ROCKY, a manufacturer of premium outdoor, work and western footwear, returns as the primary sponsor of Doug Kalitta’s 8,000-horsepower Kalitta Motorsports Top Fuel dragster at this weekend’s, April 30 - May 2, AAA Insurance NHRA Midwest Nationals in Madison, Ill., at Gateway Int’l Raceway just across the Mississippi River from downtown St. Louis.
 
After a wildly successful initial foray as Kalitta’s primary sponsor at the NHRA national event in Norwalk, Ohio, last June, ROCKY Boots has increased their involvement in 2010 with Kalitta Motorsports and NHRA drag racing. The event this weekend is the first of three NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series events scheduled for racing action for the ROCKY Boots Top Fuel Dragster. Kalitta will also pilot the specially designed ROCKY Boots race car in Norwalk again in late June as well as in the Charlotte, N.C. event in September.

ROCKY, a manufacturer of premium outdoor, work and western footwear, returns as the primary sponsor of Doug Kalitta’s 8,000-horsepower Kalitta Motorsports Top Fuel dragster at this weekend’s, April 30 - May 2, AAA Insurance NHRA Midwest Nationals in Madison, Ill., at Gateway Int’l Raceway just across the Mississippi River from downtown St. Louis.
 
After a wildly successful initial foray as Kalitta’s primary sponsor at the NHRA national event in Norwalk, Ohio, last June, ROCKY Boots has increased their involvement in 2010 with Kalitta Motorsports and NHRA drag racing. The event this weekend is the first of three NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series events scheduled for racing action for the ROCKY Boots Top Fuel Dragster. Kalitta will also pilot the specially designed ROCKY Boots race car in Norwalk again in late June as well as in the Charlotte, N.C. event in September.
 
“Doug is going to have a lot of eyes on him as he pilots the striking ROCKY dragster down the track,” Steve Graham, Marketing Manager with Rocky Brands, Inc., said. “Hopefully the ROCKY logo doesn’t get too blurred as he crosses the finish line at over 300 mph. We expect to be celebrating in the winner’s circle with Kalitta Motorsports on Sunday.”
 
Kalitta is a three-time Top Fuel champion at Gateway Int’l Raceway with event wins in 2004, 2003, and 2001.
 
“It’s great to be racing the ROCKY colors again,” Kalitta, a 45-year old resident of Ann Arbor, Mich., said. “The ROCKY dragster looks amazing and we’re going to try to make it run as good as it looks. We’ve had a great year so far, and we’ve had some great success at Gateway Int’l Raceway in the past so we’re all expecting a great weekend with our race car and ROCKY boots in St. Louis.”

Kalitta is currently in third place in Full Throttle championship points, only 98 points away from the top spot. In the first six events of the 2010 season, Kalitta has raced to three runner-up finishes and a semi-final showing at the previous event in Las Vegas.
 
ROCKY and Team Kalitta have also teamed up once again to give some lucky race fan the Experience of a Lifetime. ROCKY’s Experience of a Lifetime Sweepstakes will award one winner and all expense paid trip to the NHRA Las Vegas Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Oct. 28-31. Go to www.rockyboots.com for details and to enter to win.
 
The ROCKY Boots Top Fuel dragster will be on display Wednesday, April 28, at Chuck’s Boots in Lee’s Summit, Mo. (840 SW Blue Parkway, Lee's Summit, MO 64063, Phone: (866) 685-2668). The display is open to the public from 7:00 – 8:00 p.m.
 
ROCKY Boots is the Official Footwear of Kalitta Motorsports and is also an associate sponsor on the DHL Funny Car, driven by Jeff Arend, and the Dave Grubnic-driven Kalitta Air Top Fuel dragster for Kalitta Motorsports.