RIP Lil Bounty Hunter!

[wkmac]

I speak of Scott Kalitta, son of the infamous "Bounty Hunter" Connie Kalitta of drag racing fame. Scott was killed yesterday in the 4th round of qualifying at the NHRA race in Englishtown NJ. I've seen the video onetime of the crash and it was horrific to say the least. I've seen numerous crashes over the years but this one had to be the worse and the one with the thought of "there's no chance he survived." From the comments of Jerry Toliver as he talked with Connie after the crash, sounds like Scott died instantly.

For those who have not seen the video, it looked like a good run which ironically got Scott into the show but the car exploded in the lights and sheared the backhalf of the body off. From the fire which was fed by oil from the color, I would think at first the engine kicked a rod or maybe hydraulic'd but the explosion was more like a bad blower explosion but whatever the chassis stayed in tack. At this point, the car never braked nor did Scott drop the laundry (chute deploy) so the car ran off the end of the track at speed, through the sand pit and into the trees where there was a huge explosion. The fireball was shocking to say the least. I have to believe for now that Scott was knocked out when the car blew in the lights and was just along for the tragic ride at that point,

I've been a fan of drag racing since picking up my first copies of Hot Rod, Car Craft and Super Stock and Drag Illustrated back in the 60's. It always hurts to loose anyone but after so much had been done with FC's as a result of Eric Medlen's death and then Force surviving what shoud have killed him, you have this false sense that maybe tragic events were a thing of the past. Boy was that ever wrong thinking!

Watching Gary Sclezi come apart on camera yesterday was a real reality check. I know Scott drove for the competition (DHL) but when he went to the finals at the last race, I'll admit I was very happy for him. Scott will be greatly missed in my book!

Lee Shepard, Darrel Russell, Blaine Johnson, Eric Medlen and now the Lil' Bounty Hunter. I bet the drags on Saturday night in Heaven are just awesome! Last Call to Staging Lanes!

 

[wkmac]

Just out of the lights as the backhalf of the body is tearing away. Source point of the flame is the engine area. Oil fires tend to have lots of yellow color and this has lots of white. Maybe nitro fed but will have to wait on the experts to give us a root cause. I hope the on-board computer data survived.

For those unfamilar with Funny Cars, if you look at the pic and where you see the wing sidepod with Red Line Oil written, that's the general area where Scott is strapped in. Keep in mind that the body is buckled up and that normally he'd be about lined up with the 319 written on the side window. In fact if you look on the roof you can see the roof hatch popped up and this is generally a bit forward of where the driver sits.

Scott ran a 4.97 at 300 mph as the car came apart.

 

[BrownShark]

WKMAC,

Your need to post repetitiously sometimes knows no bounds.

With Scott Kalitta, you said his chute didnt deploy, yet if you actually watch the video, you will see that it did.

You come to baseless conclusions about what happened to cause this, yet its really simple. A pure blower failure and top end explosion.

Nitromethane is very flammable, more flammable than oil. Your oil conclusions or suggestions are also baseless.

The blower is filled with high explosive nitromethane and once a blower fails, the blower will house an extreme level of combustable fuel and the heat alone will set it off.

Oil will not cause the top end of the engine to fail. You are looking at a still photo and drawing some conclusion that is wrong. The engine explodes at the top end bout 1/4 of the way down the track, then showing the flames of the fuel mixing with the air (which makes the flames yellow) and then after hitting the retaining wall at the end of the track (another stupid piece of designing)you see the fuel tank explode on impact confirming the same yellow flames.

Look for the chute, and its always a sad day when any american loses his life, not just in racing.

 

[hseofpayne]

Scott Kalitta died in a horrific accident. His family, friends, and fans will mourn his loss. This is not the time or place to insert politics or personal issues. Let the man rest in peace.

 

[bellesotico]

WKmac,

I'm really unfamiliar with racing. This was indeed tragic. I appreciate your explanation in laymans terms. Your post was informative for someone who knows nothing about the racing, yet sensitive.

on the other hand...

BS..

I'm sorry, but I don't get the point of your post.

 

[tourists24]

WKmac,


BS..

I'm sorry, but I don't get the point of your post.

Belle,,, Brown has some odd desire to show exactly how smart he is.... he must be compensating for a lack of something else.??? Jerry Clower came up with a saying that fits him perfectly "Sir, you are educated beyond your intelligence"

 

[toonertoo]

I agree, let the fans mourn. Godspeed to the family.
BS Your intro sentence said nothing of value.
And took away from your post.

 

[wkmac]

WKmac,

I'm really unfamiliar with racing. This was indeed tragic. I appreciate your explanation in laymans terms. Your post was informative for someone who knows nothing about the racing, yet sensitive.

Your welcome Bellesotico. I consider the source of the comments you guys questioned and even some of the comments themselves. It's no big deal as far as I'm concerned. I posted about Scott because I knew there were several drag fans here at BC and UPS has a presence in the sport itself. So as a current event, I felt it timely and of interest to some. I still stand behind everything I said so I'll leave it at that.