Grubnic Out, Todd In For Kalitta

Beginning with the third round of qualifying for this SummitRacing.com NHRA Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, J.R. Todd will take over driving duties of the Kalitta Motorsports Bounty Hunter Top Fuel dragster previously driven by David Grubnic.

Todd will drive the Connie “The Bounty Hunter" Kalitta-tuned Top Fueler beginning with third qualifying session scheduled for 1:30 p.m. (PT). Todd, a 32 year-old resident of Lawrenceburg, Ind., has accumulated six wins in eight final round appearances in NHRA Top Fuel competition.

Team owner Connie Kalitta has not announced if this is a temporary or permanent change and no additional information was released by the team. The team is expected to make an announcement regarding the future of the Top Fuel program at a later date.

Doug Kalitta, who drives the Mac Tools dragster for Kalitta Motorsports, is the NHRA Top Fuel championship leader.