<img src="http://www.nitromater.com/gallery/files/5/H_Wil07.jpg" alt="H_Wil07"align="right"borders="0" />
BRISTOL, Tenn. (July 7, 2007) – On the newly resurfaced Bristol Dragway quarter-mile track this weekend, Hillary Will drove her KB Racing -owned, Kalitta Motorsports-managed Top Fuel dragster to the No. 9 position at the seventh annual NHRA O’Reilly Thunder Valley Nationals.
To celebrate the Fourth of July, tomorrow she and her team would like to drive the KB Racing LLC-owned, Kalitta Motorsports-managed dragster to the winner’s circle. For Will a win here at Bristol Dragway would be the first of her NHRA career.
A win would also go a long way to move Will closer to a spot in the elite eight drivers that will move to the second segment of the Countdown to the Championship. Will’s quest for the winner’s circle begins with J. R. Todd, who qualified No. 8 with an elapsed time of 4.642 seconds.
With six races left in the first segment of the countdown, including this race, the top five Top Fuel drivers in NHRA POWERade points seem fairly secure in their bid to move to the next segment. But from six through 12, it’s a toss up. Looking at the Top Fuel standings you find “Hot” Rod Fuller in first with 786 points. Fuller is followed by Larry Dixon in second with 688 points; J.R. Todd in third (677); Brandon Bernstein No. 4 (671); and Tony Schumacher is fifth with 655 points. Will’s Kalitta Motorsports teammate, Dave Grubnic is six with 533 points. Then there is only a gap of 133 points back to Grubnic’s teammate Doug Kalitta in 12th with 466 points
On the bubble in the top eight is Melanie Troxel with 519 points, who trails Bob Vandergriff in seventh by five points. She is followed by Whit Bazemore (ninth) who is 7 points behind Troxel. Then come Cory McClenathan (No. 10), 32 points out of eight; Will (No. 11), 49 points behind Troxel; and Kalitta, 53 points back. (For a brief description of the Countdown to the Championship, see below.)
The point picture will be slightly clearer after tomorrow’s eliminations.
ELIMINATIONS: Note the later start: Final eliminations for the NHRA O’Reilly Thunder Valley Nationals begin for all teams at 12 noon on Sunday, July 8. All qualifying and eliminations times are local Bristol time (ET) and subject to change.
TELEVISION: Qualifying highlights for the NHRA O’Reilly Thunder Valley Nationals aired on ESPN2 / ESPN2 HD on Saturday (July 7) from 4-6 p.m. ESPN2 / ESPN2 HD will also air same-day coverage of eliminations on Sunday (July 8) from 9 p.m. until midnight. The elimination show repeats early Monday morning, July 9, from 3:30-5:30 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 seventh annual NHRA O’Reilly Thunder Valley Nationals installment of NHRA Race Day can be seen on Sunday (July 8) 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 in each of the four professional classes – Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock Cars, and Pro Stock Motorcycles – can be crowned the 2007 champion.
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 (Kalitta Motorsports), 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.
Hillary Will heads to eliminations No. 9
BRISTOL, Tenn. (July 7, 2007) – On the newly resurfaced Bristol Dragway quarter-mile track this weekend, Hillary Will drove her KB Racing -owned, Kalitta Motorsports-managed Top Fuel dragster to the No. 9 position at the seventh annual NHRA O’Reilly Thunder Valley Nationals.
To celebrate the Fourth of July, tomorrow she and her team would like to drive the KB Racing LLC-owned, Kalitta Motorsports-managed dragster to the winner’s circle. For Will a win here at Bristol Dragway would be the first of her NHRA career.
A win would also go a long way to move Will closer to a spot in the elite eight drivers that will move to the second segment of the Countdown to the Championship. Will’s quest for the winner’s circle begins with J. R. Todd, who qualified No. 8 with an elapsed time of 4.642 seconds.
With six races left in the first segment of the countdown, including this race, the top five Top Fuel drivers in NHRA POWERade points seem fairly secure in their bid to move to the next segment. But from six through 12, it’s a toss up. Looking at the Top Fuel standings you find “Hot” Rod Fuller in first with 786 points. Fuller is followed by Larry Dixon in second with 688 points; J.R. Todd in third (677); Brandon Bernstein No. 4 (671); and Tony Schumacher is fifth with 655 points. Will’s Kalitta Motorsports teammate, Dave Grubnic is six with 533 points. Then there is only a gap of 133 points back to Grubnic’s teammate Doug Kalitta in 12th with 466 points
On the bubble in the top eight is Melanie Troxel with 519 points, who trails Bob Vandergriff in seventh by five points. She is followed by Whit Bazemore (ninth) who is 7 points behind Troxel. Then come Cory McClenathan (No. 10), 32 points out of eight; Will (No. 11), 49 points behind Troxel; and Kalitta, 53 points back. (For a brief description of the Countdown to the Championship, see below.)
The point picture will be slightly clearer after tomorrow’s eliminations.
ELIMINATIONS: Note the later start: Final eliminations for the NHRA O’Reilly Thunder Valley Nationals begin for all teams at 12 noon on Sunday, July 8. All qualifying and eliminations times are local Bristol time (ET) and subject to change.
TELEVISION: Qualifying highlights for the NHRA O’Reilly Thunder Valley Nationals aired on ESPN2 / ESPN2 HD on Saturday (July 7) from 4-6 p.m. ESPN2 / ESPN2 HD will also air same-day coverage of eliminations on Sunday (July 8) from 9 p.m. until midnight. The elimination show repeats early Monday morning, July 9, from 3:30-5:30 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 seventh annual NHRA O’Reilly Thunder Valley Nationals installment of NHRA Race Day can be seen on Sunday (July 8) 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 in each of the four professional classes – Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock Cars, and Pro Stock Motorcycles – can be crowned the 2007 champion.
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 (Kalitta Motorsports), 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.
