Mikres named co-crew chief of Scott Kalitta-driven Toyota Solara Nitro Funny Car

Veteran Nitro crew chief and former NHRA Top Fuel and Funny Car driver Glenn Mikres has been named as co-crew chief for the Kalitta Motorsports-owned Kalitta Air Toyota Solara Funny Car driven by Scott Kalitta. Mikres will assist crew chief and team owner Conrad “Connie” Kalitta with tuning the 7,000-horsepower, nitro-fueled race car in the 2007 NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series. Mikres and Connie Kalitta are reuniting as co-crew chief and crew chief in 2007. They each served those roles in 1988 on a Scott Kalitta-driven Funny Car as well.

“Communication with Conrad will be the key to having a successful program,” Mikres said. “I’ve worked with Conrad in the past, and we work well together. He knows how to make a lot of horsepower. Hopefully he and I can work together on how to get that horsepower applied to the track properly. I have high expectations of what we can accomplish with our Kalitta Air Funny Car in 2007 and beyond.” Mikres named co-crew chief of Scott Kalitta-driven Toyota Solara Nitro Funny Car

Veteran Nitro crew chief and former NHRA Top Fuel and Funny Car driver Glenn Mikres has been named as co-crew chief for the Kalitta Motorsports-owned Kalitta Air Toyota Solara Funny Car driven by Scott Kalitta. Mikres will assist crew chief and team owner Conrad “Connie” Kalitta with tuning the 7,000-horsepower, nitro-fueled race car in the 2007 NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series. Mikres and Connie Kalitta are reuniting as co-crew chief and crew chief in 2007. They each served those roles in 1988 on a Scott Kalitta-driven Funny Car as well.

“Communication with Conrad will be the key to having a successful program,” Mikres said. “I’ve worked with Conrad in the past, and we work well together. He knows how to make a lot of horsepower. Hopefully he and I can work together on how to get that horsepower applied to the track properly. I have high expectations of what we can accomplish with our Kalitta Air Funny Car in 2007 and beyond.”

In September, 2006, Mikres tuned Swiss Top Fuel driver Urs Erbacher into the FIA (European) record books with a 4.747-second, 318.95-mph blast down the quarter-mile at Santa Pod Raceway in England. Journeyman Mikres has twice been crowned the Top Fuel champion in Australia as a driver and has driven Funny Cars in the NHRA for Chuck Worsham, Frank Pisano, Bill Schifsky and more. He has also made tuning decisions for John Force, Don Prudhomme and many other drag racers. Mikres also turned the tuning knobs on Scott Kalitta’s final Top Fuel dragster victory at Western Sydney International Dragway in Australia last December.

Mikres, a 55-year old native of Bear Lake, Minnesota, will now reside near the Kalitta Motorsports race shop in Ypsilanti, Mich.