NHRA TF Funny Car driver Scott Kalitta was killed in an accident today

[Jstas]

E-Town, car blew up at the big end, ran through all the safety at the top end and hit the concrete wall. He was likely killed on impact.

News:
http://msn.foxsports.com/other/story/8269208/NHRA's-Scott-Kalitta-killed-in-crash

Video:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=DziJdGwFQjU

Sad loss. Very sad.

[Ron-P]

Sad indeed, but he knew the risks involved in the profession he chose.

[fossy]

Not a good day for the Kalitta family or the NHRA --- terrible loss -- condolences to the Kalitta family

[george daniel]

tragic,, condolences to the Kailiita family.

[pearsall001]

A sad day indeed!

[dkg999]

A sad day indeed! My prayers go out to his family!

[audiobliss]

Wow, that must be tough. :(

[disneyjoe7]

Very sad indeed, I was in shock when I heard this today.

[shadowofnight]

You are going to be hearing a lot more about this, that shutdown/runoff area was screwed. The sand trap was WAY too short, and he not only hit the short concrete wall but he hit that crane that was parked RIGHT behind the wall.

Loose small concrete barrier has some give....that crane didnt budge. The almost nonexistent sand trap and that crane were HUGE in causing this accident to be fatal.

You should have heard Ron Capps ( Another Funny Car driver ) off-air ( I was watching a C-Band feed so I could hear and see what never made it on the NHRA broadcast ) complaining about the shutdown/runoff area. A LOT of tracks dont have an adequate shutdown area for these cars that are going through the traps at 300 plus MPH ( Funny Car and TF )


Sad day indeed.

[exalted512]

I was just thinking the EXACT same thing as shadow.

Just like NASCAR, its going to take the death of this driver to make better regulations for safety. A longer sand trap for sure, plus a series of safety barriers at the end of the track...sort of like the new cushion walls in NASCAR. But these would need to be 'breakaway' barriers that will give out to the next, slowing them down only the way...and no damn cranes on the other end.
-Cody

[Face]

Atco and Cecil's shut down areas are even worse.

[toddco]

A big name in this sport, its sad when names you grow up hearing about and seeing are no longer.

[Jstas]

Atco and Cecil's shut down areas are even worse.

Atco and Cecil don't run anything close to top fuel. They don't even run pro-stock.

[Jstas]

Sad indeed, but he knew the risks involved in the profession he chose.

Just because he knew the risks doesn't mean his death wasn't as sad and losing anyone else. A human life has ended. No matter ho,w that's a bad thing. What is worse is that it is possible that this death could have been prevented.

[avelanchefan]

Loose small concrete barrier has some give....that crane didnt budge. The almost nonexistent sand trap and that crane were HUGE in causing this accident to be fatal.


Yeah if you look at the ESPN video you can actually see the crane moving/shaking after the explosion. Not sure why they had one parked down there.

[joeparaski]

Very sad indeed. Engine explsions are common in drag racing. It's just so sad that the runoff area was so short...and that stupid crane!!! what were they thinking when they parked that there?? It was a very survivable incident (without the crane).

Joe

[danger boy]

Holy SH*T!

that is sad... i feel for his family.

I hope he had a good life and he died doing what he loved to do. Still rough way to go out.

peace

[schwarcw]

Very tragic.:( My prayers go out to his family and friends.

[avelanchefan]

I am not trying to be sick or anything but when looking this up yesterday I found this amateur video on youtube where the initial explosion occurred right in front of the camera man. It give a little more perspective on the accident.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=N_QT93WUaQM

[mrbigbluelight]

"The cars continue to go faster, but the NHRA hasn't been giving us enough real estate". Tony Pendragon.

"I do believe that racers are a different breed".

Tony Pendragon.


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[shadowofnight]

Jim Head's interview just now said that MANY drivers have comtemplated shutting off at the 1,000 foot mark...maybe even the 1/8th mile mark at tracks that do not have an adequate shutdown/runoff area....it's that serious of an issue.

One other area where improvement is needed is in parachute technology.....seems that in every serious engine grenading ( In nitro FC and TF even a minor intake valve hanging open from a simple broken spring causes a huge explosion ) the parachute goes up in flames in an instant and becomes worthless ( If you watch the footage for Scott's crash this happens as well ).

If that parachute fails, you are in deep shit ....yet they continue to burn up almost instantly ??? It's 2008 folks....we have the technology to make a parachute that lasts for the time needed to slow down a car ...which is only seconds by the way .

Hell, even at Baylands Raceway Park where I used to race ( When it was still open :( ) on Wednesday NIGHTS....they didnt give a shit past the end of the quater mile...there were NO lights past the trap timing lights...nada :eek:

I will NEVER forget my first nightime run on the drag bike....hitting the end of the quarter mile on a motorcycle going 167 miles an hour that has NO headlight on it AND there are no track lights . After making my uturn and stopping at the booth to pick up my timing slip I told the guy they forgot to turn the lights on .....he said what lights :confused:

[danger boy]

how fast was he going anyways? or how fast do these rockets go in general? I don't watch this type of racing.

