NHRA NEWS: Grubnic charged up for the Phoenix heat

Native Australian David Grubnic, driver of the Optima Batteries Top Fuel dragster for Kalitta Motorsports, is optimistic about continuing his team’s performance momentum this weekend at the annual running of the NHRA Arizona Nationals at Firebird International Raceway in Chandler, Ariz., just a few miles from the Phoenix city limits.

“Grubby”, known affectionately by his peers and fans, started the season last weekend in Pomona, Calif., with a bonus point-winning 3.776-second run in qualifying at the NHRA Winternationals, and backed that up by winning the first round of eliminations with an elapsed time of 3.741, which was the best of the round.

The 2008 Phoenix runner-up looks to make the next step into the winner’s circle this weekend. Grubnic’s first round victory in Pomona put him in the seventh position in the standings, less than ten points outside of the top five of the Mello Yello championship point ranks.

"We're obviously looking forward to carrying our Pomona performance into Phoenix,” Grubnic, a 50-year old resident of Bozeman, Mont., said. “Qualifying well and going rounds is the standard objectives for the Optima Batteries team and our goal is to continue this trend in Phoenix. Connie (Kalitta, legendary team owner and crew chief) is doing a great job with the tune-up and the crew is equally doing great preparing the race car. We're all excited to get on the track." 

Grubnic is an 18-year Top Fuel veteran and earned his first career Top Fuel victory in Topeka in 2005, becoming the first racer born outside North America to win an NHRA Top Fuel event. Grubnic, known affectionately by his peers and fans as “Grubby,” is coming off another great NHRA season in 2012. He picked up his third career victory at Topeka early in the season and combined the win with semi-final finishes at Norwalk, Seattle and St. Louis to give him another Countdown to the Championship placement and another season in the top ten in the final standings.

Team owner and crew chief Connie Kalitta, a drag racing icon and pioneer, will celebrate his 75th birthday this Sunday in Phoenix.

NHRA NEWS: Kalitta ready to continue the 2013 journey in Phoenix

Doug Kalitta, driver of the Mac Tools Top Fuel Dragster, is eager to get right back to racing this weekend at the annual running of the NHRA Arizona Nationals at Firebird International Raceway in Chandler, Ariz., just a few miles from the Phoenix city limits.

The “Big Red” Mac Tools dragster showed a lot of promise in the first event of the year, the historic Winternationals in Pomona, Calif., last weekend as it picked up three bonus qualifying points on its way to a third place qualifying effort. Kalitta was quick throughout the weekend, but achieved his best time of 3.763 in the final qualifying session. On Sunday, Kalitta added to his massive round win count by picking up his first round-win over Leah Pruett, who was in her debut Top Fuel race. 

Kalitta has seen success at almost every NHRA drag strip, and Firebird International Raceway is no different. He is the 2001 event winner and was in the final round just three years ago. That combined with his performance in Pomona, which left him just one point outside of the top five in the Mello Yello championship points standings, has Kalitta ready for Phoenix.

“I love racing in Phoenix and I’m super excited about how my guys have the Mac Tools car running,” Kalitta, a 48-year old resident of Ann Arbor, Mich., said. “We are looking forward to hitting the ground running at Firebird.”

Kalitta has amassed 32 NHRA Top Fuel title trophies in 65 final-round appearances. He has finished in the top ten in Full Throttle championship points in every season of his 16-year straight-line career. He was the 1994 USAC National Sprint Car champion.

This is a big weekend for Kalitta Motorsports, as team patriarch and Doug’s Uncle Connie Kalitta will celebrate his 75th birthday on Sunday. 

NHRA Driver Alexis DeJoria Hoping History will Repeat Itself in Seattle

NHRA superstar Alexis “La Patrόna” DeJoria, driver of the Kalitta Motorsports Tequila Patrόn Toyota Camry Funny Car, is looking forward to returning to Pacific Raceways this weekend, the very spot where she had her first ever National event win in the Top Alcohol Funny Car class one year prior. As she comes off of one of her best qualifying weekends of her rookie career, DeJoria is hoping history will repeat itself as she prepares to make her Seattle Nitro Funny Car debut at the 25^th Annual O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Northwest Nationals, the final stop of the infamous Western Swing.

