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Native Australian Dave Grubnic, driver of the 8,000-horsepower DHL Top Fuel dragster, returns to one of his favorite race tracks this weekend, May 30-June 1, for the annual running of O’Reilly NHRA Summer Nationals at Heartland Park Topeka in Topeka, Kan. The 14-year Top Fuel veteran picked up his first NHRA national event win 2005 in Topeka to become the first non-native North American to win a Top Fuel trophy.
Grubnic’s nitro-fueled rail will carry the bright yellow and red colors for DHL for the remainder of the 2008 POWERade Drag Racing Series. Grubnic joins his Kalitta Motorsports teammate Scott Kalitta, driver of the DHL Toyota Solara Funny Car, as a flag bearer for the worldwide logistics company.
“We’re very happy to join our teammate Scott to represent DHL,” Grubnic, a 45-year old resident of Ennis, Mont., said. “DHL is a wonderful partner for Kalitta Motorsports, and we couldn’t be happier to have them on the sides of our car as well. We’re also very happy to return to Topeka. Of course, I have a lot of fond memories at HPT. It will always be a special place for me. It’s been quite a while since we went to victory lane, so hopefully this time out Topeka will give us even more memorable moments.”
Grubnic is currently in 9th place in POWERade Top Fuel championship points.
In early 2004, Grubnic was hired to drive for legendary team owner Connie “the Bounty Hunter” Kalitta and Kalitta Motorsports. In the fall of ‘04, Grubnic won the lucrative and coveted Budweiser Shootout in Las Vegas, becoming only the fourth driver in the special event’s history to win its $100,000 prize in his first attempt. Grubnic has one other event victory to date besides Topeka, the 2006 running of the famed Gatornationals in Gainesville, Fla.
The O’Reilly NHRA Summer Nationals begins Friday for the nitro-fueled classes with two qualifying sessions at 4:30 p.m. (CT) and 7:00 p.m. Two more qualifying opportunities take place Saturday at noon and 2:30 p.m. The top sixteen qualified cars will race Sunday in final eliminations beginning at 11:00 a.m.
All times and dates subject to change.
The O’Reilly NHRA Summer Nationals is the 9th of 24 national events in the 2008 NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series.
