Columbus: Doug Kalitta preview

Winning rounds the goal for Kalitta in Columbus.

Columbus, OH, June 10, 2002 - After a heart-breaking first round loss to Luigi Novelli at the previous NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series tour stop in Joliet, Illinois, Doug Kalitta and the Mac Tools/Kalitta Motorsports Top Fuel dragster team are looking forward to redeeming themselves at the Pontiac Excitement NHRA Nationals in Columbus, Ohio, June 13-16 at National Trail Raceway.

"Our team really needs a great weekend," said Kalitta. "Lately, we have not been performing as well as we know we can. Our Mac Tools dragster is running great, but recently we have not had all the pieces fall into the right places. Several round wins in Columbus would be great for the morale of the whole team and get us back into contention for the POWERade championship fight."

The team knows they need to win rounds soon to improve upon their current fifth place points standing and to maintain any chance of winning the 2002 NHRA POWERade Top Fuel Championship. They also have another incentive to do well in Columbus. Columbus is home to the corporate headquarters of Mac Tools. Team Kalitta wants to run well for all of the Mac Tools staff and distributors that show a tremendous amount of loyalty to the team throughout the season.

Co-Crew Chief Jim Oberhofer said, "The Mac Tools/Kalitta Motorsports dragster team is excited about racing in front of so many Mac Tools fans. We know how to win. We want to win again right now. Our team is not accustomed to struggling. We need to get back to our winning ways and make everyone more comfortable."

After 10 of 23 National Events, Doug is 5th in NHRA POWERade Top Fuel Championship points.

-km-