Scott Kalitta
Encyclopedia
Drag racing
Drag racing is a competition in which specially prepared automobiles or motorcycles compete two at a time to be the first to cross a set finish line, from a standing start, in a straight line, over a measured distance, most commonly a ¼-mile straight track....
who competed in the Funny Car
Funny Car
Funny Car is a drag racing car class. In the United States, other "professional" classes are Top Fuel, Pro Stock, and Pro Stock Motorcycle. Funny cars have forward-mounted engines and carbon fiber automotive bodies over the chassis, giving them an appearance vaguely approximating manufacturers'...
and Top Fuel
Top Fuel
Top Fuel racing is a class of drag racing in which the cars are run on a mix of approximately 90% nitromethane and 10% methanol rather than gasoline or simply methanol. The cars are purpose-built for drag racing, with an exaggerated layout that in some ways resembles open-wheel circuit racing...
classes in the National Hot Rod Association
National Hot Rod Association
The National Hot Rod Association is a drag racing governing body, which sets rules in drag racing and host events all over the United States and Canada...
(NHRA) Full Throttle Drag Racing Series. He was killed at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park
Old Bridge Township Raceway Park
Old Bridge Township Raceway Park, originally known as Madison Township Raceway Park, is an American auto racing facility. It is located on 230 Pension Road in Old Bridge Township, near Englishtown, New Jersey, just off of County Route 527...
, after an accident during qualifying. He had 17 career Top Fuel wins and 1 career Funny Car win, and at his death he was one of fourteen drivers to win in both divisions.
Kalitta was son to veteran NHRA driver and crew chief Connie Kalitta
Connie Kalitta
Conrad "Connie" Kalitta is the CEO of Kalitta Air and a retired American drag racing driver, once known as "The Bounty Hunter".He grew up in Mount Clemens, Michigan, and was a 1957 graduate of Mount Clemens High School....
and cousin to teammate Doug Kalitta
Doug Kalitta
Doug Kalitta is an American auto racing driver from Ypsilanti, Michigan.Kalitta formerly raced in USAC events. He was the 1991 USAC rookie of the year in the midget series, and won the 1994 championship in the sprint car category. Kalitta won 21 USAC events: 14 in midget races and 7 in sprint...
.
Personal life
He made his home in Snead IslandSnead Island
Snead Island is a small island near Bradenton, Florida. The island is primarily residential, though there are two private dry boat storage facilities and remnants of a former palm-tree nursery. Much of the island is still undeveloped. Most of the island's residents are native Floridians, which is...
, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, with wife, Kathy and two sons, Colin and Corey. He was a native of Ypsilanti, Michigan
Ypsilanti, Michigan
Ypsilanti is a city in Washtenaw County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 22,362. The city is bounded to the north by the Charter Township of Superior and on the west, south, and east by the Charter Township of Ypsilanti...
.
Career
Scott Kalitta's career began in 1982 at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park. His first career #1 qualifier happened at the Baton Rouge, LouisianaBaton Rouge, Louisiana
Baton Rouge is the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is located in East Baton Rouge Parish and is the second-largest city in the state.Baton Rouge is a major industrial, petrochemical, medical, and research center of the American South...
event in 1988. He made his first win in 1989 at the NHRA's premiere series by taking the Funny Car
Funny Car
Funny Car is a drag racing car class. In the United States, other "professional" classes are Top Fuel, Pro Stock, and Pro Stock Motorcycle. Funny cars have forward-mounted engines and carbon fiber automotive bodies over the chassis, giving them an appearance vaguely approximating manufacturers'...
event in Houston, Texas
Houston, Texas
Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...
.
He would move to Top Fuel
Top Fuel
Top Fuel racing is a class of drag racing in which the cars are run on a mix of approximately 90% nitromethane and 10% methanol rather than gasoline or simply methanol. The cars are purpose-built for drag racing, with an exaggerated layout that in some ways resembles open-wheel circuit racing...
during the 1990s. at that race for the win.
The next two years were big for Kalitta, as he would win the Top Fuel championship both years. In 1994, he became the first Top Fuel driver to have four straight event wins (Columbus, Topeka, Denver and Sonoma
Infineon Raceway
Infineon Raceway, formerly Sears Point Raceway, is a road course and drag strip located on the landform known as Sears Point in the southern Sonoma Mountains near Sonoma, California, USA. The course is a complex series of twists and turns that go up and down the hills...
) and he won five events that season. He won six events and 45 rounds of competition in 1995 to win the championship. His 1996 season saw him win the $100,000 Budweiser Shootout at Sonoma enroute to a second place points finish. He had the top speed at a series best eight races that season. Kalitta won the Topeka event for a fourth straight year in 1997. He retired in October of that season.
Kalitta came back in 1999, making one final round in ten starts. Kalitta returned to Top Fuel in 2003 after a three year layoff. He made two final rounds and set a speed record at 333.95 miles per hour (537.4 km/h), but didn't certify the speed with a fast enough backup run to claim the national record. In 2004 he recorded one win in two final round appearances. He was the top qualified at both Las Vegas event, and finished in the Top five in season points. His 2005 season saw him win two events.
For 2006, Kalitta returned to Funny Car in a Chevrolet Monte Carlo
Chevrolet Monte Carlo
The Chevrolet Monte Carlo was an American-made two-door coupe introduced for model year 1970, and manufactured over six generations through model year 2007. It was marketed as a personal-luxury coupe through most of its history, with the last model version being classified as a full-sized coupe...
