Scott Kalitta R.I.P.

[funnycar]

I notiziari USA on-line sono zeppi di questa tragedia: si ? detto tutto ed il contrario di tutto in sole 24 ore: attendiamo le motivazioni tecniche prima di lanciarci in commenti avventati.



Se possibile: buona notte a tutti.



funnycar

[mopar]

champion hot rod driver was engulfed in flames in front of scores of spectators Saturday when his car exploded at 300 mph and hit a barrier at a New Jersey raceway.



Scott Kalitta, 46, was barely clinging to life when he was pulled from his charred car after the stunning wreck at the Old Bridge Township Raceway Park.



Kalitta, a two-time Top Fuel champion, was pronounced dead at a local hospital a short time later.



"I haven't witnessed anything like that in a number of years," Don Prudhomme, a former top racer, told the Asbury Park Press.



Prudhomme said Kalitta's car "went into a million pieces" after it burst into flames, went airborne and then slammed into the catch fence.



The parachute in Kalitta's car, a souped-up Toyota Solara, failed to deploy during the final round of qualifying for the Lucas Oil NHRA SuperNationals on the quarter-mile track, the newspaper said.



The crowd watched in horror as rescuers rushed to Kalitta's battered car. Longtime track announcer Bob Frey called the crash "one of the worst accidents he's seen" at the 43-year-old Raceway Park in Englishtown.



Officials were reviewing ESPN tape of the disaster in an effort to determine the cause of the explosion.



Kalitta, the son of longtime driver and team owner Connie Kalitta, began his racing career in 1982 at the New Jersey track where he crashed. His father was on hand yesterday, serving as Kalitta's crew chief.



Scott Kalitta was a Top Fuel champion in 1994 and 1995 and won a total of 18 events over the course of his impressive career.



Opting to spend more time with his wife and two sons in Florida, Kalitta had briefly retired from the sport before returning to racing in 2003.



"Scott retired and basically Connie gave him a job to drive a car again," Prudhomme said. "Scott was just a really good guy. Win, lose or draw, he would have a beer with you. It's just a terrible tragedy for our sport."



Kalitta is survived by his father; his wife, Kathy; and sons Corey, 14, and Colin, 8.



With News Wire Services







RIP.

[fazrock]

R.I.P.

[NiX]

...ricordo un film tradotto in italiano in cui si parlava della famiglia Kalitta, in particolare sulla figura di Cha Cha ex compagna del padre Connie...





...rest in peace

[Guest]

........R.I.P.......

[mopar]

Nix, credo che Connie fosse il padre...nonostante il nome....

[funnycar]

Kalitta is survived by his father; his wife, Kathy; and sons Corey, 14, and Colin, 8.



Il padre ? il leggendario Connie Kalitta.



funnycar

[er wagone]

[quote name='funnycar' post='137667' date='23/6/2008, 08:20']Kalitta is survived by his father; his wife, Kathy; and sons Corey, 14, and Colin, 8.



Il padre ? il leggendario Connie Kalitta.



funnycar[/quote]



ma la mamma era Shirley Maldowney?



R.I.P.

[Guest]

Good Speed Scott.



commento di una persona che era li..





The car Blew up just before the finish line and the fiberglass body went in every direction in a fireball, the concussion from the explosion probably knocked him out. Then the car went wildly into the sand trap. I looked up at the monitor and he seemed to hit the wall just as he was going into the sand trap. They cut the video feed to the monitor just as that was happening.The parachute did deploy but didn't open and he barreled right thru the trap at full speed. Couldn't see anymore after that due to the huge fireball and smoke, dust etc. There was no updates over the loudspeakers but everyone knew it was bad. They cleaned up the track but stopped all runs. When we went to the pits the DHL team was packing up and the look on their faces said it all. Then all the other teams still in staging towed their cars back and loaded them up in the trailers. We waited about an hr and there was still no updates or racing so we left since we had a long drive to Baltimore.

[mopar]

La mamma non era Shirley Muldowney. Altra grande personaggio del drag racing.

[funnycar]

Shirley Muldowney era la prima moglie di Connie Kalitta, non credo possibile sia la madre dei due ragazzini (14 ed 8 anni).



Ci sono alcune cose che non mi spiego, nell'incidente: l'ho rivisto una dozzina di volte, almeno.



Tony Bartone, sulla left lane (a destra sullo schermo) oltre a problemi di trazione in fase di launch, sembra rinunciare, ad un certo punto ed anche abbastanza presto; nessuno (che io sappia, al momento) ha pensato a raccogliere le sue testimonianze.

