Scott Kalitta bad accident
 

Went through safety net. Not good. Very sad! Don't know details yet

TV said transported to Etown hospital. Word from track is that it is very bad. Top end explosion, tearing apart back half of car. Went through net and almost into trees

Our prayers are with him and his family

Re: Scott Kalitta bad accident
 

Racing cancelled for the rest of day

Re: Scott Kalitta bad accident
 

just got on competition plus .com and it said kalitta fatally injured, got back on and that info was gone, i believe it was leaked before it should've been, r.i.p. scott

Re: Scott Kalitta bad accident
 

Heard the same from someone else. Sad day

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Its still on there. Hope its not true.

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Just showed the accidenton espn. bad.............

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Gods Speed Scott & Are Prayers Are With Your Friends & Family

Re: Scott Kalitta bad accident
 

RIP Scott Kalitta, may the angels hold you high and mighty in the Lord's arms. It's always a shock and sinking feeling in someone when they hear the news. I was at work tonight when I looked up and saw Ron Capps being interviewed on the TV and I said to myself someone died today at Englishtown and it put me in a rut the rest of the night. I was not one of the biggest Scott Kalitta fans in the pits or watching him on TV but, I honor him because he did something he loved. He died doing the one thing in life he enjoyed besides flying aircrafts for his father. He was a drag racer at heart and he had that grizzly demeaner of a Funny Car Driver. The one positive thing that may come out of this is for NHRA and JFR to look into working on a new parachute configuration for cars. Maybe something like a dummy chute that if the body gets tore off and the chutes don't deploy they have a option to have a backup just like skydivers. Anyways it's a sad day in drag racing and Scott will be missed......RIP SCOTT KALITTA

Re: Scott Kalitta bad accident
 

We are at 320 plus, need longer shut down for those guys

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Your Right About That...............tony P. Siad That In An Interview With Cruz. Only The Few Strips That Were More Recently Built,have Longer Shut Down Areas........................atleast The Grove Built A Back Door.......................they Run Off The Track Every Year At Pomona..............but They Keep Going Back..........................realestate & Zoning Ordinances. Just Don't Seem To Allow Tracks To Grow..........that, & Whats The Chances Of Running Down There & Flipping Over & Into That Pole...? Hopefully Some Good Will Come From It, Its Just Sad That Someone Has To Die To Make Things Better.

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The sad part is Englishtown has a decent shutdown area at the end with space. As far as the sand trap area that can use some work. I mean it looks like it's a very rough and short sand trap, when I watched Doug Foley go into the sand friday night I was like wow that looks rough and short. Maybe they should look into shorting the shutdown area and move the sand trap up. There is not much more they can do cause after that fence at E-Town is Union Road that leads you into the track and as much crap as they already get from the surronding city's I can't see them getting approval to expand. I think it's the part in mind that "it will never happen at my track" I mean you look at one of my favorite tracks on the east coast and Atco Raceway. If you have ever been there the shutdown area is almost as long as the 1/4 mile but for the longest time the shutdown area was a couple of tires, a old guardrail and trees. It took John Lupo losing his life at the track a couple of years ago after he went off the end to have them put in a sand trap. All I know is when there is a death a positive always come sout of it. When Darrell Russell died, they put the side protectors on the dragsters, after Eric Died they did the same thing. Maybe now with Scott K. being killed it's time to look away from the cars themselves and look at the tracks they race on.

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I also saw the Doug Foley replay and was aghast at how SHORT the sand trap is at Englishtown. He couldn't have been going more than 40 mph when he hit the sand trap, and he went all the way through it, and the front of the car slid under the safety net.

Correction...There is a small portion of concrete that juts out into the sand trap along the right side, which may have been what Scott initially hit, which would have steered him back into the sand trap area. But at the speed he was going if he was hugging the right wall that little jut of concrete would have done some serious damage...

In the end though, at the speed he was going there was a good chance he wasn't going to survive regardless of how he entered the sand trap.

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Doug Foley? Foley wasn't going very fast when he went into the sand trap. 60 maybe....he certainly didn't hit it at 100 mph.

Kalitta on the other hand was probably doing 150 - 200 mph...

Re: Scott Kalitta bad accident
 

Speeds would be lower too. I never would have supported something like this in the past, but I must admit that if it could possibly save a life I'd probably be OK with it.

That said, I'm not exactly sure where the engine explosion occurred, but the extra 320' may not have made a difference in this case since he was probably already going 300 mph by the 1000' mark.

NASCAR just did a nice little piece on their broadcast, and had a moment of silence at their race in memory of Scott. Nice touch...