“All the stars are aligned for it to be a successful weekend for Team Patrόn,” said Jim Oberhofer, VP of Kalitta Motorsports. “The Patrόn Toyota Camry has been very consistent and we ran some great numbers in Sonoma. Both of our Funny Cars have been working well off of each other and Alexis has been doing a great job with her reaction times.”

The black-and-green team, led by crew chief Del Worsham, who also won at this event last year in the Top Fuel class, is continuing on with their proven strategy of working together with the DHL Funny Car team, which has also seen success this season.

“I’m feeling really good about this weekend,” said the Rookie of the Year candidate, who’s already been to a final and semifinal round this year and has held her own in several instances, taking out seasoned veterans such as John Force, Ron Capps, and Jack Beckman. “Winning here last year was so awesome and such an incredible experience. Obviously, this is one of my favorite tracks for that very reason, so I’ve been looking forward to coming back here for the first time in my Nitro Funny Car all season long.”

“We’re coming off of a good outing in Sonoma, and I’m happy to be going back to another familiar track where I’ve had great success. I’m headed into town early to do an NHRA press conference and a Tequila Patrόn Bottle Signing at the BevMo in Tacoma. My daughter is joining me on this trip and we’re both looking forward to seeing the sites in downtown Seattle, including the famous Pikes Place fish market. This should be a great weekend and I’m really looking forward to racing again back in Seattle.”

Alexis DeJoria and the Kalitta Motorsports Tequila Patrόn Toyota Camry Funny Car team compete this weekend August 3^rd-5^th at the 25^thAnnual O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Northwest Nationals. Qualifying begins at 2:30PM on Friday.

Team Patrόn Counts First Round Loss as Positive Learning Experience

Although the Kalitta Motorsports Tequila Patrόn Toyota Camry Funny Car team lost in the first round of eliminations to Ron Capps today, they’re chalking up their inaugural Denver appearance as a learning experience.

Alexis DeJoria, driver of the Tequila Patrόn-sponsored Toyota Camry, and Capps have squared off twice before, with the Rookie of the Year candidate taking out the veteran driver early on in Chicago’s eliminations after he beat her in the final round at Bristol, Tenn. the race prior.

While the black-and-green Toyota Camry was off to a good start early on during round one of eliminations, the rookie driver got out of the groove at about 100-ft and lost traction, ending their day.

Said DeJoria, “It was disappointing that we were out after the first round, but at the end of the day, I’m just happy that we qualified at this race considering that we struggled to make it down the track in tough conditions all weekend long. This race is so different from any other that we’ve been to thus far and any other we will visit this season. Competing in this high altitude at these extreme temperatures was a learning experience for the whole team. As a new team, it’s important to gain as much information as you can at every stop on the tour, and I think we accomplished that this weekend.” 

“All in all, I’ve enjoyed my time out in Colorado. We had a chance to see some great areas up here. I’ve never really hung out in the Denver area before. I’ve come out to Colorado plenty of times to snowboard, but never had a chance to really explore this area and all of its cool places. Even though we were out early today, I’m just happy that we qualified, and of course now I’m really looking forward to going to Sonoma where we can tune this puppy back up again and run fast numbers at sea level.”

Alexis DeJoria and the Kalitta Motorsports Tequila Patrόn Toyota Camry Funny Car team will compete next at the NHRA Sonoma Nationals in Sonoma, California, July 27^th-29^th.

Team Patrόn Has their Sights Set on Going Rounds in Norwalk on this Holiday Weekend

The Kalitta Motorsports Tequila Patrόn Toyota Camry Funny Car team has been riding a wave of success and heads into Norwalk, OH with a great feeling of accomplishment and looking to keep the momentum going this weekend at the 6^th Annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals. In the past three races, Team Patrόn, led by ESPY nominated crew chief Del Worsham, has set a 2012 Rookie record, made final and semi-final round appearances, and beat 15-time NHRA Funny Car champion, John Force.

The team’s driver, Alexis “La Patrόna” DeJoria visited neighboring Cleveland, Ohio last month for a media tour and has been looking forward to coming back to compete in the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals ever since. “I’ve been here several times in my Alcohol [Funny] car, but never in my Nitro car. Bill Bader and his family operate a great facility and I can’t wait to hit the track for the first time in my Patrόn Toyota Camry,” she said, speaking of the Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park.

