Drag racing lost another great today when Scott Kalitta crashed at Englishtown N.J. My prayers go out to his family and all of the racing community. This is a tough one.

 

I read that over in OT. Sad day for sure.

 

This is truly sad...my prayers go out to his family.

 

Very sad.

Prayers for the family.

 

Hard to believe...

 

Youtube run posted in Northern California forum.

RIP Scott

 

GOD BLESS

 

Sad....Car exploded at the end of the track.............

 

They've already showed it on ESPN. Very sad day indeed.

 

Very sad and horrible accident.

 

RIP Scott!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Very sad, my prayers go out to all involved! God Bless!

 

That's sad!

 

The only reaction I can repeat is I'm stunned!! I've always kind of had an interest in the Kalitta's as Connie was one of the legends that got big time drag racing established and he was the one that signed off on Shirley Muldoney's fuel license ,which said to me he was quite a man! Now to have to be there and see this happen to his son is unimaginable!!Thoughts and prayers from me and my family to the entire Kalitta family and team!! A sad day for racing.

 

Very sad

 

A stunning reminder of what can happen out there at high speeds.

RIP Scott.

 

This just to sad... He was truely a drag racing legend at such a young age.



R I P


May GOD help the Kalitta with their pain. GOD BLESS.

 

a true tragedy rip!

 

I still can not believe that another racer has died and it's Scott Kalitta! We are talking major safety pro team, every precausion taken. For me its like all the wind is out of my lungs and I can't breathe.

We just lost Darrell Russell and then Eric Medlen last year, plus John's crash which was very serious. I still cringe when I recall Darrel Gwinn crash in England almost two decades ago . The crash that left him paralyzed and mulitple amputee.
I have met and shaken hands with all of these young men . NHRA has been a large part of our families lives for 40 plus years. We have follwed these fine young men have come thru the ranks and matured . Talked with them a events ,benefits , SEMA, even while waiting for flights home. Many times partied with many racers into the nite in the pits or particulary at LasVegas. Even for folks that watch the event coverage on TV and read National Dragster the racers are bigger than life it seems, stars to vicariously experience the thrill of life. That is till a star is burned out and reality sets in.

When Scott returned to racing in '06 season after leaving to take care of family and buisness concerns, he was a different person than the Scott that left racing. I say Scott grew up and matured , gained confidence and he raced more for the love of the sport than to prove anything, to anyone. God I can't imagine how Connie is feeling now.

Thanks Scott for the good times, we're gonna miss you. I add my prayers to all the others for comfort and strenght to your wife and kids and the rest of the Kalitta family.

We watch week after week , season after season ,faster and faster times . Blower explosions, oil fires thru the traps at 300 plus , cars being torn apart as designed to dissipate energy but such spectacular crashes. I recall early in John Force's career how often he was on fire or flipped over on its top skidding down the track, or Cruz as it seems he has had more than his share of fires. They just walk away with a little carbon soot and the team builds the car to race again. Its all very deceiving the risks involved. If you saw Eric's fatal test run it didn't look that bad, Darrel Russell's run, what were the odds on being hit like that after all the runs racers have made before him. With this thought I have to include Dale's crash at Daytona. It just did not look bad.

Being part of a racing team off and on for four decades but always being a fanatic you feel the family bonds. You know to some degree what it takes to be the winner year after year. You see the tears and emotion welling up from John Force even after all the years and all the titles, you see the dissapointment in Ron Capps as he is so close to a National Title, you see the bonds grow between fathers and sons ( and daughters) from sharing the same goals and learning how much effort it takes.


I was going to stop here but something has to be done .I realize that so many racers say they would not give up the sport , no matter what. I don't know what but racing is not worth lives. John Force racing has made major headway to increase the safety percentage , but we now have women in the pro ranks; you have Angelle , Karen Stoffer and the black girl ( who's name I can't recall but is a real kick) doing 6 second 190 plus mph passes on a bike. Holy S**t
Melaine Troxel, Hillary Will and Ashley . 300 to 330 mph . It makes me nervous
evertime one of them girls gets on the line. Is it the protecting father instinct in me? When you forget or put the possibilites out of your mind for one minute in this sport this is what happens.

 

wow...