Scott Kalitta

Fift4fe · June 21, 2008, 09:23:44 PM

Scott Kalitta tragically lost his life today in a drag racing accident while qualifying.

RIP

:cry:

enjenjo · June 21, 2008, 09:29:54 PM

Saw that. condolences to his family.

kb426 · June 21, 2008, 09:50:10 PM

Horribly sad. My condolences to the family and friends.

Crosley.In.AZ · June 22, 2008, 12:01:39 AM

truly a sad day.

wayne petty · June 22, 2008, 02:56:54 AM

utube video can be seen here for a day or two..

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/comments_blog/2008/06/what-should-be.html

here is the utube link

.html

from the other side

http://video.google.com/videosearch?hl=en&resnum=0&q=scott%20kalitta%20dies%20in%20crash&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wv#

chimp koose · June 22, 2008, 04:41:08 AM

How sad . My condolences to his friends and family.

Danimal · June 22, 2008, 08:36:19 AM

Holy moley. I didn't watch the video until now. Why the heck did they have a WALL at the end of the track? Didn't anyone ever do a Failure Mode Effects Analysis there? He probably could have survived the fire with all of the safety factors they put in the cars but when your chute is on fire it isn't going to slow you down very well.

I'd heard he'd died. I'd heard he'd crashed. I had no idea it was in this manner. Anyone who says he died doing what he loved is just wrong. This was preventable from what I can see in the video. Can anyone clue me in? Am I off base here?

God's speed, Scott.

Here is to hoping this was not in vain.

wayne petty · June 22, 2008, 11:55:21 AM

yes... i also think something should be done.. i don't know what is at the end of the track there.. i know some of the members will know...

i have a picture that is copywrited so i cannot post it... that shows the body of the car pitched up and forward... from the explosion... broken in the middle.. the air pressure pushing it back down..

the video shows blue tire smoke about 2/3rds of the way through the shutdown area... he must have realized that he had no chutes and locked up the brakes to try to stop..

edit
i went and got a picture of the end of the track... seems there is a small street there.. and woods on the other side...

i wonder if the property owner would be open to a run off zone.. with crossing arms to stop traffic when the top fuel cars run..

either that or turn the track around... there seemed to be a little more room going the other way...

tomslik · June 22, 2008, 12:42:36 PM

:cry:

sad day for sure....

as far as the track, i've never been there so i don't have a clue on what the shut down section is like.
is it flat or does it run uphill?

how about running a "bridge" of some sort over that road?
don't know what kind of traffic the road has so....

kb426 · June 22, 2008, 01:53:32 PM

I watched the video a couple of times and this is my take on it. About 900' the engine lets go, possible hydraulic. The explosion gets rid of the body and the chutes are ripped off or fail to deploy for any number of reason's. It appeared to me that the sand trap was built up so the car center punches it. When NHRA first put in sand traps in the 80's, they were a foot tall at the beginning. Grady Bryant flipped his alky funny at Columbus I believe before the powers in charge realized they made a mistake. When the car hit the sand, the fuel tank exploded. From then on I can't see what transpired. The car went straight after the explosion so you would think he was in control but that may not have been the case. I believe that when it's your time, it's over no matter what you're doing. I always felt safe in my dragster but safe is a relative term. I'm sure in a few days someone that knows will have the accurate description of the horrible accident.
As I remember. the wall goes down one side of the track completely. This was noise control the track had to do after the new residents in the area took him to court to have him shut down. I don't know if the wall at the end is part of that sound control wall or not.

SKR8PN · June 22, 2008, 04:02:43 PM

I was shocked when I first this, but after I saw the video..........

'

I had told Willy that I would never run my car at National Trails ever again.
I ran there a couple of years ago during the Mopar Nat's. After my first pass, and seeing a concrete barrier across the end of the track just before the turnoff road......I cross the stripe at just over 140 mph

.....No way in HE!! will I ever race there again.

