven, Rite Aid, GNC, and Eckerd. ####