, but did not have as much success as he had in Top Fuel the previous two years. In the season, Kalitta drove his Kalitta Air
Kalitta Charters
Kalitta Charters is an American charter airline based in Ypsilanti, Michigan, USA. Its main base is Willow Run Airport, Ypsilanti, with one satellite base located in Morristown, Tennessee. The company is owned and run by Doug Kalitta....
-sponsored Monte Carlo and Solara (which he switched to late in the year) to a thirteenth place points finish, well behind eventual champion John Force
John Force
John Harold Force is an NHRA drag racer, a 15-time Funny Car champion driver, and a 17-time champion car owner. Force owns and drives for John Force Racing. He is one of the most dominant drag racers in the sport with 133 career victories...
.
Kalitta's 2007 Funny Car season was rather uneventful, as he qualified for 16 of 23 events in his DHL
DHL
DHL Express is a division of the German logistics company Deutsche Post providing international express mail services. DHL is a world market leader in sea and air mail....
-sponsored Solara and missed the inaugural NHRA Countdown to the Championship. His best finish of the season was a semi-finals appearance at Denver
Denver, Colorado
The City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains...
in July. In 2008, he made his 36th and last final round appearance at Chicago, two weeks before his death.
Death
On June 21, 2008, Kalitta was fatally injured during the final round of qualifying for the Lucas Oil NHRA SuperNationals at Old Bridge Township Raceway ParkOld Bridge Township Raceway Park
Old Bridge Township Raceway Park, originally known as Madison Township Raceway Park, is an American auto racing facility. It is located on 230 Pension Road in Old Bridge Township, near Englishtown, New Jersey, just off of County Route 527...
. Kalitta's funny car was traveling at about 300 mph when the engine exploded into flames near the finish line. The parachutes were damaged and failed to slow the vehicle. Kalitta's vehicle went through a sand trap
Run-off area
A run-off area is an area on a racetrack for racer safety. Run-off areas are usually located along a race course where racers are most likely to unintentionally depart from the prescribed course. It is also known as a gravel trap or, informally, kitty litter – see glossary of motorsport terms...
at the end of the track and hit a concrete-filled post that supported a safety net. He was transported to the Old Bridge Division of Raritan Bay Medical Center and was pronounced dead on arrival.
The NHRA said on Kalitta's passing that "Scott shared the same passion for drag racing as his legendary father, Connie. He also shared the same desire to win, becoming a two-time series world champion. He left the sport for a very long period of time, to devote more time to his family, only to be driven to return to the drag strip to regain his championship form."
At the time of his accident, Kalitta was not qualified for the following day's National event in the Funny Car class. The run qualified him 13th. The next day, at what would have been his opening elimination round event, the entire Kalitta team stood on the starting line at his designated side of the dragstrip as Robert Hight, who would have been his opponent, idled his car down the quarter-mile track as a sign of respect.
The following day, the NHRA began an investigation into what happened to cause the car to slam into the retaining wall at over 300 miles per hour.
Legacy
On 2 July 2008, the NHRA shortened Top Fuel and Funny Car races to 1000 feet (304.8 m) in response to the ongoing investigation, and extra safety measures were placed at all tracks, including padded retaining walls at the end of sand traps, replacing the polymer nets held up by concrete posts. The 1,000 foot distance is still in use for the Top Fuel and Funny car categories. The FIAFédération Internationale de l'Automobile
The Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile is a non-profit association established as the Association Internationale des Automobile Clubs Reconnus on 20 June 1904 to represent the interests of motoring organisations and motor car users...
shortened the Mantorp Park
Mantorp Park
Mantorp Park is a motor racing circuit near the town of Mantorp in Mjölby Municipality, Sweden. The circuit was built in 1969 with finance from BP Sweden as a permanent road course and a drag strip...
, Alastaro Raceway and the Tierp Arena rounds of the European Drag Racing Championship because of track concerns, but drag races at Hockenheimring
Hockenheimring
The Hockenheimring Baden-Württemberg is an automobile racing track situated near the town of Hockenheim in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, located on Bertha Benz Memorial Route. Amongst other motor racing events, it biennially hosts the Formula One German Grand Prix...
and Santa Pod
Santa Pod Raceway
Santa Pod Raceway, in Northamptonshire, England, opened at Easter in 1966, is Europe's first permanent drag racing venue. It was built on a disused World War II American air base, RAF Podington, once used by the 92nd Bomber Group. It is now the home of European drag racing and has grown...
remained at the quartermile (1,320 feet) because of its length.
As a direct result of Kalitta's death, a solution was sought to eliminate engine backfire, the cause of the spectacular engine fires often associated with Nitro burners. A solution was developed by Dave Lahey of Electromotion in Columbus, Ohio with the help of 15 time Funny Car Champion John Force
John Force
John Harold Force is an NHRA drag racer, a 15-time Funny Car champion driver, and a 17-time champion car owner. Force owns and drives for John Force Racing. He is one of the most dominant drag racers in the sport with 133 career victories...
, former Funny Car and Top Fuel Champion Kenny Bernstein
Kenny Bernstein
Kenny Bernstein is an American drag racer and former NASCAR and IndyCar team owner. He is nicknamed the "Bud King" for his success in the Budweiser King dragster, he has also been nicknamed "The King of Speed," because he was the first driver to break 300 miles per hour in the standing-start...
, and six time Top Fuel Champion Tony Schumacher: they developed a sensor that in the event of an engine backfire will automatically shut down the fuel pump and deploy the parachutes. Although several NHRA drivers have expressed their displeasure at the introduction of the new sensor, they admit that it should reduce, if not eliminate the circumstances that led to Kalitta's death. The device was made a mandatory safety requirement in 2009.