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I mean I'm notsaying I'm against going to 1,000 feet racing but In SK case there is nothing anyone could do. I mean when the car exploded it A.) knocked Scott out that he could not control the car B.) held the throttle open and if Scott was awake he could not shut it off. I mean about 15 years ago in the final of Funny Car between Chuck Etchels and Johnny West at E-town Johhny's car went about 60 feet and when hard right into the wall. The hit knocked him out and the car continued all the way down the track till it hit the sand trap and the wall. Johnny had burns and and some broken bones but, my point is it dosen't matter if you go 1320 feet or 60 feet if something is going to happen, it's going to happen. Does Englishtown and Pomona and Columbus need to look more into their shutdown areas better for the racers, of course they do. The cars are going 330+ mph and no matter what NHRA is doing to slow them down, the crew chiefs are finding ways to go around them. I mean if they go to a 1,000 foot race or like IHRA a 1/8 mile race they will just shorten the racetracks when they build them. City and Goverment people are not going to allow a huge land expansion to so they can have 2,400 feet of drag strip and only use 660 feet. They will just tell them we can only give you 1,500 feet, because we can build houses or buinesses on that other land you won't use.

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I have an idea, how about cutting way back on the Nitro again??? Seeing as how everyone is running out of it anyway. I know nothing about fuel cars, but I have to believe that if there was less Nitro, the blower explosion would not be as bad, maybe he does not get knocked out? maybe they don't go as fast?

I don't want to be a Monday morning quarter back, but I can tell you one thing, I had 3 guys come to the track to watch the pros(for the first time) and was ashamed when they went through the whole session without any of the fuel cars making a side by side pass (3rd session). I know it was warm, but I do believe with less Nitro, that would not have been the case.

Just my opinion!

Re: Scott Kalitta bad accident
 

We heard that Scott was knocked out when the car exploded at the 1000 ft. The chutes deployed but never blossomed due the extent of the fire. It took all the air so none got to the chutes. When he hit the sand trap - car was still pretty much full throttle!!

Our condolences to the whole Kalitta family. Scott will be sorely missed!

Re: Scott Kalitta bad accident
 

Forgot - the nitro drivers were talking about racing to the 1/8th mi. or 1000 ft at the older tracks due to them not having the real estate that the new ones do for longer shut down areas. E-town I thought was one with a longer shut down but the sand trap area is REALLY small compare to some other tracks because of Pension Rd.

Re: Scott Kalitta bad accident
 

I got to meet Scott a couple of times while helping Chris Karamesines.
He was a good guy, never really craved the limelight.

I do not think the longer shut down would have helped in this case.
It looks like the car never slowed down, the shoots never blossomed and the car was not hopping like he was hard on the brakes.
I remember when Johnny West did the same thing.
I do think the older tracks are to short for the times and speeds they are running today. I like what Jim Head said "on the older tracks run to 1000ft.
or even half track" Most of the problems start at 1000 ft or passed.

We also heard a camera man was killed. Did any body at the track see that or hear about that too?

As long as Rt 66 is, they in the off season extended the sand pit by 30 foot. They moved the last turn off in closer and put in a bigger opening in the wall for the turn out. It is very nice now.

Over the weekend we had a Top Sportsman go into the sand with almost no damage. His shoots did not open ( they forgot to remove the safety pins) he scrubbed enough speed to just ease it in.
If it was a shorter track like some around here it could have been a lot worse.

I hope NHRA looks into the older and shorter tracks and some good comes of this. I do not believe less percent of Nitro or a gear change will solve the problem. The crew chiefs are too smart and will find away to get the cars back to speed again.

I hope we are not talking about another driver getting hurt or killed again soon. This needs to be looked at right away.

Rest easy Scott you have plenty of time till the next round.
We will miss you!:(

Re: Scott Kalitta bad accident
 

There was no camera man killed or involved in any way. That was a rumor started when people saw a remote control camera fall from its location.

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Talked to a few of my S/Gas buddies who saw the crash from their trailers where they were parked at the end and they said when Scott went by there was no movement in the car before he hit the traps. I also heard that the motor ended up on Pension Rd outside of the track.

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Thanks for clearing things up on the camera man.

Re: Scott Kalitta bad accident
 

While still conducting its investigation into the details of last week's tragic accident that took the life of driver Scott Kalitta, NHRA announced today some of its initial findings and subsequent steps being taken to continue its efforts to make the sport safer.

The loss of Scott Kalitta, a passionate champion driver and devoted family man, still weighs heavy on the hearts of everyone at NHRA, as we reflect on his many accomplishments and pass along our deepest condolences to his wife Kathy, his sons Corey and Colin, his father Connie, his cousin Doug, the entire Kalitta family and team, and all those he left behind.

