Breaking news: Scott Kalitta killed at Englishtown
Written by Sheila Scarborough · June 21, 2008
Funny Car driver Scott Kalitta (son of Connie “The Bounty Hunter” Kalitta and cousin of Top Fuel driver Doug Kalitta) was killed today in a driving accident during qualifying at Supernationals in Englishtown, New Jersey.
I wish I had more information than that, but the NHRA.com site has crashed (par for the course during a crisis/accident - they really need to add capacity so they can stay up at times like this, when everyone’s coming to them for news) and I just turned on ESPN2 to watch qualifying and heard the news for the first time.
This short AP story on ESPN is the same one that’s running just about everywhere, if you’re Googling the topic.
One issue seems to relate to the shutdown area/sand trap and its possible role in the accident, but I don’t have any more than hearsay on that, so won’t speculate.
More info just as soon as I can get it, and Fast Machines sends its heartfelt condolences to the Kalitta family and the NHRA organization, teams and fans.
Update 7:24 pm Central: A YouTube video of what was shown on ESPN; looks like no way to slow the car after it exploded going down track, looks like he perhaps hit a barrier after going all the way through the sand. Painful to watch. RIP, Scott.
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This ranks up there with when I herd about Eric Medlen passing away after testing a Gans. Fla. last year. My prayers are with the Kalitta family, the crew and all the fans.
From the video the sand trap looks really short compared to other tracks.