Scott Kalitta killed in tragic crash at Englishtown race

Funny Car driver Scott Kalitta, age 46, passed away this afternoon as a result of a tragic crash at the Lucas Oil NHRA SuperNationals in Englishtown, NJ. The crash occurred during the fourth round of qualifying at the track where Scott started his drag racing career. Near the end of the run, he had a huge, fiery engine explosion, blowing the body off of the car. The car then went off the end of the track, hit the safety net, then burst into a large fireball, possibly striking the camera crane.

Scott Kalitta was transported to Old Bridge Township Hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.

The remaining racing was canceled for the rest of the day. ESPN2 continued their scheduled final round qualifying coverage with NHRA drivers eulogizing Scott Kalitta.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to the Kalitta family, friends and everyone at Kalitta Racing during this tragic experience.

Updated 9:31 PM, 6/21/08

Scott is survived by his wife Kathy, sons Corey, age 14, and Colin, age 8, and father Connie Kalitta.

You can review Scott's NHRA career on his page at NHRA.com

Tags: Englishtown, Scott Kalitta, Supernationals

Lucas Oil NHRA SuperNationals – Friday report

OLD BRIDGE TOWNSHIP -- If you could have put $100 on un sponsored veteran driver Jim Head outrunning John Force and the rest of the Funny Car field at Raceway Park, you could be arranging a very nice vacation today.

Head shocked the fans and his fellow competitors by taking the provisional top spot in Funny Car with a 4.803-second run in qualify ing yesterday for the 39th annual Lucas Oil Supernationals at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park...

Read Bill Huneke's full Friday recap in The Times

Mr. Huneke does a great job of capturing the changes in qualifying during Friday's sessions in all of the pro classes. All the drivers interviewed expressed how happy they were with the track and the conditions too. It should be a great weekend of racing.

Tags: Englishtown, Jim Head, Supernationals

Raceway Park hosting NHRA SuperNationals

As one of the National Hot Rod Association's (NHRA) original seven national events, Raceway Park is a major player in drag racing history.

Since the Old Bridge track first hosted an NHRAevent in 1968, the best racers in the sport have left their mark on the quarter mile drag strip. This weekend, when Raceway Park hosts the 39th annual Lucas Oil SuperNationals, racers will be looking to add to Raceway Park tradition.

There will be many...

Read the full story at the Examiner

Tags: Englishtown, Supernationals