Drag racing pays respects and supports the Kalitta family

In case you missed watching the the 2nd annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals in Norwalk, Ohio, ESPN2 will re-air the race on July 4th from 3:00:00 AM - 5:00:00 AM ET. The outpouring of support for Scott Kalitta's family was amazing. From the memorial decals on the cars and the black stripe across the car numbers, to the emotional interviews with drivers, the warmth and sincerity of the drag racing community came together in an amazing way. Several winning drivers are donating their Norwalk Wallys (event trophys) to Scott Kalitta's children.

Updated July 2, 2008

Kalitta Racing has asked the public for patience as they make arrangements for online sales of the official Scott Kalitta tribute decal.

Kalitta Racing has announced that the official Scott Kalitta tribute decal and t-shirt are now available for purchase through their website.

David Goricki of the The Detroit News captured some of the tributes in his article:

On Saturday, fans were able to write down their feelings on a large banner left in front of the Kalitta pit. Kevin Knapp of Wellington, Ohio, has taken his son, Kyle, to watch drag racing for more than 20 years. They paid respects to Scott by signing the banner before qualifying started.

"Drag racing is an awesome sport," said Kyle, 27. "I feel bad for them. Connie Kalitta is one of the pioneers of Top Fuel.

"I stopped Scott when he was here four years ago and told him...

You can read the rest of David Goricki's article at the Detroit News

Tags: Norwalk, Scott Kalitta

Robert Hight fast qualifier in Funny Car at Norwalk

Robert Hight drove his Automobile Club of Southern California Mustang to the number one qualifying position at the 2nd annual Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals in Norwalk, Ohio today.  Hight's 4.882 second E.T. at 309.77 MPH in Saturday's final qualifying session.  The Fuel Funny Car qualifying field had 0.318 second spread by the end of qualifying.

The event was plagued with water issues.  On Friday, qualifying was cancelled after the first PSM round when water began seeping out of the track near the finish line.  The Norwalk area has had more than a foot of rain in the last week and the water percolates to the surface has the day warms up.  Track officials worked for over five hours to dry the track before giving up.  Saturday qualifying was put on hold twice due to rain, but the track workers were able to dry the track and complete Saturday's scheduled sessions.

Melanie Troxel and Gary Scelzi will not be racing on Sunday, as both were disqualified for having loose ballast in their cars.  NHRA disqualified both drivers from the event when the loose weight was discovered after their qualifying runs in the first session.

Qualifying results and Sunday's first round elimination pairings are:

Position  Driver               E.T.        MPH

1      Robert Hight         4.882      309.77
16    Mike Neff              5.200      224.43

2    Ron Capps              4.909      297.42
15  Jerry Toliver            5.085      278.12

3    Tim Wilkerson         4.910      304.32
14  Tommy Johnson Jr.  5.064      288.95

4    Bob Tasca III           4.932      303.64
13  Tony Bartone           5.007      260.11

5    Jack Beckman          4.965      300.26
12  Cruz Pedregon         4.995      296.83

6    Tony Pedregon        4.975      276.35
11  Jim Head                 4.994      295.34

7    Del Worsham           4.977      302.14
10  John Force               4.988      274.11

8    Ashley Force            4.980      290.07
9    Gary Densham         4.983      297.29

Timing and scoring data courtesy of NHRA.

Tags: NHRA, Norwalk, Robert Hight