Scott Kalitta

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Scott Kalitta (born February 18, 1962 in Snead Island, Florida) is an American drag racer, currently competing in the Funny Car class in the NHRA Powerade Drag Racing Series.

Kalitta is son to veteran NHRA driver and crew chief Connie Kalitta, and is cousin to teammate Doug Kalitta.

[edit] Career

Scott Kalitta's career began in the 1980s, and he got his first win in the NHRA's premiere series in 1989 by taking the Funny Car event in Houston.

He would move to Top Fuel during the 1990s, and won his first event in this class at Topeka in 1993. He also set a national speed record at that race en route to his win.

The next two years were big for Kalitta, as he would win the Top Fuel championship both years, winning a combined 11 events. He would come back in 1996 with a second place points finish, and retired in 1997.

After an aborted comeback in 1999, Kalitta returned to Top Fuel in 2003, and in 2004 recorded another top five points finish. He would then go on to win 2 races in 2005.

For 2006, Kalitta returned to Funny Car in a Chevrolet Monte Carlo, but did not have as much success as he had in Top Fuel the previous two years. In the season, Kalitta drove his Kalitta Air-sponsored Monte Carlo and Toyota Solara (which he switched to late in the year) to a 14th place points finish, well behind eventual champion John Force.

Kalitta's 2007 Funny Car season was rather uneventful, as he missed qualifying for 7 events in his DHL-sponsored Solara and missed the inaugural NHRA Countdown to the Championship. His best finish was a semi-finals appearance at Denver in July.