In a prepared statement, KB Racing officially announced its merger with Titan Racing Engines in a move anticipated as early as September. The team will be known going forward as KB Titan Racing. 

Ken Black’s retirement at the end of the 2022 season led to the move.

The retirement of Black opened the opportunity for Titan Racing Engines partners Eric Latino and Jim Whiteley to move toward merging the Pro Stock horsepower brands. 

“To partner with one of the most respected and successful teams in the history of Pro Stock is incredible,” said Latino in a prepared statement. “We built a really good, respected, and proven brand with Titan Racing Engines – not just for Pro Stock but also for Pro Mod, sprint cars, and dirt track racing – and with the resources that we now have together, the capabilities are truly awesome. There are more announcements to come for KB Titan Racing, but we’re already beyond thrilled with this partnership.”

With the merger, Titan Racing Engines will move from their Denver, NC., shop to Mooresville, where Greg Anderson will oversee operations. 

“That [team] includes Stevie Johns and Mike Smith,” said Latino. 

Johns and Smith bring in a wealth of experience and success. 

“These guys are just so talented, and they’ve been part of extremely successful operations,” Latino said. “To bring them together with Greg Anderson, Rob Downing, Dave Connolly, and all of the talent in the Mooresville race shop – that’s a lot of knowledge under one roof. The really exciting part is that we’ve already started sharing information and realizing what we can do together. We were good as two separate teams, but we’ve taken the two best East Coast powerhouses and found that we’re going to be much, much stronger together. We’ve got the best of the best, all under one roof.”

Additional announcements will come out soon regarding more drivers being added to the fold. 

“This is incredibly exciting for all of us,” said Latino, whose experience in drag racing has been from the standpoint of both driver and team owner. “We have Ken Black to thank for starting a team that accomplished so much under his direction, and really, it’s an honor to be able to carry on the iconic brand. Combining resources between Titan Racing Engines and KB Racing, we’ve expanded our potential in a way that has already even surprised us.”

For Anderson, this marks a new chapter in his already storied drag racing career.

“It’s no secret that it was very sad for us to see Ken Black retire – he’s meant so much to us through the years, and he will always be part of this team,” said Anderson. “He’s the heart of the team, to be honest, and that will never change. Father Time had his say in this one. Ken and Judy made the right decision for themselves and their family – and you can’t help but be happy for the people you care about. But we had to find the next Ken Black, and that wasn’t an easy thing to do. When it’s all said and done, I think we came pretty close, and I’m really excited about the future of this team.”