Culture|Garage

Old Bridge Township Raceway Park, Englishtown, NJ- It was a somber weekend in the NHRA and world of racing. Scott Kalitta, son of famed racer Connie Kalitta, passed away following an accident in qualifying on Saturday.

Kalitta, who drove the DHL Toyota funny car, is remembered fondly by all involved in drag racing. Said Top Fuel driver Tony Schumacher, “I’ve never been shy about saying that when you win against Kalitta, Dixon, and Bernstein, that trophy shines because you know you’ve earned it,” said Schumacher. “Today, we were missing three of the greatest cars out there but that doesn’t mean that we were going to give up. There’s not one of us out here who would have considered not racing today. This win is for our brave soldiers and Connie [Kalitta] understands that because he flies home all of their comrades every week. He takes it to heart because he sees what is going on in the world. Today, I knew that someone was going to present a trophy to the Kalittas and I wanted to make sure that it was going to be us.”

Tim Wilkerson, a Pro Stock competitor, had nothing but kind words regarding Kalitta, “Knowing Scott the way I knew Scott I know he would have wanted us to keep racing today. We came to the track this morning with the intention of winning because that’s the only way you get through these kinds of things. We put our heart and soul into it and hoped for the best and it all worked out. We had a good car today. Actually, it has made me look good all year long. This is a result of our alliance with Don Prudhomme Racing. I don’t think that can be overstated. For all fathers, today was a tough day but whoever said that life goes on was absolutely right. We all reflect on how tough and how fragile life is. In the coming weeks, I think that Connie will need all of us. He’s a pretty strong individual, but I think he’ll need us and we’ll be there for him. I invited the whole DHL crew to join me in the winner’s circle and I’m going to give them all a big hug.”

Kalitta, a veteran of the sport, leaves behind a wife and two children. NHRA officials have stated that the initial blast destroyed the safety parachutes that normally would’ve deployed to stop the car, and the fences and sand trap at the end of the strip were not enough to bring the car to a halt. We here at culture|garage extend our sincerest condolences to the Kalitta family, and remember Scott as a tremendous driver who rose to the top of the Top Fuel class and was on his way up in Funny Car. It has been a sad weekend in motorsports, but as many drivers pointed out, Scott would have wanted the show to go on. The roar of a nitro engine won’t be the same without him, the echo will be hollow for the lack of his presence-we mourn the passing of one of the sport’s stars. Godspeed.

Tony Schumacher was the winner in Top Fuel, while Tim Wilkerson took top honors in Funny Car. During what was scheduled to be Kalitta’s run, the entire DHL crew lined up in the starting lights as Robert Hight coasted down the opposing lane in tribute. Greg Anderson won in a final round fraught with problems, as his opponent coasted through the traps well after Anderson recovered his car from severe wheelspin. Finally, Chip Ellis brought home a Wally in Pro Stock Bike.

(Note: We at c|g do not promote sensationalism, especially in light of circumstances such as these, thus a video of the crash will not be posted or linked to.)

Infineon Raceway, Sonoma, CA- Yet again, the “big T” finished first in a Sprint Cup event, making the most of the left and right action at Infineon Speedway. Kyle Busch fought off plenty of competition from NASCAR regulars such as Jeff Gordon, and the “road-course-ringers” like Boris Said. Caution flags were a big reason for a lot of the shuffling going on in the field throughout the race, and wrecks were spectacular. From cars losing brake pads to others just not quite grasping the concept of right turns, the race at the former Sears Point raceway was a good ‘un. David Gilliland brought his big purple Ford in second, while Jeff Gordon’s Chevy saw a surprising third place finish.

via: NHRA, NASCAR, Paddocktalk.com, cpgraceresults.com

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