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NHRA: Kalitta Leads Top Fuel Category Into SummitRacing.com Nationals in Las Vegas

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NHRA News

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KALITTA LEADS TOP FUEL CATEGORY INTO SUMMITRACING.COM NHRA NATIONALS IN LAS VEGAS: Doug Kalitta and his Mac Tools Top Fuel dragster enter the SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals in Las Vegas as one of the toughest Top Fuel cars on the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing circuit. Their hot streak to start the 2014 season includes two No. 1 qualifying positions, two final-round appearances and one victory in a three-race stretch. Kalitta and all the Top Fuel racers will attempt to break the bank at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, March 28–30.

“Getting the Gatornationals win was definitely a great boost for me and all my guys on the Mac Tools team, especially after the great start we have had this year,” Kalitta said. “We’re really excited about the way we’ve started 2014."

For more on the story visit www.NHRA.com.

HIGHT HOLDS HOT HAND AS HE POWERS INTO LAS VEGAS:
Robert Hight has enjoyed immense success at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, and the odds again seem to be favoring the Funny Car star leading into the SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals. Looking to add to an already sizable resume, Hight, fresh off a victory in Gainesville, is poised to continue his early-season momentum March 28–30. This event always seems to bring out the best in Hight and his 8,000hp Auto Club Ford Mustang. Hight has scored three of his four Las Vegas victories at the SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals, the most of any Funny Car driver.

“We always look at Las Vegas in the spring as the first really warm racetrack we are going to hit,” Hight said. “By the time you get to April in Las Vegas, it is starting to get hot, and it will be the first race for the hot-weather tune-up."

For more on the story visit www.NHRA.com.

HRA FANFEST SET FOR MARCH 27 AT NEW YORK-NEW YORK:
The stars of the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series will meet race fans and sign autographs at the annual NHRA Fanfest, Vegas-style, Thursday, March 27, in advance of the SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. More on this story can be found on www.NHRA.com.

He Said, She Said

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"I've been to Las Vegas as a spectator before, but I have never had the chance to race there. I'm really looking forward to it, of course. It's a very special place for this team because it's the hometown for our [Summit Racing] team owners, Ken and Judy Black. It's also a Summit race, and that makes it very important to all of us. I hope to do well there. The car is coming along, and I’m getting more acquainted with the way they race over here. I’m learning where the tools are, getting my own routines now around this camp. It’s going to get better."

—Jimmy Alund, who has taken over driving duties for Greg Anderson, who is recuperating from recent heart surgery.

Inside the Numbers

7: Number of career Top Fuel wins Tony Schumacher has at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, including his 2013 event win. Schumacher, a seven-time Top Fuel world champion, and four-time Pro Stock world champion Greg Anderson are tied with seven wins at the facility. With Anderson sidelined following his recent heart surgery, Schumacher will attempt to break the tie as well as appear in his first final-round appearance thus far in 2014.

Did You Know

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JIM DUNN RACING CELEBRATES BIG JIM'S 80TH BIRTHDAY WITH SPECIAL PAINT SCHEME: Four races into the 2014 NHRA season and Jim Dunn Racing will debut a fourth body design highlighting a new sponsor. Koppl Pipeline Services Inc., will be front and center on the Grime Boss Funny Car at the 2014 SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals, March 28–30. Jim Dunn Racing will celebrate a major milestone at the Las Vegas race: "Big Jim’s" 80th birthday. The escape hatch on the Dodge Funny Car will feature a special design paying tribute to Jim and his passion for racing.

For more on this story visit, www.NHRA.com.

View the 2014 Mello Yello Drag Racing Series schedule.