I was at NHRA qualifying yesterday, I look forward every year to the Summer Nationals at Raceway Park. It was a wonderful day and as usual the display of 8,000 plus hp cars is something you will always remember if you go see it in person.

Today, Funny Car Driver and former two time Top Fuel World Champion Scott Kalitta's life was cut short in a horrific accident at Raceway Park in the final round of qualifications.

As racers, we all take our life in our hands when we head down the track. No matter how fast or slow your car, accidents are part of the price you pay to engage in our sport.

Of course the funny car is perhaps the most dangerous machine in all of motorsports to pilot. However, when something bad happens and someone dies in that manner it hits you like a ton of bricks. To have it happen on my home track is something that really touches me. I will always remember Scott Kalitta's qualifying passes yesterday when I go to Raceway Park in the future.

My heart goes out to the Kalitta family and to all NHRA race fans. My sincere condolences and prayers go out to all the Kalitta family.

Al

 

Yes, very sad news indeed. My friend just called me and told me about the accident. He sent me a link to the crash on You Tube and it definitely was horrific. He was a great drag racer and my prayers also goes out to the Kalitta family.

 

Very sad indeed! The only good out of this is that now the Force team will take the data and make a better and safer car. Drag Racing has taken allot of bad hits the last two years but there memory will live on as well as being remember for all the accomplishments and making the sport safer.

Chris

 

Yes a Very Sad day today as we've lost a damn Good driver, Scott Kalitta. I attend the NHRA ACDelco Las Vegas Nationals out here in Vegas just about every year and have seen him race. My deepest condolence go out to his family.

Godspeed Scott Kalitta!

 

Rip

 

Scotty was a great guy. I was shocked when I got the call yesterday and it really didn't hit me till later in the evening. His family has used my stuff for years and it deeply saddens me to see this happen. My thoughts and prayers go out to the Kalitta family. Indy

 

R.I.P. keep the family in your prayers fellas.

 

wow i just saw the crash on espn....very sad.

 

I was there as well...The day was going smoothly, (besides the relentless sun) then in the second round of qualifiers Scott's DHL sponsored machine exploded about 2/3 down the the track at 300 MPH. ESPN has released the video and I warn those of you that are in the sport that this video is hard to watch.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=DziJdGwFQjU

What disturbs me is the fact that E-Town has a short back-half to the track. The sand pit at the far end is ok and is designed to slow a racecar down and then there is a safety net as well. The major flaw IMO is that after the sand pit and safety net there is a CONCRETE WALL... WTF

Attached is a pic of the wall and it can also be seen at the end of the video. It appears to me that the explosion rendered Scott unconscious and unable to apply the brakes. The 2 chutes were deployed automatically but were cut down by the fire so they provided no braking either. What killed him was not the explosion but the effects of that concrete wall as the car hit it. What a tragedy and a sad day in motorsports.

 

well said AL. RIP scott

 

It was interesting to note that Cruz Pedregon (another funny car driver) stated nearly the exact same thing on ESPN last evening and was saying that the NHRA must modify tracks to make longer and safer shut down areas as the cars are going faster and faster and need more room to stop.

It is a very sad day in motorsports and my thoughts continue to be with the Kalitta family.

Al

 

After reading my post from earlier it could have be taken in a way that i was not giving Scott the respect he deserved. If anybody took it that way please excuse me i did not mean anything to that effect. Scott was a great guy along with the whole Kalitta family. My thoughts and prayers go out to Connie and the whole Kalitta family.

God Speed Scott Kalitta!!

 

RIP the sport lost a great guy

 

I was at the Nationwide series in Milwaukee last night and was in the Keselowski pits who live a few doors down from Kalitta in NC I believe. The crew was talking about it for a while.

 

There was nothing disrespectful about what you said my from perspective. Obviously, we all know that John Force has spent a lot of time and resources in the past two years to try and improve car saftey in funny car class. If anything positive can come out of this tragic occurence, it must be that lessons are learned and improvements made to help prevent this kind of incident from occuring again.

My thoughts are with yours in terms of sorrow and respect for the Kalitta family. Obviously, they were people with great financial means and did not have to race for a living to make a living. They did it for the competative spirit and for the joy of racing.