Hillary Will Turned Back in Brainerd
<img src="http://www.nitromater.com/gallery/files/5/H_will.jpg" alt="H_will" align="right"borders="0"/>
BRAINERD, Minn. -- Despite a valiant comeback effort, Hillary Will, driver of the 8,000-horsepower KB Racing, LLC Top Fuel dragster, was unable to get an upset round-one win in Sunday's final eliminations of the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series national event at Brainerd Int'l Raceway in Brainerd, Minn.
In the opening round of eliminations, Will, the No. 15 (4.546 seconds, 177.07 mph), matched up against the No. 2 qualifier (3.869 sec., 308.00 mph) Steve Torrence. Will had a tremendous starting line advantage (.098 seconds to .142 seconds) and her KB Racing, LLC group gave her the team's best run of the weekend in her nitro-fueled rail, but it was just not enough to get her first elimination round-win in Brainerd as Torrence got to the finish line first, 3.993 sec., 305.56 mph to 3.887 sec., 307.16 mph.
"I'm so proud of my KB Racing, LLC team," Will, a 28-year old native of Fortuna, Calif., said. "We struggled pretty bad in qualifying, but they never got down and then gave me a great car in the first round, but we just didn't have quite enough. We're disappointed, of course, but the way our team battled back is a testament to the great group of people we have working on our car."
Will is currently in 7th place in POWERade championship points.
Beginning with the 13th event in Denver, the NHRA instituted a new racing distance for the nitro-fueled classes of Funny Car and Top Fuel dragster to 1,000 ft., as opposed to the traditional distance of 1,320 ft., or a quarter of a mile, as a temporary safety solution to help the drivers of the world's quickest and fastest racing safely bring their cars to a stop more efficiently. The unprecedented action is in response to the tragic death of Kalitta Motorsports' Scott Kalitta, who died in a high-speed Funny Car qualifying accident in Englishtown, N.J., June 21.
Will became the fastest woman in the history of NHRA drag racing when she posted a 334.65-mph lap down the quarter-mile race track at the first of event of the 2008 season in Pomona, Calif. She became the first driver of either gender to go over 300 mph at the new 1,000-ft. finish line in Denver with a 302.21-mph mark in qualifying.
Will is currently the only female driver competing in the Top Fuel class.
A former standout in the Top Alcohol Dragster class, Will moved up to the quickest and fastest NHRA professional class, Top Fuel, in 2006 behind the wheel of a newly formed team owned by Las Vegas businessman Ken Black and managed by Kalitta Motorsports, the multi-car team founded and owned by drag racing icon Connie "the Bounty Hunter" Kalitta. She won her first Top Fuel event trophy in Norwalk (IHRA) in her rookie season and made her first NHRA final-round appearance in Memphis later that year. She finished the season in 10th place in Top Fuel championship points in '06. Will picked up an emotional first NHRA national event title in Topeka, Kan., June 1, 2008.
<img src="http://www.nitromater.com/gallery/files/5/H_will.jpg" alt="H_will" align="right"borders="0"/>
BRAINERD, Minn. -- Despite a valiant comeback effort, Hillary Will, driver of the 8,000-horsepower KB Racing, LLC Top Fuel dragster, was unable to get an upset round-one win in Sunday's final eliminations of the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series national event at Brainerd Int'l Raceway in Brainerd, Minn.
In the opening round of eliminations, Will, the No. 15 (4.546 seconds, 177.07 mph), matched up against the No. 2 qualifier (3.869 sec., 308.00 mph) Steve Torrence. Will had a tremendous starting line advantage (.098 seconds to .142 seconds) and her KB Racing, LLC group gave her the team's best run of the weekend in her nitro-fueled rail, but it was just not enough to get her first elimination round-win in Brainerd as Torrence got to the finish line first, 3.993 sec., 305.56 mph to 3.887 sec., 307.16 mph.
"I'm so proud of my KB Racing, LLC team," Will, a 28-year old native of Fortuna, Calif., said. "We struggled pretty bad in qualifying, but they never got down and then gave me a great car in the first round, but we just didn't have quite enough. We're disappointed, of course, but the way our team battled back is a testament to the great group of people we have working on our car."
Will is currently in 7th place in POWERade championship points.
Beginning with the 13th event in Denver, the NHRA instituted a new racing distance for the nitro-fueled classes of Funny Car and Top Fuel dragster to 1,000 ft., as opposed to the traditional distance of 1,320 ft., or a quarter of a mile, as a temporary safety solution to help the drivers of the world's quickest and fastest racing safely bring their cars to a stop more efficiently. The unprecedented action is in response to the tragic death of Kalitta Motorsports' Scott Kalitta, who died in a high-speed Funny Car qualifying accident in Englishtown, N.J., June 21.
Will became the fastest woman in the history of NHRA drag racing when she posted a 334.65-mph lap down the quarter-mile race track at the first of event of the 2008 season in Pomona, Calif. She became the first driver of either gender to go over 300 mph at the new 1,000-ft. finish line in Denver with a 302.21-mph mark in qualifying.
Will is currently the only female driver competing in the Top Fuel class.
A former standout in the Top Alcohol Dragster class, Will moved up to the quickest and fastest NHRA professional class, Top Fuel, in 2006 behind the wheel of a newly formed team owned by Las Vegas businessman Ken Black and managed by Kalitta Motorsports, the multi-car team founded and owned by drag racing icon Connie "the Bounty Hunter" Kalitta. She won her first Top Fuel event trophy in Norwalk (IHRA) in her rookie season and made her first NHRA final-round appearance in Memphis later that year. She finished the season in 10th place in Top Fuel championship points in '06. Will picked up an emotional first NHRA national event title in Topeka, Kan., June 1, 2008.
