NHRA AT INFINEON: Will works for sponsorships

<p>The fastest woman racer in the world doesn’t figure to improve on her record sitting behind a desk.</p><p>But that’s where Fortuna’s Hillary Will finds herself, trying to drum up sponsorships for her top fuel dragster and not competing in this year’s NHRA Full Throttle Series.</p><p>There is a Will racing at this weekend’s 22nd Fram-Autolite NHRA Nationals at Infineon Raceway, but it’s Hillary’s younger sister Kimberly, driving the same 1973 Dodge Challenger that launched Hillary’s career in 1997 when she was 17.</p><p>“I’ve never seen her race, and last week she won for the first time at Samoa (near Fortuna),” Hillary said of her 24-year-old sister.</p><p>Hillary will be at Infineon this weekend along with her father, mother, grandfather and twin brothers, but in a completely different role from last year.</p><p>With her grandmother watching her race in person for the first time a year ago, Will reached the final round against Tony Schumacher in her KB Racing Top Fuel dragster and finished second on her home track.</p><p>Will, who also made a pass last year at 335 mph, giving her the top speed of any female ever in a dragster, also picked up her first series win and finished fourth overall in points.</p><p>So how does that kind of success equate to not getting a ride this season? Blame the sluggish economy.</p><p>Will raced all of last season without a main sponsor and couldn’t come up with enough sponsorship money to compete in the series. She still is employed by Ken Black Racing and Kalitta Motorsports, but her primary work these days is working the phones and on-line, messaging potential sponsors for next season.</p><p>Will isn’t worried so much about growing rusty in her racing skills as she is continuing to cope with not being able to drive a dragster.</p><p>“I did it for three years, the team overcame a lot and I just feel we were finally getting somewhere,” Will said. “I have hopes I’ll get back in a car. Actually, I know I’m going to get back in a race car because I have a lot of winning to do. This is really hard because all I want to do is race.”</p><p>Will knew it was going to be difficult trying to secure sponsorships, but didn’t figure she’d be doing it at a time when the economy was at its absolute worst. Will doesn’t consider herself much of a saleswoman, although she does have an economics degree from Wheaton College in Massachusetts.</p><p>“In drag racing, performance doesn’t equal dollars or sponsorships,” Will said. “Companies are looking for a return for their dollars.”</p><p>Now, Will employs a marketing aide who works on commission, as she attempts to market herself better and improve her own brand identity.</p><p>Will is not alone in finding herself on the outside of drag racing. Others, too, with established reputations in NHRA aren’t racing this season, or are on part-time schedules, including former Rookie of the Year J.R. Todd.</p><p>Recently, Will went to a drag strip near her home in Ypsilanti, Mich., and hopped into a Corvette on an informal racing night. “I didn’t have a helmet so they said just go about an eighth of a mile, but I couldn’t take my foot off the throttle,” Will recalled. “I was happy the rest of the night.”</p><p>Will has also become something of a world traveler because of drag racing. She has gone on goodwill tours along with other motorsports stars to Afghanistan, Kuwait and Iraq to visit American soldiers and is planning on a trip to South Korea in the fall.</p><p>After last season, Will, along with some other drag racers from the U.S., visited Australia and led the U.S. to a win against the Aussies.</p><p>Will doesn’t even want to think about sitting out again next season.</p><p>“I was thinking about joining the Peace Corps, seriously,” Will said. “I know it’s a way of helping people and then I wouldn’t think so much about not racing. It’s been really hard.”</p><p>Will is looking forward to the weekend at Infineon and seeing family, friends and fans. Will is a constant blogger and is happily surprised by the number of fans who e-mail her, most asking when she thinks she’ll be back racing.</p><p>“All of them tell me not to give up,” she said. </p><p>Last year, Will remembers seeing her grandmother on the giant video screen at Infineon after one of her round wins. It was one of the best moments of her life.</p><p>Compare that to this year. Hillary, along with twin brothers Austin and Kevin and father Steve, will be part of the crew for Kimberly, competing in the Super Gas division.</p><p>“Actually, I’m excited about it,” Hillary said. “She texted me last week about her win and it choked me up.”</p><p>You can reach Staff Writer Rich Rupprecht at 521-5275 or rich.rupprecht@press</p><p>democrat.com.</p>