KALITTAS RETURN TO ETOWN
Wed, 2009-06-10 23:35
It's been a year and still the wound is open and sore.
It was at Englishtown last year when the racing world lost a great driver, a great champion, a great husband and father, and just a great all around person – Scott Kalitta.
Now it's time to go back.
There may be only one man alive who can truly feel the depth of the pain from that fateful day in Englishtown, N.J. – Connie Kalitta, Scott's 71 year old father and drag racing legend. Losing a son is tough on anyone; losing that son to a sport that has given and now taken so much can be devastating. Still, the “Bounty Hunter” soldiers on. He does what he knows to do and that is go racing.
It was at Englishtown last year when the racing world lost a great driver, a great champion, a great husband and father, and just a great all around person – Scott Kalitta.
Now it's time to go back.
There may be only one man alive who can truly feel the depth of the pain from that fateful day in Englishtown, N.J. – Connie Kalitta, Scott's 71 year old father and drag racing legend. Losing a son is tough on anyone; losing that son to a sport that has given and now taken so much can be devastating. Still, the “Bounty Hunter” soldiers on. He does what he knows to do and that is go racing.
“The best way for us to honor Scott’s memory and his legacy is to continue to do what he loved, and what we love to do – Go racing,” Connie said. “We will go into this weekend in Englishtown with our heads held high and remember Scott for what he accomplished both on and off of the race track and most importantly we will be thinking of Scott’s greatest accomplishment, his family; his wife, Kathy, and his boys, Corey and Colin.”
It's been a year and still the wound is open and sore.
It was at Englishtown last year when the racing world lost a great driver, a great champion, a great husband and father, and just a great all around person – Scott Kalitta.
Now it's time to go back.
There may be only one man alive who can truly feel the depth of the pain from that fateful day in Englishtown, N.J. – Connie Kalitta, Scott's 71 year old father and drag racing legend. Losing a son is tough on anyone; losing that son to a sport that has given and now taken so much can be devastating. Still, the “Bounty Hunter” soldiers on. He does what he knows to do and that is go racing.
Scott is survived by Connie, Kathy, and sons, Corey, 15, and Colin, 9. Scott was 46.
Jeff Arend drives the DHL Toyota Funny Car which still carries Scott's name across the side window. Arend stepped into the ride last year at the U.S. Nationals in O'Reilly's Park in Indianapolis. It was a moving day for the Canadian driver who now calls Las Vegas home.
“Indy was probably tougher emotionally on me than going to Englishtown this year, although I didn’t realize it until right after the first qualifying session and then the flow of emotions hit me pretty hard,” said Arend. “Englishtown is obviously going to be tough but my focus now is on winning rather than not making any mistakes with a new team. However, I’m sure that what I feel is going to pale in comparison to what the entire Kalitta organization is going to be going through.
“There is nothing better than seeing Connie get excited after we make a good lap and I hope to have him smiling all weekend. We have everything we need to win the race. I hope that Scott can give us a hand from above this weekend.”
Also driving under the Kalitta banner is Doug Kalitta, Scott's cousin. Doug drivers the Kalitta Motorsports Top Fuel dragster. Doug admits a day doesn't go by when doesn't stop for just a moment to remember his cousin and those he left behind.
“It’s hard to believe it’s already been a year,” Doug said. “I think about Scott, his wife Kathy, and his sons Corey and Colin every day. He was definitely one of a kind and we all miss him a lot. I think the best way to honor his memory is to keep doing what we’re doing and keep trying to race as hard as we can.
For Doug, there is comfort in knowing the sport has changed for the better because of the incident.
“NHRA drag racing has changed in many ways since Scott’s accident, and there’ve been some big strides made in making all of the tracks safer. There are still many things that need to be addressed, but we’re all pushing forward to make our sport as safe as we can.”
It was at Englishtown last year when the racing world lost a great driver, a great champion, a great husband and father, and just a great all around person – Scott Kalitta.
Now it's time to go back.
There may be only one man alive who can truly feel the depth of the pain from that fateful day in Englishtown, N.J. – Connie Kalitta, Scott's 71 year old father and drag racing legend. Losing a son is tough on anyone; losing that son to a sport that has given and now taken so much can be devastating. Still, the “Bounty Hunter” soldiers on. He does what he knows to do and that is go racing.
It was at Englishtown last year when the racing world lost a great driver, a great champion, a great husband and father, and just a great all around person – Scott Kalitta.
Now it's time to go back.
There may be only one man alive who can truly feel the depth of the pain from that fateful day in Englishtown, N.J. – Connie Kalitta, Scott's 71 year old father and drag racing legend. Losing a son is tough on anyone; losing that son to a sport that has given and now taken so much can be devastating. Still, the “Bounty Hunter” soldiers on. He does what he knows to do and that is go racing.
“The best way for us to honor Scott’s memory and his legacy is to continue to do what he loved, and what we love to do – Go racing,” Connie said. “We will go into this weekend in Englishtown with our heads held high and remember Scott for what he accomplished both on and off of the race track and most importantly we will be thinking of Scott’s greatest accomplishment, his family; his wife, Kathy, and his boys, Corey and Colin.”
It's been a year and still the wound is open and sore.
It was at Englishtown last year when the racing world lost a great driver, a great champion, a great husband and father, and just a great all around person – Scott Kalitta.
Now it's time to go back.
There may be only one man alive who can truly feel the depth of the pain from that fateful day in Englishtown, N.J. – Connie Kalitta, Scott's 71 year old father and drag racing legend. Losing a son is tough on anyone; losing that son to a sport that has given and now taken so much can be devastating. Still, the “Bounty Hunter” soldiers on. He does what he knows to do and that is go racing.
Scott is survived by Connie, Kathy, and sons, Corey, 15, and Colin, 9. Scott was 46.
Jeff Arend drives the DHL Toyota Funny Car which still carries Scott's name across the side window. Arend stepped into the ride last year at the U.S. Nationals in O'Reilly's Park in Indianapolis. It was a moving day for the Canadian driver who now calls Las Vegas home.
“Indy was probably tougher emotionally on me than going to Englishtown this year, although I didn’t realize it until right after the first qualifying session and then the flow of emotions hit me pretty hard,” said Arend. “Englishtown is obviously going to be tough but my focus now is on winning rather than not making any mistakes with a new team. However, I’m sure that what I feel is going to pale in comparison to what the entire Kalitta organization is going to be going through.
“There is nothing better than seeing Connie get excited after we make a good lap and I hope to have him smiling all weekend. We have everything we need to win the race. I hope that Scott can give us a hand from above this weekend.”
Also driving under the Kalitta banner is Doug Kalitta, Scott's cousin. Doug drivers the Kalitta Motorsports Top Fuel dragster. Doug admits a day doesn't go by when doesn't stop for just a moment to remember his cousin and those he left behind.
“It’s hard to believe it’s already been a year,” Doug said. “I think about Scott, his wife Kathy, and his sons Corey and Colin every day. He was definitely one of a kind and we all miss him a lot. I think the best way to honor his memory is to keep doing what we’re doing and keep trying to race as hard as we can.
For Doug, there is comfort in knowing the sport has changed for the better because of the incident.
“NHRA drag racing has changed in many ways since Scott’s accident, and there’ve been some big strides made in making all of the tracks safer. There are still many things that need to be addressed, but we’re all pushing forward to make our sport as safe as we can.”
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