Scott Kalitta parte come una scheggia ed ha una traiettoria straordinariamente rettilinea con una velocit? che "sembra" da record. Voleva stabilire un primato? (e su quella strip ? possibile) ...

La cosa che mi ha scioccato ha due aspetti: molti dicono che il paracadute si ? rifiutato di aprire: subito dopo il palo che regge gli scoreboars (presumo si tratti di quello) si vede molto bene il "chute" roteare, come succede spesso in fase di apertura: non riesco a capire se ? il pilotino o il paracadute principale. In ogni caso i pi? esperti parlano di "did not manage to slow", non ? riuscito a rallentare.

Nonostante l'incendio (probabile esplosione del motore, ? stato ipotizzato), avvenuto pi? o meno alla distanza dei mille piedi, l'auto dovrebbe, anche solo impercettibilmente, sbandare e scomporsi: non avviene nulla di tutto questo, come se fosse stata sparata contro le reti di ritenzione poste alla fine della shut-off-area: le reti sono simili a quelle che fermano gli aerei in atterraggio sulle portaerei, quindi "tengono" e contro quelle sembra essersi disintegrata, esplodendo, l'auto, gi? incendiata.



Questi i dubbi in base ai quali ho chiesto di non fare commenti, ma mi rendo anche conto che non sar? molto agevole ricostruire l'accaduto esaminando "one million pieces" rimaste...



funnycar

[ronald66]

R.I.P

[henry's garage]

Quante volte in passato che seguivo le classifiche ho letto delle sue imprese...



R.I.P.

[Guest]

R.I.P.

[Guest]

R.I.P.

[Guest]

R.I.P.

[funnycar]

NHRA statement of the death of Scott Kalitta

On behalf of everyone at NHRA, we are deeply saddened and want to pass along our sincere condolences to the entire Kalitta family.

Scott shared the same passion for drag racing as his legendary father, Connie. He also shared the same desire to win, becoming a two-time series world champion. He left the sport for a period of time, to devote more time to his family, only to be driven to return to the dragstrip to regain his championship form.



Scott was a terrific driver and perhaps more importantly a better person and a great father to his two kids. He will be truly missed by the entire NHRA community.



Our thoughts and prayers go out to his wife, Kathy; sons, Corey and Colin; his cousin, Doug; and his father, Connie.



Come sempre molto laconici.



funnycar

[funnycar]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: NHRA Communications, (626) 914-4761







FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: NHRA Communications, (626) 253-0862

NHRA MEDIA CENTER ONLINE: [url="http://media.nhra.com"]http://media.nhra.com[/url]





SCHUMACHER GETS FIRST WIN IN ENGLISHTOWN; WILKERSON, ANDERSON, ELLIS ALSO WIN AT RACEWAY PARK

ENGLISHTOWN, N.J. ? Five-time POWERade Series world champion Tony Schumacher raced to his first win at Englishtown in 12 years of competition at the Lucas Oil NHRA SuperNationals.



The event was overshadowed by the loss of Funny Car driver Scott Kalitta, who died from multiple injuries suffered after his car went out of control in the fourth round of qualifying Saturday.



Tim Wilkerson, Greg Anderson, and Chip Ellis also won in their respective categories in the 11th of 24 events on the POWERade Series schedule.



Schumacher drove his U.S. Army dragster to a 4.589-second run at 325.06 to defeat runner-up Brandon Bernstein by half a car length to pick up his 46th win and pull within six of Joe Amato (52) for most Top Fuel wins all-time.



?With the passing of Scott Kalitta yesterday, today?s race was extremely tough to get through from an emotional standpoint. But we managed to take care of business like Scott would have wanted us to,? said Schumacher, who won from the No. 9 qualifying position.



In Funny Car, Wilkerson drove his Levi Ray & Shoup Chevy Impala SS to a 4.877 at 319.29 to defeat Rookie of the Year favorite Mike Neff, who was seeking his first career win in his third career final round.



?You come to the race track and you think there is always a chance of something happening,? said Wilkerson. ?Knowing Scott the way I knew Scott I think that he would?ve wanted us to come and race because he was just that kind of guy. With that in mind, we all came to the racetrack with the intention of winning.?



Greg Anderson drove his Summit Racing Pontiac GXP to his third win of the season, posting a time of 7.520 at 200.23, which proved strong enough to get past runner-up Dave Connolly. It is Anderson?s 54th career win, fourth in Englishtown and second consecutive at Raceway Park.



?It was a tough deal to come out and race today, without a doubt,? said Anderson. ?I don?t really know how you really do it, how you really concentrate and we probably didn?t very well, to be honest with you. You think about (Scott) all the time and you think, ?I know I?m going to wake up from this dream in a while.??



