godspeed 
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gevRq1Q5ccWq260Xzhxnu7cGVP-wD91EODUG1
video
rip
wow
RIP
RIP
RIP thats very sad to see. And i find it very weird that there is not a longer/deeper sand pit at the end of that track there, but yet just a wall. remember last year when john force wrecked bad. there was a longer sand pit at the end of the track where he just sunk in it right away. not a wall.
damn R.I.P.
R.I.P that wall at the end is just crazy.
RIP
Yes it is a sad day in the racing world. Anyone know how far from the braking zone that wall was? It seems rather closeâŚespecially from 200+ mph.
Wow. Rest in Peace.
R.I.P
although it is not as big of a sand trap as some traps, itâs not as small as youâd think. believe me, i was standing at the end of that track where it happened about 5 weeks ago. the sand trap needed to stop that car at the speed it was going would be insanely long. Iâm sure the big question with the NHRA and with the Kalitta family will be why the chutes did not deploy as they are engineered to when the body blows off during a catastrophic engine failure such as this.
Itâs a horrible shame, but at least he went out doing what he loved to do. Iâm sure this will bring even more safety improvements to the cars just like when eric medlen passed away last year.
very upsetting.
I just watched the video and it gave me chills to see a car explode like that with a person inside.
R.I.P Scott.
R.I.P.
RIP
holy hell. That sucks. I cant even imagine having friends and family at the track to watch a race and something so tragic to happen. I know NHRA will do everything it can to find out why it went so wrong and will make to sport safer for everyone else in his memory. I cant believe I was there last weekend, and am going to the national event next weekend. There will be a somber erie feeling Iâm sure.
RIP Scott.
Interesting developments regarding what safety changes should be madeâŚsince major safety revisions in any motorsports tend to occur only after a well recognized driver is lost.
Ah, racing in the Great State of Noo Joisey means that the state police are already involved and running an investigation. They expect to have results in the next two to four weeks.
From this morningâs Home News Tribune, a local rag:
http://www.mycentraljersey.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080622/SPORTS/806220380/1003/rss01
OLD BRIDGE âThe New Jersey State Police are investigating the fiery crash that took the life of National Hot Rod Association drag racer Scott Kalitta on Saturday at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park.
âWeâre in the process of investigating the accident,â said Sgt. Julian Castellanos, a spokesman for the state police. âIt could be anywhere between two to four weeks depending on where the investigation takes us. Weâre not going to clarify any part of the accident at this time.â
The track owner probably should not have said this:
"Raceway Park President Michael Napp said the post serves as support for the safety net thatâs designed to âcatch a carâ if it fails to brake before the end of the track.
Napp said the distance between the quarter-mile finish line and the sand trap is âprobably a little less than a half-mile.â
âI donât know the exact number but we have a quarter-mile track and probably a little less than a half-mile to stop,â Napp said. âIt used to be longer but when they (the NHRA) took the track away to put in the gravel and safety net, which makes sense, you took some of the track away to put that there. Without that gravel thereâs more (track) than that.â
Napp, whose family has owned Raceway Park since it opened in 1965, said track officials took further precautions to ensure the safety of the drivers by setting sand-filled pails in front of the curved concrete wall and post.
While Napp said he would welcome any other safety precautions the NHRA would suggest, he said repositioning the post wasnât an option.
âThereâs things that I think that Iâll keep to myself about moving the pole location,â Napp said. "Sure, moving it is a great thing. Letâs put it on the other side of the planet. But thereâs balancing acts about that. But Iâll let them review the evidence that they have and come back with suggestions.
âLook, we have to leave the poles where they are. They have to stay there in order for the nets to work effectively. So now maybe what we do is protect the poles better. There were days when there wasnât any nets or gravel back there. So they came to us and said we need to install that, we did, and that was installed in the early 90s.â
Napp said Raceway Park is âa very safe facility,â and pointed to the lack of a fatality in â25 yearsâ as proof.
âMost of the facilities are similar in design,â Napp said. "I donât believe the NHRA would run here if we werenât up to snuff. Since weâre old weâve been part of the involvement of safety in the sport. Iâm always open to anything about safety.
âCertainly weâve handled enough NHRA events to present a facility that theyâre comfortable with. We are a very standard facility. Weâre not the longest track, weâre not the shortest track; weâre right in the middle. I think the circumstances have very little to do with anything other than what was a very serious mishap.â
Napp said when âeverythingâs going wellâ with a race car, âthere were guys that stopped without parachutes and came out fineâ on Saturday.
âWho knows? The explosion, the shock, maybe not being awake, maybe he couldnât see because of the fire,â Napp said, explaining possible reasons of the accident. âWho knows? But itâs obviously a terribly sad day for the Kalitta family and we at Raceway Park share in their condolences.â
canât watch the video at work, but that sucks big time.