“We’ve done so well lately. Our team has come so far in such a short period of time,” said the Rookie of the Year candidate who visits Ohio with her family as they extend their ‘4^th of July’ celebration, taking advantage of the nearby amusement parks. “I made a couple of mistakes this past weekend, but we still managed to get to the semis. Our car is running really good and my teammate [Jeff Arend] won the race, which is awesome, so all is well for Team Kalitta!” she said, referring to last week’s NHRA Route 66 Nationals in Joliet, Illinois.

Norwalk is a big race for Kalitta Motorsports, as it is the team’s ‘home track’ so friends and family will be out at the Ohio drag strip in full effect this weekend. Team Patrόn hopes to put on an exciting show for all their fans and drag racing first-timers making the trip over to Norwalk.

The 8,000 horsepower black-and-green stunner has been running excellent lately, but with another hot weekend coming up, Team Patrόn will have to overcome the challenge of what could be tricky track conditions. “Racing is always a little complicated there because it’s the middle of the summer, and the temperatures are supposed to be in the nineties [degrees] this weekend, which will make for a really tricky race track. Just like last weekend, our main focus going into the race is to really put it all out there during that Friday night qualifying session. If you don’t run well in that session, you’ll be in trouble the rest of the weekend as far as how you’re positioned,” said VP of Kalitta Motorsports’ Jim Oberhofer, referring to how the teams are paired up in Sunday’s eliminations.

“Looking at Chicago, the team deal is really starting to payoff. The two Toyota Camry Funny Cars [the Patrόn and DHL cars] were doing the exact same thing on every run, and with Jeff’s win and Alexis making it to the semis, it just shows how much stronger the team is getting,” he explained of the Kalitta Motorsports Funny Car strategy of having both cars tuned exactly the same. “Hopefully this week, we’ll keep going down the track, go rounds and make another final round appearance.”

The Kalitta Motorsports Tequila Patrόn Toyota Camry Funny Car team currently sits in eleventh place on the points ladder, just 83 points away from the ‘Top Ten.’ They hope to continue to climb the rankings this weekend, July 6^th-8^th, at the 6th Annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals in Norwalk, Ohio. Funny Car qualifying begins at 4PM on Friday afternoon.

Arend Races to Victory in Chicago; Team Kalitta Continues to Dazzle in 2012

Native Canadian Jeff Arend, driver of the DHL Toyota Camry Funny Car, raced to his first victory of the 2012 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series season Sunday, Canada Day, in final eliminations of the annual running of the O’Reilly Auto Parts Route 66 NHRA Nationals at Route 66 Raceway in Joliet, Ill., just a few miles southwest of downtown Chicago.

Arend, a 49-year old resident of San Dimas, Calif., posted the fourth win of his 18-year Funny Car career on the day that his native land commemorates the day when it became self-governing. Arend was a runner-up finisher at the 2011 installment of the O’Reilly Auto Parts Route 66 NHRA Nationals, and today’s final round showing was his first since the Chicago “money round” last year. Today was Arend’s first trip to the Winner’s Circle since the Houston event in the spring of last year.

Arend took over the controls of the DHL Funny Car for Kalitta Motorsports at the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals in 2008 after the tragic death of Scott Kalitta, son of team owner and drag racing legend Connie “the Bounty Hunter” Kalitta, in a racing accident in New Jersey earlier that year. Both of Scott’s sons, Colin and Corey, who celebrated his 19th birthday Friday, were in attendance to see Arend and the DHL team get the emotional win at Route 66 Raceway.

“We’re always thinking about Scott, but even more when we win,” Arend said. “This was just an amazing day for our DHL team. I’m so proud of this team right now. They worked so hard all weekend and in intense heat to boot. I was confident every round today because I knew my guys had given me a great car to drive every time we went to the starting line. This Wally (trophy) is for the DHL crew. We got Toyota their first win in the new Camry body, too, so it’s a great day all around, eh (laughing).

“It’s so cool to have Corey and Colin here for the win. Having them here to celebrate with us in the Winner’s Circle is, well, words can’t really describe how great it is.”

En route to the ninth final-round appearance of his career, Arend, the No. 7 qualifier (4.075 seconds, 309.49 mph), defeated Tony Pedregon, Tim Wilkerson and Jack Beckman. In the final, Arend matched up with Courtney Force. Soon after the start of the 1,000-ft. race, Force’s mount struggled to maintain valuable traction while Arend’s DHL hot rod performed almost perfectly for the fourth time on the day allowing him to secure the win, 4.131 sec., 309.20 mph to 4.454 sec., 272.67 mph.