I may be some dumb.....but I ain't plumb dumb!!

Dave · June 22, 2008, 04:21:32 PM

Found out this morning. I also watched the video.. NHRA needs to forget about that track and I hope Scot's family sues them and the raceway. Thats is just stupid to have a wall like that.. What was it last year i think when i med his coisin Doug at a bar restaurant in the irish Hills and we talked for quite a while . Nice kid but he has two very small kids to think about. Id rather see him back in a usac sprint car than going 300+ in a funny car...
RIP.
Dave

Fast.Fords · June 23, 2008, 09:00:08 AM

I caught the interview with Jim Head after Scott's crash and he offered a practical solution to the short shutdown area... If the track can't lengthen the shut down, then they should shorted the race itself to either 1000' ft or even down to an eighth mile... Doubt NHRA would go for it, so maybe it's time for the track mangement to step up and either solve the short shutdown problem, or build a facility elsewhere that would not have the restrictions on extending the shutdown area that Englishtown must have now.....

Bruce Dorsi · June 23, 2008, 10:38:43 AM

Quote from: "jusjunk"I hope Scot's family sues them and the raceway. Thats is just stupid to have a wall like that..

Nice kid but he has two very small kids to think about. Id rather see him back in a usac sprint car than going 300+ in a funny car...
RIP.
Dave

Well, Dave, it certainly is a tragedy for Scott's family, but I find your wish for a lawsuit very disturbing! ....Your attitude is typical of today's "Let's find somebody to sue!" syndrome.

As tragic as the accident is, how is it anyone else's responsibility? ....Did someone force Scott into the car? ....He knew the risk each time he strapped himself into the car? ....Hopefully, he considered his family and protected them financially beforehand.

As for the track: Several years ago, a car ran past the end of the track and proceeded through a chain-link fence and onto Pension Road (which is a heavily-travelled secondary road). ......The concrete barrier was installed to prevent that from happening again.

The concrete barrier was encountered at the end of the accident, but how do we know if Scott was even conscious after/in/during the fire? ....The mechanical fault which started the tragedy was not caused by an insufficient shut-down area, or a negligence of the track's owner, or the NHRA.

My heart goes out to Scott's family and friends also, but let's not assign blame recklessly!

Dave · June 23, 2008, 10:58:58 AM

Quote from: "Bruce Dorsi"
Quote from: "jusjunk"I hope Scot's family sues them and the raceway. Thats is just stupid to have a wall like that..

Nice kid but he has two very small kids to think about. Id rather see him back in a usac sprint car than going 300+ in a funny car...
RIP.
Dave

Well, Dave, it certainly is a tragedy for Scott's family, but I find your wish for a lawsuit very disturbing! ....Your attitude is typical of today's "Let's find somebody to sue!" syndrome.

As tragic as the accident is, how is it anyone else's responsibility? ....Did someone force Scott into the car? ....He knew the risk each time he strapped himself into the car? ....Hopefully, he considered his family and protected them financially beforehand.

As for the track: Several years ago, a car ran past the end of the track and proceeded through a chain-link fence and onto Pension Road (which is a heavily-travelled secondary road). ......The concrete barrier was installed to prevent that from happening again.

The concrete barrier was encountered at the end of the accident, but how do we know if Scott was even conscious after/in/during the fire? ....The mechanical fault which started the tragedy was not caused by an insufficient shut-down area, or a negligence of the track's owner, or the NHRA.

My heart goes out to Scott's family and friends also, but let's not assign blame recklessly!

Your entitled to your opinion too bruce.. my take on it ... big business and money and usually that kind pretty much forces running in non safe conditions. Sure Scott knew the chances he was taking but with cars running over 300mph it seems the NHRA has their heads in their *.
No way should they have been running at that track and its been this way for a while... At least wake em up... Oh ya thanks for telling me my attitude went to $^&T also... Have a nice day....
Dave