[Jstas]

I am not trying to be sick or anything but when looking this up yesterday I found this amateur video on youtube where the initial explosion occurred right in front of the camera man. It give a little more perspective on the accident.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=N_QT93WUaQM

There is nothing sick about it. The man died, it is a fact of life. How he died is interesting and intriguing and there is nothing wrong with being curious as to how it happened. Being happy that it occurred and maybe even mocking and taunting the fact that it occurred, well, there's something wrong with that.

But this guy died doing something he loved to do that many people see as nothing more than macho entertainment. But it's not. Top Fuel is a science experiment pushing the bleeding edge of technology. These guys go out there every week and push the limits. They try to remain as safe as they can but when you are traveling 300+ MPH, the world can go wrong faster than you can blink your eye. They are a different breed of person. They are willing to strap in and hang on for such a ride.

Yeah, we all know the risks and they know them up close and personal. But the service beyond entertainment that these people involved provide without the intention of providing it is invaluable. They advance technology in all fields, including safety and they just flat out make people happy to see them do what they do and even shake a hand or get an autograph. All these guys want to do is go fast, win and be the best. The rest of it is icing on the cake. While noble intentions they may not be, they are pure and when the world loses such a pure soul like this, it is only basic human curiosity to know how it happened. Afterall, whether you are involved in the sport or not, hearing of this causes everyone to face their mortality and it helps us understand ourselves better and respect the one who is gone better because we then know what went in to that life.

It's no different than anyone else but how often does someone go missing only to turn up dead somewhere and no one says a thing? Is that person due any less reverence for the loss of a life? Scott Kalitta is a loss as much as anyone else. But he was a public figure with many fans who admired him, his father and the rest of his family for their drive, determination and just down-to-earth, good guy persona. They all exhibit qualities many of us want to have in ourselves and when someone like that, that you admire so much, is taken, it takes a small part of you too. Granted, he's not a Dale Earnhardt but he touched many lives in a positive way. I don't think it is sick to understand how he died and to see how it might have been prevented. Even Dale's death had a chance to be prevented if he had the proper safety equipment. It is tragic that it takes a death to cause people to look more closely but Kalitta, even in death, did what he did in life and that's push the limits and advance technology. We didn't just lose a race car driver, we lost a role model and a family lost a son, a brother, a cousin, a father and a husband.

[shadowofnight]

Trap speeds are generally over 300 MPH for the nitro cars.....he had slowed down a good bit before hitting the wall.....he was probably going 180 to 190 at the end.

[Jstas]

how fast was he going anyways? or how fast do these rockets go in general? I don't watch this type of racing.

The top fuel funny cars average about 320-330 MPH at the top end of the track, the record is 333.66 MPH set on 11/04/06 by Jack Beckman of North Hills, CA in Pomona, CA. Tony Pedregon of Brownsburg, IN holds the elapsed time record of 4.659 seconds which he set on 02/26/07 in Chandler, AZ. The average E.T. is about 4.7-4.9 seconds to about 320 MPH.

For Top Fuel dragsters, the top of the game, Tony Schumacher of Long Grove, IL set the highest speed of 336.15 on 05/25/05 at Hebron, OH. Schumacher also holds the low E.T. of 4.428 he set on 11/12/06 at Pomona, CA. The averages are pretty close to the tops with guys regularly hitting 330 MPH and 4.450-4.460 E.T.s all day long.

The scary part is that some of these guys have gone faster in testing which is unofficial. Force has been reported to have hit 340 MPH in funny cars in testing and I've heard of several top fuel guys getting up to just under 350 MPH in testing. If they bite hard, 3.9 second 1/4 miles on a perfect day weather wise are not unattainable.

So yeah, these guys are moving. For example and comparison, the average family sedan gets to 60 in about 8 seconds and needs about a 1/3rd of a mile to do it and will run through a 1/4 mile in the 80 MPH range with an elapsed time in the low 17 second to mid 15 seconds range.

[SKsolutions]

I know little of racing, but when I saw the video my first thought was who put that wall there. If that's the average runoff, and chutes are hit or miss, it's reckless disregard. I hope his death will save other racers.

[fossy]

I wonder if this will set the stage for slowing the cars down--Obviously some of the tracks are just outdated for the speeds they are reaching now--

[fossy]

Watching the englishtown finals now --- for those who do not follow professional drag racing--- the top fuel ( using nitro- methain as fuel) to try & put this type of racing into some perspective -- these top fuel cars make 8000+ horsepower - yup that's right 8000

Only been to one NHRA race in Houston -- a few years ago -- these cars make so much power when I went down close to the start line & they took off -- they changed the atmosphere -- big explosion & it was like all of a sudden all the air within a hundred yards was being sucked into the cars --

[disneyjoe7]

You know with such a level of fuel / engine / clutch technology bringing these cars to a faster speed and quicker 1/4 mile times. Perhaps the best thing to do is have auto parachute and a brake system which would come into play if the driver wasn't able to.

[Face]

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