Arend and the DHL “Yella Fellas” have also reached two semifinals so far in 2012 (Atlanta and Houston). They now move from tenth place to sixth place in Full Throttle Funny Car championship points.

Also, with his win in Chicago, Arend has earned the last guaranteed spot in the Funny Car portion of the Traxxas Nitro Shootout. The NHRA Traxxas Nitro Shootouts, which are races within a race, will be conducted at the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis, with Top Fuel showcased Saturday, Sept. 1, and Funny Car featured on Sunday, Sept. 2. Teams qualify for the NHRA Traxxas Nitro Shootouts by winning an NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series regular season event, holding the No. 1 spot in the Full Throttle standings after the event in Brainerd, Minn., or via a fan vote and lottery-style drawing. The NHRA Traxxas Nitro Shootouts will award $100,000 to the winners in both the Top Fuel and Funny Car events.

In the previous four NHRA national events, Team Kalitta’s resurgence in performance has been extraordinary. The team, collectively Arend with teammates Doug Kalitta, driver of the Kalitta Air Top Fuel dragster, David Grubnic, driver of the Optima Batteries Top Fuel dragster, and Alexis DeJoria, driver of the Tequila Patrón Toyota Camry Funny Car, have posted two wins (Grubnic in Topeka, Kan.), two runner-up finishes (Kalitta and DeJoria at the previous event in Bristol, Tenn.) and four semi-final finishes.

Rookie of the Year contender DeJoria raced to the semifinals in Chicago in another strong showing by the team helmed by 2011 Top Fuel world champion Del Worsham. “Team Green” moves up from 13th place in Full Throttle Funny Car points to 11th place, only 83 points away from the top ten.

Kalitta and Grubnic both posted quarter-final finishes in Chicago. They remain in sixth and ninth place respectively in Full Throttle Top Fuel championship points.

Team Kalitta Racing A Hot Streak To Chicago

After posting two runner-up finishes in the two quickest and fastest racing classes on Earth at the previous NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series event in Bristol, Tenn. two weeks ago, the four-car nitro-fueled contingent of Kalitta Motorsports returns to action this weekend, June 28-July 1, at Route 66 Raceway for the annual running of the O’Reilly Auto Parts Route 66 NHRA Nationals in Joliet, Ill., just a few miles southwest of downtown Chicago.

Doug Kalitta, driver of the Kalitta Air Top Fuel dragster, and Rookie of the Year contender Alexis DeJoria, driver of the Tequila Patrón Toyota Camry Funny Car, both raced to their respective first final round appearances of the 2012 season in Bristol. Along with David Grubnic, driver of the Optima Batteries Top Fuel dragster, and Jeff Arend, driver of the DHL Toyota Camry Funny Car, Kalitta and DeJoria hope to continue to build on Team Kalitta’s momentum this weekend at a venue that has treated the team well over the years.

Reaching both the Top Fuel and Funny Car final at the same event has happened only twice so far in the legendary history of Kalitta Motorsports, helmed by drag racing icon and pioneer Connie “the Bounty Hunter” Kalitta. Before Bristol, the only other occurrence of this feat happened at last year’s running of the O’Reilly Auto Parts Route 66 NHRA Nationals with Grubnic and Arend making the “money round”.

Kalitta, a 47-year old resident of Ann Arbor, Mich., is a three-time O’Reilly Auto Parts Route 66 NHRA Nationals Top Fuel champion (2006, 2004 and 2002). He has amassed 32 NHRA Top Fuel title trophies in 65 final-round appearances. He has finished in the top ten in Full Throttle championship points in every season of his 15-year straight-line career. He was the 1994 USAC National Sprint Car champion.

Kalitta has also raced to four semi-final appearances in 2012, including back-to-back semis in Topeka, Kan. and Atlanta. He is currently in the No. 6 position in Full Throttle Top Fuel championship points.

Native Australian Grubnic, a 49-year old resident of Bozeman, Mont., is an 18-year Top Fuel veteran and earned his first career Top Fuel victory in Topeka in 2005, becoming the first racer born outside North America to win an NHRA Top Fuel event. He has three wins in his career in 16 final-round appearances.

