Madison: Hillary Will preview

Will has renewed confidence heading to St. Louis

MADISON, Ill. (June 22, 2006) -- Since advancing to the semifinal round at last weekend's event in Englishtown, N.J., Hillary Will has renewed confidence entering this weekend's 10th annual NHRA O'Reilly Midwest Nationals, which gets underway tomorrow at Gateway International Raceway in Madison, Ill., just across the Mississippi River from St. Louis.

At the recently completed K&N Filters SuperNationals, Will drove her KB Racing LLC-owned, Kalitta Motorsports-managed dragster to the semifinal round, which was her best showing thus far in this her rookie season in Top Fuel.

Immediately following the last event, Will, a serious contender for the Automobile Club of Southern California Road to the Future Award (Rookie of the Year), had her sights set on the St. Louis race, which marks the generally accepted midpoint to the 23-race 2006 NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series schedule. "I have a lot of confidence going into St. Louis," she said.

Will plans to use that confidence to continue her quest to advance into the top ten. Entering this weekend's event at Gateway International Raceway, Will holds the No. 11 position in the NHRA POWERade point standings. The 26-year-old Will, who calls Ypsilanti, Mich. home, now has 464 points, just 23 points out of the No. 10 spot.

-kbr