June 2008 Archives

A memorial service for Scott Kalitta, NHRA's Top Fuel champion in 1994-95 who died from injuries suffered in a qualifying crash at last weekend's SuperNationals in Englishtown, N.J., will be Thursday at Ernsthausen Performing Arts Center in Norwalk, Ohio.
The Kalitta family has asked in lieu of flowers, fans contribute to two charities Scott Kalitta was very supportive of - Saint Stephen's Episcopal School and B.R.A.K.E.S., an organization that teaches youth about safe driving and acting responsible.
Donations for St. Stephen's Episcopal can be sent to the development office
at 315 41st Street West Bradenton, FL 34209. Donations to B.R.A.K.E.S can be sent in care of Doug Herbert Performance Parts at 1443 E. Gaston St. Lincolnton, NC 28092.
Team Kalitta also announced that team drivers Doug Kalitta, Hillary Will and David Grubnic will compete at this weekend's national event in Norwalk. The team also released plans for a memorial decal and t-shirt, which will be made available on the team's website . The items will also be available at national events, although the t-shirt might not be available at this weekend's event. The logo is at the top of this post.

Veteran racer Scott Kalitta, who died from injuries suffered in a qualifying crash, will be missed.

It's been two days since veteran Scott Kalitta lost his life doing what he loved to do - driving a nitromethane-powered racing machine down the quartermile. But the shock and pain hasn't subsided much.
Most of the drag racing message boards have begun to ask questions of why this happened, and what can do to prevent it.
Of course, we all want that. But my suggestion would be to give it time. NHRA will figure something out. They've always had in the past
So my reflections are just to remember Scott Kalitta for what he was - a racer. And he was a good one, winning back-to-back Top Fuel titles in 1994 and '95.
I wasn't as close to Scott as some of the other drivers on the circuit. I had only talked to him a handful of times over the years. But the shock and pain is still there.
I've always told myself what separates racers from baseball, basketball or football players is that the former put their life at stake whenever they compete. In a blink of an eye, they could be gone. You say that, but you don't ever believe its going to happen and when it does...well, you're shocked; you're in disbelief, especially when it happens to a racer who was as talented as Scott.
My best memory of Scott was at the World Finals in 1994 when I was in my second year covering NHRA drag racing. I still had the cub reporter mentality; wondering that I was kind of out of my league covering these guys.
He quickly let me feel at ease, treating this 'cub reporter' as if I were Shav Glick, the famed motor sports guru of the L.A. Times, or Louis Brewster, my well-respected writer from our sister paper, the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin.
He answered all my questions and I left thinking this was guy who had passion for what he did. My thoughts on that would be what Tony Pedregon said Sunday:
"We're a lot like Scott, in that we were born and raised in this sport," Pedregon said. "There was something that really drew us and lured us. I think there is a lot of parallel in our up bringing. It was something that our fathers did, and it was instilled in us at a young age.
"This is what we wanted to do. I had all the respect for Scott. When I see him, I saw a champion."

Southern California native Larry Dixon is a good bet to be in the winner's circle as the Powerade Series Tour visits Englishtown, N.J. for the SuperNationals this weekend.


Welcome to another version of who will win in the NHRA.

This weekend the Powerade Series tour visits Old Bridge Township Raceway in Englishtown, N.J. for the SuperNationals, and here is who we like in the pro classes:

Top Fuel - Who else but Larry Dixon, who has advanced to the past six finals at this race track, winning three.

Funny Car - Del Worsham. It's been an inconsistent season for the Chino Hills driver, but I like his chances this weekend.

Pro Stock - Englishtown has also been good for Greg Anderson, so I will go with the three-time champ.

Now it's your turn.

