Native Canadian Jeff Arend, driver of the bright yellow, 8,000-horsepower DHL Toyota Solara Funny Car, heads to Atlanta Dragway this weekend, April 16-19, with optimism fueled by fond memories of his most recent racing romps at the famed track, home of the annual running of the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Southern Nationals in Commerce, Ga., just a few miles from downtown Atlanta.
“The last time I raced in Atlanta was in 2007 for another team,” Arend, a 46-year old resident of San Dimas, Calif., said. “I remember the qualifying run on Friday night. The car was flying, and I got out at the end and they told me we ran a 4.71. That is still my quickest run to date (quarter-mile). It was awesome. On Sunday, we won first round, and I would love to do that this weekend and then we’ll take it from there. I think our car is really close to performing the way we want it to, and I’m expecting good things from our DHL Toyota and our team this weekend.”
Arend and the DHL team have qualified for all five events completed so far in the 2009 Full Throttle Drag Racing Series, but they are still in search of their first round-win of the year and Arend’s first round-win with Team Kalitta.
Arend joined Kalitta Motorsports in August of last year to assume the driving duties of the DHL entry after the tragic death of Scott Kalitta as the result of injuries he suffered in a high-speed racing accident in June in New Jersey. Arend is a 14-year Funny Car veteran with one NHRA Funny Car national event win to his credit – Reading, Pa., 1996. He is married to Windy, and they have a daughter, Jenna, 9.
In 2009, Kalitta Motorsports is celebrating 50 years of drag racing by team owner and drag racing legend Connie “the Bounty Hunter” Kalitta. Over the past 50 years, Connie, who has been involved in the sport as a driver, tuner, and as an owner, has dedicated unequalled amounts of time and resources to building one of the most successful teams in the history of auto racing. Kalitta Motorsports has won five world championships and over 50 national event titles in five different drag racing sanctioning bodies since it was established by Connie in 1959.
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