In Pro Stock Motorcycle, Chip Ellis was able to ride his Schumacher Racing Suzuki past No. 1 qualifier Chris Rivas to pick up his sixth career win and first with Don Schumacher Racing. Ellis ran a 7.040 at 187.21, which was enough to give him the win light after Rivas red-light at the start.



?To be perfectly honest it was awesome,? said Ellis, referring to his win against his former team and crew chief. ?I know what George Smith (Chris Rivas? crew chief) is capable of doing. I rode his bike all last year and he?s a great tuner and Chris is doing a great job riding for him. But, on the other hand, I think I?m with the best tuner, and the man I?m talking about is Steve Tartaglia.?







**AGATE**



ENGLISHTOWN, N.J. -- Final finish order (1-16) for professional categories at the 39th annual Lucas Oil NHRA SuperNationals at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park. The race is the 11th of 24 events in the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series.







TOP FUEL:



1. Tony Schumacher; 2. Brandon Bernstein; 3. Cory McClenathan; 4. Rod Fuller; 5. Antron Brown; 6. Doug Herbert; 7. Larry Dixon; 8. Bob Vandergriff; 9. J.R. Todd; 10. Steve Torrence; 11. Morgan Lucas; 12. Doug Foley; 13. Doug Kalitta; 14. Hillary Will; 15. Todd Paton; 16. David Grubnic.







FUNNY CAR:



1. Tim Wilkerson, Chevy Impala; 2. Mike Neff, Ford Mustang; 3. Del Worsham, Impala; 4. John Force, Mustang; 5. Gary Densham, Impala; 6. Robert Hight, Mustang; 7. Melanie Troxel, Dodge Charger; 8. Tony Pedregon, Impala; 9. Jerry Toliver, Charger; 10.



Ron Capps, Charger; 11. Ashley Force, Mustang; 12. Gary Scelzi, Charger; 13. Bob Tasca III, Mustang; 14. Tommy Johnson Jr., Charger; 15. Jim Head, Toyota Solara; 16. Scott Kalitta, Solara.







PRO STOCK:



1. Greg Anderson, Pontiac GXP; 2. Dave Connolly, Chevy Cobalt; 3. V. Gaines, Dodge Stratus; 4. Mike Edwards, GXP; 5. Larry Morgan, Stratus; 6. Kurt Johnson, Cobalt; 7. Ron Krisher, Cobalt; 8. Jason Line, GXP; 9. Justin Humphreys, Stratus; 10. Warren Johnson, GXP; 11. Jim Yates, GXP; 12. Allen Johnson, Stratus; 13. Johnny Gray, Stratus; 14. Jeg Coughlin, Cobalt; 15. Greg Stanfield, GXP; 16. Vinnie Deceglie, Stratus.







PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE:



1. Chip Ellis, Suzuki; 2. Chris Rivas, Buell; 3. Matt Smith, Buell; 4. Andrew Hines, Harley-Davidson; 5. Eddie Krawiec, Harley-Davidson; 6. Craig Treble, Suzuki; 7. Steve Johnson, Suzuki; 8. Angelle Sampey, Buell; 9. Karen Stoffer, Suzuki; 10.



Matt Guidera, Buell; 11. Mike Berry, Buell; 12. Shawn Gann, Suzuki; 13. Hector Arana, Buell; 14. Wes Wells, Suzuki; 15. Joe DeSantis, Suzuki; 16. Ryan Schnitz, Kawasaki.











ENGLISHTOWN, N.J. -- Sunday's final results from the 39th annual Lucas Oil NHRA SuperNationals at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park.



The race is the 11th of 24 in the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series:







Top Fuel -- Tony Schumacher, 4.589 seconds, 325.06 mph def. Brandon Bernstein, 4.562 seconds, 323.04 mph.







Funny Car -- Tim Wilkerson, Chevy Impala, 4.877, 319.29 def. Mike Neff, Ford Mustang, 4.883, 316.75.







Pro Stock Motorcycle -- Chip Ellis, Suzuki, 7.040, 187.21 def. Chris Rivas, Buell, foul.







Pro Stock -- Greg Anderson, Pontiac GXP, 7.578, 200.23 def. Dave Connolly, Chevy Cobalt, 20.285, 36.59.











