Odd Or Not So Odd That There Is NOT RIP Post For Scott Kalitta?

JackWESQ · June 22, 2008 10:12AM

Before this weekend, if you've asked me who is Scott Kalitta, I would have answered that he's a driver in the NHRA. I went to school near Pomona, California and so I went to the NHRA races once. The speed (300+ mph) is amazing. That said, is it odd (or not so odd) that there isn't a RIP post for Scott Kalitta. Granted, NHRA is not that big on these boards, but death is death.

/s/ JackWESQ

storm888 · June 22, 2008 10:30AM

Many drivers and fans have been killed in the drag-racing arena.

Scott was a stalwart fan and promoter, as well as a highly-skilled driver.

As a ute, I was involved in making cars go fast in a straight line;
my participation was both legal and illegal. Just like Scott's.

It is sad that he passed, and I am sure he went the way he would
have chosen to.

jimq112 · June 22, 2008 1:06PM

It's just amazing how fast those cars, top fuel, and pro stock bike are going, and it's amazing there aren't more casualties. Without the great safety equipment and excellent car design there would be a lot more fatalities.

The car I help with runs low 6s (1/4) and isn't anywhere near the class of Scott's car. I made a blip pass, with a throttle stop dropping it to less than half throttle, for only a couple seconds and have never been so scared. I have a 9.90 car so I'm not a novice, but it's exponentially faster.

BobaFett72 · June 22, 2008 1:37PM

sorry that he is expired, but never heard of him. Cant say i even saw that story on the news.

zippy · June 22, 2008 11:00PM

For those not familiar with Scott Kalitta

He was NHRA World champion in top fuel in 94 & 95
Won 18 National events
Was one of only 14 drivers to win in Top Fuel & Funny Car
Son of Drag Racing Pioneer Connie Kalitta

+ Story of his accident was covered pretty heavily in my opinion considering NHRA is small-time compared to Nascar, If it was a Nascar driver it would more than likely make Front page news in many newspapers etc
+ Scott Kaliita was not a household name, unless u are a NHRA fan
ESPN had it on their website on Front page which surprised me
Racers die fairly often & this story got a lot of attention compared to most stories of this type

Only good is that there will be Major changes in safety rules in drag racing as the fastest classes are going too fast for outdated drag strips etc & most drivers are really po'd as they have to bury another fellow racer & Scott was a mere 46 yrs old

Morgoth · June 22, 2008 11:08PM

In the video I did not see much of anything between the end of the strip and a freakin wall at the end of the track to slow a car down. Shouldn't there be a sand pit or not a wall to help slow them down in case their chutes don't work?

bman90278 · June 22, 2008 11:21PM

I would like to send my condolences to the Kalitta family. That loss is very tragic to the Kalitta family, the racers, fans and the media who cover racing. It really hits me hard as I used to professionally drag race for 10 years in a very dangerous class (Not NHRA sanctioned events) , but I frequented the NHRA races when I worked for Ford Racing (Ford Motorsports at the time) and I really enjoyed watching Scott race and work on his car and he grew up in front of all of us. I was also fortunate enough to have met Scott and talked to him on many occasions during the years. Scott was something else, he was just a regular and friendly person, but you could see how different he was when he was putting on his suit and helmet getting ready for a pass down the strip. He was truely a racer....Not too many professional racers today can say they knew how to tune, build the motors and drive their cars to championships. Scott was in the league of very few as far as I'm concerned.

Lastly, I guarantee NHRA, the drivers, and especially Force Racing and John Medlin will come up with even more safety updates.

My prayers go out to Scotty, the entire Kalitta family and to all that loved and knew him.

Thanks to you JackWESQ for starting this thread. I wanted to, but I didn't.

yawie99 · June 22, 2008 11:50PM

Not so odd.

Manofmoe · June 23, 2008 2:40AM

I agree that there doesn't seem to be nearly enough runoff space at the end of that racetrack. With that big concrete barrier right after a small sandpit, it is amazing that nobody else has gotten seriously hurt or killed there before. I got into drag racing as a kid just about the time that Scott Kalitta was dominating top fuel. It seemed like he was just about invincible in '94 & '95. RIP Scott.

Mike

Odd Or Not So Odd That There Is NOT RIP Post For Scott Kalitta?

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