It has been determined that a tragic series of events took place that fateful afternoon. An engine explosion near the end of the run resulted in separating most of the car's body from the chassis. The car's parachutes did not blossom, and the vehicle continued down the right side of the shut down area at a high rate of speed. It went off the top end of the track, up into the right catch net pole, and hit the television camera boom beyond the end of the sand trap before coming to a rest.

This sequence of events resulted in the passing of the two-time world champion and veteran second-generation driver.

The New Jersey State Police investigation team was on site the same day, working with NHRA officials as both conducted their investigation. Once it becomes available, NHRA will analyze the State Police report for any additional information on the incident. NHRA also continued its own investigation by bringing mechanical engineer and accident reconstruction expert David McCandless, M.S. M.E., P.E., to the site. McCandless is an independent engineer with more than 15 years of experience in reconstructing vehicular accidents. McCandless worked with NHRA officials, members of the Kalitta race team, and officers from the New Jersey State Police accident investigation team on site. McCandless examined and analyzed the vehicle, the track and other data, and his investigation is still underway. The Delphi technical team and Ford recovered and are analyzing the “Blue Box” data recorder data and NHRA is using this data and analysis in its investigation.

After its preliminary investigation, NHRA identified several areas to analyze and determine whether changes should be made to build upon the sport's long standing safety record, given the inherent risks and ever-present dangers associated with race cars traveling a quarter mile at more than 300 mph.

Technical Issues to be Investigated

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Engine failure. NHRA, working with the Kalitta race team, has examined the engine, and will work with the Kalitta team and other teams to analyze what might be done to reduce such incidents in the future.

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Parachute materials. Since the parachutes did not blossom, NHRA will work with parachute manufacturers and suppliers and SFI to analyze parachute mounting techniques and materials. Even though fire does not appear to have prevented the chutes from blossoming in this situation, NHRA also will work with manufacturers and suppliers to identify a parachute material that could be more fire resistant.

#
Brakes. Research will be conducted to explore whether there is a way to increase brake efficiency when cars lose downforce due to the loss of the body.

# Shutdown Area. In light of this tragic incident, NHRA is looking into the shutdown area. NHRA has requested data from FIA regarding design and make-up of runoff areas in other forms of motorsports to see if it has any useful application to the unique forces in drag racing. Together with the racing community and outside groups, NHRA will research and analyze catch nets and restraint devices that are used in other applications, including military applications. In addition, NHRA will analyze additional methods that might be developed at the top end of the race track to help arrest runaway vehicles, given the speed, mass and other factors synonymous with NHRA drag racing.

# Speed. NHRA has implemented many initiatives to enhance safety including measures to keep speeds from increasing, personal protective gear, vehicle improvements, and track enhancements such as sand traps, catch nets and concrete barriers the entire length of the drag strip. NHRA is considering whether current speeds should be further limited or reduced to potentially improve safety. To analyze this issue NHRA will develop a task force that also includes members of the racing community to evaluate how to reduce the speed of Top Fuel and Funny Car vehicles.

NHRA will continue to seek and welcome input from race teams on these and other issues in the coming weeks and months ahead. NHRA will release additional information from its ongoing investigation as it becomes available, as well as provide updates on the recently announced initiatives.

Re: Scott Kalitta bad accident
 

If Scott hit the pole that holds the Safety Net, what is that pole made of???
It has to be strong to hold any car going into the net.
If Scott was knocked out, then he didn't stand a chance.
The other thing i want to add is: Why does NHRA need a Camera Boom at top end anyway??
Just so people can see the big screen at the shutdown area after a run.
But i guess in this case maybe they can figure out what happened.
If that's the case then, can't they relocate it way out of the way??

Can't Raceway Park make a Real Wide Turn-off to the left for more stopping distance??
Add tons of Sand to it too.
Didn't NASCAR (ugh) make there walls Padded after Dale E. died?????

I'm also in Agreement with whomever said: USE LESS NITRO.... means Safer Runs
The Nitro cars now are like time bombs, can blow at anytime.

I think you would see a lot of better runs because NOBODY SMOKED THE TIRES.........

Even Pro Stock Cars are experiencing Severe Tire Shake.
It makes it hard to be a spectator watching & enjoying these classes.

Well, i guess i said more then enough.. THICK PADDED WALLS, bottom line. JFR

Pistol Pete

Re: Scott Kalitta bad accident
 

Less Nitro, and a blower pulley rule! Let these cars go 280-290 M.P.H. and lets watch some good races. I don't like the rev limiters and all that Nitro, it's a bomb waiting to happen.

Just my opinion!