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Larry Meyer joins Kalitta Motorsports

Kalitta Motorsports adds championship tuner Larry Meyer to Top Fuel team's roster Ypsilanti, Mich., July 27, 2005 - Veteran nitro tuner Larry Meyer has been hired as a consultant for Ypsilanti, Michigan-based Kalitta Motorsports, the NHRA's only ...

Kalitta Motorsports adds championship tuner Larry Meyer to Top Fuel team's roster

Ypsilanti, Mich., July 27, 2005 - Veteran nitro tuner Larry Meyer has been hired as a consultant for Ypsilanti, Michigan-based Kalitta Motorsports, the NHRA's only full-time, three-dragster Top Fuel team. Meyer will begin his duties at this weekend's running of the Fram Autolite NHRA Nationals at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Calif., July 29-31.

Meyer will join team owner and drag racing icon Connie "the Bounty Hunter" Kalitta's already talented pool of co-crew chiefs Jim Oberhofer, his brother Jon Oberhofer and Rahn Tobler. Kalitta oversees the tune-up on all three 7,000 horsepower race cars.

With his years of experience and successes, Meyer's role with the team will be to assist where needed on all of the team's 330-mph entries, which include the Mac Tools dragster driven by Connie's nephew Doug Kalitta, the Mac Tools/Jesse James dragster driven by Connie's son Scott Kalitta and the Zantrex-3 dragster driven by Dave Grubnic.

"I'm very flattered to be offered this position," Meyer said. "Any chance to work with Connie and this great group he has assembled is a great opportunity, and I could not pass it up.

"I think we are going to have some great successes together. The amount of information that gets shared among the three teams is tremendous. Connie has done a great job of getting the right people in place that work and communicate well with one another."

Meyer has worked with some of the biggest names, past and present, in the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series since starting his drag racing career in 1963 including Chuck Etchells, Shelly Anderson, Joe Amato, Tom McEwen, Gary Densham, Lori Johns, Mike Dunn, Tommy Johnson Jr., and most recently as crew chief for David Baca.

Meyer may be best known for tuning Cruz Pedregon to the 1992 Funny Car World Championship. Pedregon was the only driver besides John Force to win the Funny Car points championship in the 1990's.

Meyer will join his wife Maureen at Team Kalitta. Maureen, "Mo" to her friends and colleagues, serves as a hospitality assistant for the team.

About Kalitta Motorsports

Based in Ypsilanti, Michigan, Kalitta Motorsports is the only full-time three-car Top Fuel drag racing team in the NHRA (National Hot Rod Association) POWERade Drag Racing Series. The racing operation was started in 1959 by now legendary drag racer and team owner Connie "the Bounty Hunter" Kalitta. His son Scott Kalitta drives the Mac Tools/Jesse James dragster. Scott's cousin, Connie's nephew, Doug Kalitta drives the flagship dragster for Mac Tools. Native Australian David Grubnic drives the third dragster under the banner of Zantrex-3.

Connie serves as crew chief for all three Team Kalitta entries. He is assisted by co-crew chiefs Rahn Tobler (Mac Tools dragster), Jim Oberhofer (Mac Tools/Jesse James dragster) and Jon Oberhofer (Zantrex-3 dragster).

Team Kalitta race cars made seven straight NHRA national event final-round appearances (Las Vegas 1, Bristol, Tenn., Atlanta, Columbus, Ohio, Topeka, Kan., Joliet, Ill., and Englishtown) in the first 12 events of 2005. Team Kalitta race cars made nine total final-round appearances with six wins (Doug - 3, Scott - 2, Grubnic - 1) in those 12 events. Two of the runner-up finishes were by Doug in Las Vegas and Columbus, and the other was Grubnic in Englishtown.

Associate sponsors on all three race cars include Red Line Oil, Summit Racing Equipment, Technicoat Companies and Fischer Honda.

-km-

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