Championship Drag Racing

Torco Racing Fuels Route 66 NHRA Nationals
Chicago, Ill.
(June 5-8)

EVENT HOME
   Event Info
   Tickets
   Event schedule
   Results
   Team Reports
   Audio Broadcast
   Photo Galleries
   Video highlights
   Entry List

Driver Profile

Scott Kalitta DHL Funny Car

Chicago, Sunday: It had been 19 years since Scott Kalitta, driver of the DHL Toyota Solara Funny Car, had been to a NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series final round until Sunday at the Torco Racing Fuels Route 66 NHRA Nationals at Route 66 Raceway in Joliet, Ill., just a few miles south of the Chicago city limits.

Kalitta raced against Tony Pedregon in the final round. The two wily drag racing veterans gave the fans at Route 66 Raceway a great race to watch in the final round, but unfortunately, Kalitta came up on the losing end, 4.957 sec., 308.92 mph to 4.818 sec., 319.75 mph, to be the event runner-up.

Kalitta’s previous final-round appearance was also the site of his only win in NHRA’s Funny Car class in Houston in 1989. Kalitta was the back-to-back NHRA Top Fuel world champion in 1994-95. He won 17 NHRA national events in a Top Fuel dragster in his career before switching back to Funny Cars in 2006.

Kalitta, the No. 13 qualifier, raced his DHL flopper to the final round in Joliet by defeating Ron Capps, Cruz Pedregon, and Gary Densham in respective rounds. Kalitta’s previous final round was also in Joliet when he captured his final Top Fuel title trophy in 2005.

“Well, we’re disappointed, but then again we’re pretty happy,” Kalitta, a 46-year old resident of Palmetto, Fla., said. “We have struggled so much with our DHL Funny Car all year long, so just getting to the final is a major accomplishment for me and my team. We turned a very big corner this weekend with our car, and that’s what we’re the most excited about.”

Until today, Kalitta had only one round win in 2008 (Phoenix). He and the DHL team have failed to qualify at five events in 2008.

E-mail this article   Print this article