San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
Kalitta’s dragster isn’t his fastest machine
The Top Fuel dragster that Doug Kalitta is piloting at Sonoma Raceway travels more than 320 mph.
And it’s not the fastest machine he steered this weekend.
That would be the Falcon 20 twin-engine jet he flew from Michigan to Napa County Airport. It goes about 500 mph.
His nine passengers included his uncle, drag racing great Connie Kalitta, 80, a member of the Motorsports Hall of Fame.
Following Saturday’s final qualifying round, Doug Kalitta goes into Sunday’s finals of the Toyota NHRA Sonoma Nationals in ninth position. Clay Millican led a Don Schumacher Racing sweep of the top four spots with a pass of 3.70 seconds at 327.98 mph. Courtney Force was tops in Funny Car at 3.91 and 326.16 mph.
Kalitta has won at Sonoma five times, more than other Top Fuel driver in history. For that matter, he has 44 career wins, the most of any Top Fueler who hasn’t won a season title. He’s come close. He has finished second in the series four times, most recently in 2016.
“It’s very competitive out here,” he said. “I’m a tenacious guy, so I haven’t given up on my goal.” Sonoma was also the scene of his first Top Fuel win. It has been such a charmed place for Kalitta, 52, that he was added to its Wall of Fame 10 years ago.
“This is one of the nicest facilities that we run at,” he said. “Bruton Smith owns a number of them. His tracks are a step above most of the tracks we run at. We always enjoy coming here. The attention to detail is incredible. He definitely knows what it takes to keep the customers happy.”
Kalitta’s wire-rimmed glasses and a low-key demeanor would seem more fitting for an accountant than one of the
top figures in this earthshaking, ear-splitting sport. He is running fifth in the standings although he hasn’t won since the season opener in Pomona.
His interest in aviation stemmed from growing up near an Air Force base in Michigan. His charterplane company has a fleet of 48.
“When I started flying,” he said, “I thought the coolest thing was skimming the top of the clouds. That’s kind of the sensation you get driving these things.” When Funny Car driver Richard Townsend’s parachute failed to deploy Friday night, sending the car into the sand in the containment area, it was a reminder of the many safety precautions the NHRA has instituted in recent years.
In 2008, Kalitta’s cousin, Scott Kalitta, was killed after his Funny Car’s parachutes were damaged in a fire and failed to stop his car. The engine was still going through the shutdown area of the track, and the car went over a concrete retaining wall and crashed into a piece of heavy equipment.
“There’s really nothing that you’re going to hit down there that’s solid anymore in the containment area,” Kalitta said. “They’ve done it right. It’s saved a number of lives, I’m sure.”
Briefly: Greg Anderson was the top Pro Stock qualifier for the ninth time this year and the 122nd time in his career . ... Eddie Krawiec was the top qualifier in Pro Stock Motorcycle, although Matt Smith edged him in the $25,000 Mickey Thompson Tires Pro Bike Battle final. … A Top Fuel car burns a gallon of fuel every three-quarters of a second during a run.