Jimmy Walsh is no longer the crew chief of the Montser Energy Funny Car for Kenny Bernstein Racing.
Walsh, unable to give driver Tommy Johnson Jr. a competitive entry, resigned Tuesday, ending speculation that he would be fired. Veteran Rick Cassel will take over the tuning duties, beginning with this weekend's event in Englishtown, N.J.
But his reasoning, as stated by team owner Kenny Bersntein, is not exactly believable.
"Jimmy Walsh has resigned from the Monster Energy Funny Car team to spend some time with his family," Bernstein said. "We all love Jimmy and wish him the very best."
While that sounds sweet and nice, I just don't believe it.
It's funny how Walsh, who tuned J.R. Todd to three victories and an eighth-place finish in 2006 before moving to the Bernstein camp last year, didn't make this commitment to his family during the off-season when he had more time to reflect and decide that the NHRA's traveling circuit was something he needed to step away from.
No, he only makes this commitment after the Monster Energy team fails to qualify during six of the first 10 races of the season and slumps to 19th in points.
As Kevin Costner said in the 1990s feature film "JFK" while portraying Jim Garrison, "I just find your story not believable."
I guess if high school, college and pro football coaches can use that excuse, why can't motor sports competitors?
Don't be surprised if Walsh finds his way into another team's camp, perhaps by next weekend's national even in Norwalk, Ohio.

Will we see racing like this in August?

Got Nitro?
That apparently is what NHRA teams may be asking later this summer.
If published reports are accurate, NHRA may face a nitromethane shortage due to the XXIX Olympics in Beijing, China. China is the lead importer for the fuel, and there will be no deliveries during the Games, scheduled Aug. 8-24, thus creating the shortage.
NHRA is already preparing for a possible shortage, asking for a limit on Monday testing after national events and for the fuel teams to warm up their engines with alcohol fuel.
This should be interesting as the series schedule calls for three events during the month, including the U.S. Nationals near Indianapolis.
Stay tuned

U.S. Army looking to be strong this weekend in Chicago

It's on to Chicago.
The NHRA POWERade Series tour, after a weekend in Topeka, heads to one of the top tracks on the circuit - Route 66 Raceway in Joliet, Ill.
The track usually features some of the top times and speeds on the circuit, but conditions will tell the story this weekend.
Here's who I like to wind up kissing a Wally on Sunday afternoon:
Top Fuel - Tony Schumacher...look for the U.S. Army team to come through in Schu's home town.
Funny Car - Tony Pedregon...he's run well in Chicago before, and he usually follows a first-round loss with a solid performance at the next race. I say he does it again.

Pro Stock - Jeg Coughlin Jr. ...Jeggie hasn't done much since winning at the Gators and a runnerup at Pomona, but it's time for the yellow and black to go the distance on Sunday.

Now it's your turn to pick the winners?

John Force showed last weekend that he still has what it takes to win.

I was like most, who believed after experiencing a horrific crash in Dallas late late season that NHRA icon John Force should finally heed the warning and hang up his helmet and funny car boots.
I even remember discussing the subject with a few of my fellow motorsports writers, and we all agreed that John should retire and let the younger set do the driving, and in this case - Phil Burkart Jr.
But Force has made his living proving us wrong, and this past Sunday he proved it again, coming back from a career low to winning. He admitted this week that even he was beginning to have some doubt.
"I've had a lot of wins," Force said via teleconference earlier this week. "Your first win is always your best. I said in Atlanta that seeing my daughter (Ashley) win was the biggest in my career because it was my child. I made the statement at Topeka (last weekend) - because the media kept asking, 'Is this your biggest win?' It's my biggest win for me personally because I bounced back from the crash and I didn't know if I could win again. I believed it, but (the car just wasn't showing it, and), the driver is part of the car. We just couldn't get that magic to win a race. It was just on my list that I can stay in the business of NHRA POWERade Drag Racing and I can do what I love to do. Being an owner doesn't excite me. Driving excites me."
Don't worry John, we'll never doubt you again. May the Force be with us all.

It must be the year of the woman in NHRA drag racing.
Hillary Will became the latest female racer to breakthough in 2008, She defeated Larry Dixon in the final round and won Sunday's Summer Nationals in Topeka, Kan.
She became just the eight woman to win the NHRA's elite category and joined Ashley Force and Melanie Troxel, who both scored historic victories in Funny Car earlier this season.
"Words can't describe how I feel right now," said Will, a 28-year old California native. "I have dreamed of this day for so long, and it's finally here. My KB racing, LLC team is awesome. They've given me such a great race car all year long, and I can't thank them and my team owners Ken Black and Kenny Black enough for everything that they have done for me and this wonderful opportunity.
"We knew we had everything to win, and (Sunday) everything went our way. Thank you to all of our sponsors and everyone who has supported us and stuck with us. Now that we have gotten a win, I'm sure it's just going to make us hungrier for more.
"This is definitely the year of the woman racer. It's an honor for me to be mentioned with all of the great women who have raced and won."