Laurie Cannister Budds Creek preview

Cannister and Kalbones’ Crew Look Forward to Returning To “GO”

Virginia Beach, VA – Late in the 2007 season the Kalbones Grill’n Sauce team, that has stormed the IHRA AFC field thus far in 2008, made its debut at Budds Creek, Maryland. Just for a brief history lesson, it wasn’t just any debut for the newly assembled team, but an eye-opening event win and the team has never looked back.

Laurie Cannister, driver of the Kalbones Grill’n Sauce entry, has always held a special place in her heart for the IHRA tour stop at Maryland International Raceway. It was in 2002 during the event where she won her very first IHRA Ironman in AFC before having to leave the driver’s seat for almost exactly five years. On her first return to the track she repeated that victory.

Many other exciting things have taken place for the Kalbones team since their last appearance at the Maryland facility. The short list includes racking up two more event wins, a runner-up and a world E.T. record, just in the first three races of 2008 alone.

Getting to the team’s last final round appearance, where they managed to pick up their runner-up finish, was nothing but pure teamwork. At the Milan event in late May, the team’s Racepak computer was rendered useless, and the Kalbones’ crew relied on “old-school” tuning throughout the entire event.

Team Crew Chief Mike Couch assures that will not be the case when they arrive for the Torco President’s Cup Nationals. “We had an older computer. We got a whole new one that has a few extra features that we didn’t have before. Nothing too “fancy-schmancy”, but it will be nice to have it back in full operation again.”

Since the event date has been moved from the staple September timeframe to mid-June, the crew will not be able to rely solely on track data from the previous trip to the southern Maryland track.

“We’ve never run Budds Creek in hot weather,” Couch explained. “We will look at the other events we have run this year where the weather has been hot and combine it with the info we do have on the track (Budds Creek) and continue to race the track like we always do.”

With the upcoming event marking the beginning of the mid-point in the IHRA NitroJam Championship points chase, the Kalbones team likes their 108 point lead over number two, multi-time World Champion Rob Atchison. Liking it is one thing, but taking it lightly is something the team will never do, no matter what the spread is.

“Yeah, we definitely want to stay up in the points. We know anything can change at any time. Yeah....we’re still running hard and we won’t change our outlook or the way we prepare for this or any other race. We take ‘em one at a time,” said Couch.

As the Kalbones’ team makes their final preparations for the upcoming event, they are pleased with not only the arsenal of new parts and equipment they are able to take along, but also the one main ingredient so important to their success that has never changed. Laurie Cannister.

“Laurie is one heck of a driver. She has everything where it needs to be, she’s got her reaction times back. Laurie is just a number one top-notch driver,” Couch said.

The Kalbones’ crew and fans aren’t the only folks who seem to hold Laurie’s driving skills up high. She was recently voted “ITA Driver of the Month” by InsideTopAlcohol.com. Laurie looks forward to proudly displaying the decals from her latest accolade on the AFC starting with this next event.

Couch explains that it’s not just her driving skills that are so important to the team; it’s some of the many other attributes that she contributes. “Of course Laurie is right there with us working on the car the whole time, too. She’s not only a driver, she’s right there doing whatever needs to be done. I think it’s very good that the driver knows every inch of that car and they really become part of the car. That’s Laurie, and she can make a pass and tell Dale (Cannister) and I pretty much what we will see on the computer. Boy did that help at Milan when we didn’t have one.”

Mike also adds another reason the team feels they have been so fortunate is the fact the team knows Laurie is a big asset in a small package. “It’s always an advantage to having someone who is lightweight in the car. That takes a little bit of the troubles away and being able to distribute things the way you want and not having to worry about where in world can we save weight.”

Cannister and the Kalbones crew look forward to returning to defend their event title during the Torco President’s Cup Nationals. It’s where recent success all started for the Kalbones Grill’n Sauce AFC team just eight months ago. Their quest to bring it full circle will take place at Maryland International Raceway in Budds Creek, Maryland, June 13 -15.


(Release courtesy of Kathy Fisher - Photos courtesy of Roger Richards and CompetitionPlus.com)

Laurie Cannister Fast Fan Facts
Birthday - July 23
Hometown - Johnstown, Ohio with husband, Tuner Dale Cannister
Children - Samson "Our Son" - Norwegian Elkhound
2008 IHRA Alcohol Funny Car Champion - Texas Nationals (San Antonio) & Spring Nationals (Rockingham)
2008 IHRA Alcohol Funny Car Runner-Up – Motor City Nationals (Milan)
2002 & 2007 IHRA Alcohol Funny Car Champion - President's Cup Nationals (Budds Creek)
2000 IHRA Pro Outlaw World Champion
1999 IHRA Pro Rookie of the Year
Career quickest Quarter Mile elapsed time is 5.669
Career fastest Quarter Mile speed is 246.89
Career quickest Eighth Mile elapsed time is 3.731 (Current IHRA ET Record)
Career fastest Eighth Mile speed is 198.32 (Current IHRA Speed Record)
Cannister is the fastest and quickest female driver in IHRA Alcohol Funny Car history (Eighth & Quarter Mile)


About Kalbones Grill'n Sauce:
Serious Sauce for Serious Grill'n! We make it easy for you to become a grill master with our unique family recipe using only the finest and freshest ingredients. There are two secrets to producing great barbecue. The first is the slow cooking process which allows the meat to tenderize while maintaining all of the moist, natural, mouth-watering juices. The second is the sauce. Kalbones is a Southern Virginia style sauce which enhances and compliments the natural flavor of the meat with a distinctive home-style barbeque flavor. Whether the occasion is a pig pickin', tailgate party, or a backyard barbeque, Kalbones is your essential ingredient to success. Six mouth watering flavors to choose from and a new rub.

Better yet - Try them all! Mop Kalbones on beef, poultry, and seafood too - It's "not jus' for yer butts!"

For more information about Kalbones Grill'n Sauce, ordering, contests and great recipes visit - http://www.kalbones.com

Special Thanks to – Flatout Gaskets – www.flatoutgaskets.com

For More Info or Photos Contact – Kathy Fisher
Performance by Fisher Productions
Lima, Ohio
Web – www.performancebyfisher.com
Email – team_pr@performancebyfisher.com