Grubnic has one win so far in 2012 (Topeka) and is in ninth place in Full Throttle Top Fuel points.

Native Canadian Arend, a 49-year old resident of San Dimas, Calif., has posted three wins in eight final-round appearances in his 18-year Funny Car career. He took over the controls of the DHL Toyota Camry Funny Car for Kalitta Motorsports at the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals in 2008.

Arend posted the best championship points finish of his career last year by finishing in eighth place in Full Throttle Funny Car points. He also earned a berth in the ultra-exclusive NHRA “playoffs”, the Countdown to the Championship, for the first time.

Arend and the DHL “Yella Fellas” have reached two semifinals so far in 2012 (Atlanta and Houston). They are currently in 10th place in Full Throttle Funny Car championship points.

The newest addition to the Kalitta Motorsports nitro-fueled racing stable is the Tequila Patrón Toyota Camry Funny Car driven by DeJoria. With 2011 Top Fuel World Champion Del Worsham (who defeated Grubnic in last season’s Chicago final round) at the helm of the Tequila Patrón flopper as crew chief, “Team Green” is currently in 13th place in Full Throttle Funny Car points, only 61 points away from the top ten.

Team Kalitta Carrying Winning Momentum Into NHRA’s Legendary Englishtown Event

The four-car contingent of Kalitta Motorsports featuring the Optima Batteries Top Fuel dragster driven by David Grubnic, the Kalitta Air Top Fuel dragster driven by Doug Kalitta, the DHL Toyota Camry Funny Car driven by Jeff Arend, and the Tequila Patrón Toyota Camry Funny Car driven by Alexis DeJoria will be in high-speed NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series action again this weekend, June 1-3, at the famed Toyota NHRA SuperNationals at historic Old Bridge Township Raceway Park in Englishtown, N.J.

Native Australian Grubnic, a 49-year old resident of Bozeman, Mont., won the title trophy in the world’s quickest and fastest racing class at the previous event in Topeka, Kan. two weeks ago. He’s an 18-year Top Fuel veteran and earned his first career Top Fuel victory in Topeka in 2005, becoming the first racer born outside North America to win an NHRA Top Fuel event. He has three wins in his career with 16 final-round appearances.

Grubnic, known affectionately by fans as “Grubby”, is currently in eighth place in Full Throttle Top Fuel championship points. He qualified in the No. 12 slot for eliminations in “E-Town” last year. He was defeated in the opening round in a close race with Antron Brown in 2011.

Kalitta, a 47-year old resident of Ann Arbor, Mich., is a two-time Toyota NHRA SuperNationals Top Fuel champion (2003, 2000). He has amassed 32 NHRA Top Fuel title trophies in 64 final-round appearances. He has finished in the top ten in Full Throttle championship points in every season of his 15-year straight-line career. He was the 1994 USAC National Sprint Car champion.

Kalitta has raced to four semi-final appearances in 2012, including back-to-back semis at the previous two events in Topeka and Atlanta. He posted a quarter-final finish in last year’s eliminations in Englishtown after qualifying in the No. 11 spot. He is currently in the No. 6 position in Full Throttle Top Fuel points.

Native Canadian Arend, a 49-year old resident of San Dimas, Calif., has posted three wins in eight final-round appearances in his 18-year Funny Car career. He took over the controls of the DHL Toyota Camry Funny Car for Kalitta Motorsports at the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals in 2008 after the tragic death of Scott Kalitta in a racing accident in June of that year in Englishtown.

Arend and the DHL “Yella Fellas” have reached two semifinals so far in 2012 (Atlanta and Houston). They are currently in 10th place in Full Throttle Funny Car championship points. Arend qualified the yellow and black DHL hot rod in the No. 7 spot for 2011’s Funny Car eliminations in Englishtown. He was defeated by eventual event champion Mike Neff in the Funny Car opener.

The newest addition to the Kalitta Motorsports nitro-fueled racing stable, the Tequila Patrón Toyota Camry Funny Car driven by Rookie of the Year contender Alexis DeJoria, will also be competing this weekend at the Toyota NHRA SuperNationals. With 2011 Top Fuel World Champion Del Worsham at the helm of the Tequila Patrón flopper as crew chief, “Team Green” is currently in 14th place in Full Throttle Funny Car points.