RIP...Scott Kalitta...

[mad_fan]

http://www.southernledger.com/ap/143843/NHRA_driver_Kalitta_killed_in_horrific_crash

:(

Thoughts and prayers to a great racing family...

[DrEdward]

Always sad to see a death in these circumstances. :(

[CCHS77]

So sad to see. I hope NHRA takes a long look at necessary shut down improvements. Not unlike NASCAR's look at head restraint after we lost Sr.

[CyFallsMom]

That was a horrible accident too - wish they would stop showing it on TV. My older sister is a professional NHRA drag racer and I worry about her all the time. I hope I never have to hear this about her. I look at that car she races in and it's so fragile looking and low to the ground and it seems like with the long front, it would just flip over. It's just not something I'm interested in. She's been racing since she began racing my mom's car up and down Long Point (against the guys no less) when she was 13 years old! It's in her blood. I'm sure it was in this guys blood and that's why he returned after a 2 year absence...such a shame.

[mad_fan]

So sad to see. I hope NHRA takes a long look at necessary shut down improvements. Not unlike NASCAR's look at head restraint after we lost Sr.

Can't say it was a shutdown issue...and it looked like the chute deployed...but caught fire...not sure..and haven't watched it again...
You can probably find it on YouTube by know...
It is certainly a 300 to 0 issue...but I don't know that anything but more asphalt could have prevented this...

[CCHS77]

Can't say it was a shutdown issue...and it looked like the chute deployed...but caught fire...not sure..and haven't watched it again...
You can probably find it on YouTube by know...
It is certainly a 300 to 0 issue...but I don't know that anything but more asphalt could have prevented this...

More asphalt (post finish line) would be a shut down improvement.

[SV61]

Exactly guys, Older places such as Englishtown (where this wreck happened), don't have enough shutdown area. His chutes caught fire, making them useless. The only thing that MIGHT have helped, was a longer shut down area. I think there was an obvious fire issue as well.

I think Jim Head, the Funny Car driver/owner, may be on to something, when he states that if a track can not be made to have more shut down area, then the NHRA needs to look at either moving the race to a safer venue, OR racing to 1000'. Top Fuel (Nitro based engines) Crew chiefs will tell you that the majority of their engine failures occur AFTER 1000', so many of them would be okay with that. Jim Head even mentioned running 1/8 mile.

[chhspantherfan]

My heart goes out to those two young boys that lost their DADDY. My own sons had a hard time watching this and when they called me into the room to see it, all I could think about was those boys. How tragic.