ENGLISHTOWN, N.J. -- Final round-by-round results from the 39th annual Lucas Oil NHRA SuperNationals at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park, the 11th of 24 events in the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series:











TOP FUEL:







ROUND ONE -- Cory McClenathan, 4.586, 322.50 def. Doug Kalitta, broke; Bob Vandergriff, 5.295, 144.06 def. Hillary Will, broke; Rod Fuller, 4.963, 245.23 def. Morgan Lucas, 5.245, 209.49; Doug Herbert, 4.748, 298.80 def. Doug Foley, foul; Antron Brown, 4.567,



322.73 def. J.R. Todd, 4.639, 310.05; Brandon Bernstein, 4.692, 316.60 def. Todd Paton, broke; Tony Schumacher, 5.044, 263.82 def.



Steve Torrence, 5.125, 258.27; Larry Dixon, 4.638, 313.58 def. David Grubnic, broke; QUARTERFINALS -- Fuller, 4.594, 319.75 def. Herbert, 4.691, 309.84; Bernstein, 5.068, 238.13 def. Vandergriff, 8.655, 96.96; McClenathan, 4.671, 304.74 def. Dixon, 4.701, 282.19; Schumacher, 4.618, 319.07 def. Brown, 4.621, 316.75; SEMIFINALS -- Schumacher, 4.615, 321.27 def. McClenathan, 4.594, 314.17; Bernstein, 4.616, 319.22 def. Fuller, 4.813, 256.84; FINAL -- Schumacher, 4.589, 325.06 def. Bernstein, 4.562, 323.04.











FUNNY CAR:







ROUND ONE -- Robert Hight, Ford Mustang, 23.372, 73.14 def. Scott Kalitta, Toyota Solara, broke; Gary Densham, Chevy Impala, 4.892,



302.14 def. Jim Head, Solara, 9.865, 52.12; John Force, Mustang, 5.864, 174.17 def. Tommy Johnson Jr., Dodge Charger, 6.695, 170.26; Tony Pedregon, Impala, 4.939, 306.19 def. Ashley Force, Mustang, 4.927, 302.35; Del Worsham, Impala, 4.946, 313.95 def. Gary Scelzi, Charger, 4.933, 309.34; Melanie Troxel, Charger, 4.935, 317.79 def. Jerry Toliver, Charger, 4.914, 308.92; Mike Neff, Mustang, 4.874, 317.05 def. Ron Capps, Charger, 4.922, 316.45; Tim Wilkerson, Impala, 4.887, 316.01 def. Bob Tasca III, Mustang, 5.025, 285.83; QUARTERFINALS -- J. Force, 4.986, 309.49 def. Troxel, 7.269, 119.76; Worsham, 4.938, 309.34 def. Hight, 5.427, 196.27; Neff, 5.432, 252.00 def. T. Pedregon, 7.499, 115.52; Wilkerson, 4.902, 312.35 def. Densham, 4.921, 308.43; SEMIFINALS -- Neff, 4.971, 299.53 def. J. Force, 4.977, 301.27; Wilkerson, 4.933, 303.50 def. Worsham, 4.952, 300.46; FINAL -- Wilkerson, 4.877, 319.29 def. Neff, 4.883, 316.75.











PRO STOCK:







ROUND ONE -- Larry Morgan, Dodge Stratus, 6.653, 207.21 def. Justin Humphreys, Stratus, 6.654, 207.15; Dave Connolly, Chevy Cobalt, 6.673, 206.48 def. Greg Stanfield, Pontiac GXP, 6.690, 206.07; Jason Line, GXP, 6.652, 207.50 def. Jim Yates, GXP, 6.671, 206.51; Kurt Johnson, Cobalt, 6.650, 207.50 def. Vinnie Deceglie, Stratus, 6.785, 183.34; Ron Krisher, Cobalt, 6.671, 206.48 def. Jeg Coughlin, Cobalt, 6.686, 206.83; V. Gaines, Stratus, 6.674, 206.42 def. Warren Johnson, GXP, 6.658, 207.88; Greg Anderson, GXP, 6.641, 207.88 def. Johnny Gray, Stratus, 6.678, 206.92; Mike Edwards, GXP, 6.654, 206.92 def. Allen Johnson, Stratus, 6.672, 206.64;







QUARTERFINALS -- Edwards, 6.667, 206.92 def. Krisher, 6.703, 206.51; Gaines, 6.692, 206.01 def. Line, 6.718, 207.46; Connolly, 6.661, 207.27 def. K. Johnson, 6.682, 207.62; Anderson, 6.644, 207.91 def. Morgan, 6.666, 207.24; SEMIFINALS -- Connolly, 6.676, 206.83 def. Gaines, 6.683, 206.04; Anderson, 6.665, 207.91 def. Edwards, foul; FINAL -- Anderson, 7.578, 200.23 def. Connolly, 20.285, 36.59.











PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE:







ROUND ONE -- Eddie Krawiec, Harley-Davidson, 7.033, 187.76 def. Matt Guidera, Buell, 7.063, 187.89; Steve Johnson, Suzuki, 7.039,



189.79 def. Karen Stoffer, Suzuki, foul; Craig Treble, Suzuki, 7.044, 189.36 def. Hector Arana, Buell, foul; Angelle Sampey, Buell, 7.070, 187.18 def. Shawn Gann, Suzuki, 7.101, 187.83; Chris Rivas, Buell, 6.979, 190.19 def. Ryan Schnitz, Kawasaki, 7.364, 176.37; Chip Ellis, Suzuki, 6.923, 192.49 def. Joe DeSantis, Suzuki, 7.161, 185.49; Andrew Hines, Harley-Davidson, 7.043, 188.81 def. Mike Berry, Buell, 7.066, 186.15; Matt Smith, Buell, 6.966, 189.87 def. Wes Wells, Suzuki, foul; QUARTERFINALS -- Hines, 7.047, 188.62 def. Sampey, 7.178, 182.65; Rivas, 6.991, 188.65 def. Krawiec, 7.030, 188.33; Smith, 7.000,



188.94 def. Treble, 7.062, 190.06; Ellis, 6.976, 190.81 def. Johnson, 7.081, 189.50; SEMIFINALS -- Rivas, 7.007, 190.40 def. Hines, 7.116, 184.80; Ellis, 7.005, 190.14 def. Smith, 7.079, 186.87; FINAL -- Ellis, 7.040, 187.21 def. Rivas, foul.











ENGLISHTOWN, N.J. -- Point standings (top 10) for NHRA professional categories following the 39th annual Lucas Oil NHRA SuperNationals at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park, the 11th of 24 events in the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series -







Top Fuel







1. Tony Schumacher, 1,009; 2. Antron Brown, 765; 3. Larry Dixon, 756; 4. Rod Fuller, 668; 5. Hillary Will, 652; 6. Cory McClenathan, 633; 7. Brandon Bernstein, 609; 8. Doug Herbert, 499; 9. Doug Kalitta, 483; 10. David Grubnic, 480.







Funny Car







1. Tim Wilkerson, 807; 2. Ashley Force, 675; 3. John Force, 629; 4. Tony Pedregon, 598; 5. Robert Hight, 592; 6. Cruz Pedregon, 572; 7. Gary Densham, 529; 8. Mike Neff, 517; 9. Ron Capps, 503; 10. Bob Tasca III, 439.







Pro Stock







1. Kurt Johnson, 792; 2. Greg Anderson, 766; 3. Jeg Coughlin, 730; 4. Jason Line, 719; 5. Mike Edwards, 601; 6. V. Gaines, 595; 7. Allen Johnson, 559; 8. Ron Krisher, 554; 9. Greg Stanfield, 520; 10. Warren Johnson, 501.







Pro Stock Motorcycle







1. Andrew Hines, 556; 2. Chip Ellis, 478; 3. Matt Smith, 460; 4. Chris Rivas, 407; 5. Matt Guidera, 361; 6. Angelle Sampey, 360; 7. Eddie Krawiec, 325; 8. Craig Treble, 292; 9. Karen Stoffer, 240; 10. Hector Arana, 234.







Questo il Comunicato Stampa ufficiale della N.H.R.A. sulla gara.



Non c'? traccia di Tony Bartone.



Prima che qualcuno accusi in qualche modo la TOYOTA Solara guidata da Scott Kalitta ? doverosa una precisazione: per regolamento le specifiche di costruzione sono tutte "S.F.I. spcs" ed il materiale impiegato ? rigorosamente "Made in the U.S.A."

L'unica cosa non USA, in un certo senso, ? il nome ed il musetto "dipinti".

Tanto era dovuto prima di qualsiasi possibile polemica



funnycar

[funnycar]

[Guest]

Non conosco ne la sua storia ne tantomeno quella della sua famiglia,per ora, ma da quello che apprendo la passione per questo sport fa parte della sua famiglia e credo che perdere un parente a causa di una passione che unisce il legame familiare ? la peggior cosa che possa accadere.

Mi unisco quindi ai cori di R.I.P.

Prima che qualcuno accusi in qualche modo la TOYOTA Solara guidata da Scott Kalitta ? doverosa una precisazione: per regolamento le specifiche di costruzione sono tutte "S.F.I. spcs" ed il materiale impiegato ? rigorosamente "Made in the U.S.A."

L'unica cosa non USA, in un certo senso, ? il nome ed il musetto "dipinti".

Tanto era dovuto prima di qualsiasi possibile polemica

Ma il motore non ? Toyota? Almeo quello dovrebbe essere loro no?