Sunday during final eliminations of the FRAM Autolite NHRA Nationals at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Calif., Doug Kalitta, driver of the 8,000-horsepower, “Big Red” Mac Tools Top Fuel dragster, unfortunately had his chance of winning his 6th title trophy in wine country ended early in the opening round.
Kalitta, the No. 15 qualifier (4.154 seconds, 289.51 mph), faced off against the driver of the Alan Johnson-tuned dragster and No. 2 qualifier (3.813 sec., 314.09 mph) in the first stanza of race day. Kalitta and his nitro-fueled charge made a bold effort, but it was not enough to get the win light over his opponent, 4.299 sec., 284.99 mph to 3.865 sec., 312.42 mph.
Kalitta was inducted into the Infineon Raceway Wall of Fame on Sunday during pre-event ceremonies. Kalitta has five-career victories on the Infineon Raceway drag strip, including three consecutive (1998-2000) and two back-to-back (2004, 2005). He is one of only two NHRA drivers to ever three-peat at Infineon Raceway, the other being John Force (1990-1992). He is the winningest Top Fuel driver in the Sonoma Valley.
“Well, it was a bad day and a good day,” Kalitta, a 43-year old resident of Ann Arbor, Mich., said. “We certainly are disappointed about losing in the first round, but getting inducted into the Wall of Fame helped ease the blow a little. We’ve been struggling lately with our Mac Tools car. Sometimes you just get a little off, and it’s hard to find your way back as far as the tune-up goes, but I have all the confidence in the world in my team that we’ll get it figured out very soon.”
Kalitta is currently in 10th place in POWERade championship points. Only the top ten pro drivers in points in their respective classes will be eligible for the 2008 Countdown to the Championship – Countdown to One that begins at the 19th event in Concord, N.C. Kalitta is now nine points ahead of the driver in 11th position.
Beginning with the 13th event in Denver, the NHRA instituted a new racing distance for the nitro-fueled classes of Funny Car and Top Fuel dragster to 1,000 ft., as opposed to the traditional distance of 1,320 ft., or a quarter of a mile, as a temporary safety solution to help the drivers of the world’s quickest and fastest racing safely bring their cars to a stop more efficiently. The unprecedented action is in response to the tragic death of Kalitta Motorsports’ Scott Kalitta, Doug’s cousin, who died in a high-speed Funny Car qualifying accident in Englishtown, N.J., June 21.
Kalitta, unofficially, recorded the quickest 1,000-ft. elapsed time in NHRA history, 3.758 sec., in Joliet, Ill., in 2004.
Since winning the NHRA’s equivalent of Rookie of the Year, the Automobile Club of Southern California’s Road to the Future Award after the 1998 drag racing season, Kalitta has driven his dragster to 30 Top Fuel national event titles, which places him in sixth in career wins for the sport’s quickest and fastest class. In the past five NHRA seasons, Kalitta has solidified his place among the best Top Fuel pilots of all-time. In 2006, he won a career-high five national events in 2006 and led the POWERade points for almost the entire second half of the season. After finishing just 14 points shy of his first NHRA championship, Kalitta garnered his third career runner-up points finish in 2006. He was also points runner-up in 2003 and 2004. In 2007, he won one event – the event held in Richmond, Va.
The FRAM Autolite NHRA Nationals was the 15th event of the 2008 NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series.
