Thu, 31 Jan 2002, 06:55 PM The Other Kalitta Behind the Wheel Again

By Norm Froscher

GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Is he his cousin's keeper?

Well, not exactly, but when two-time NHRA Top Fuel Champion (1994 and '95) Scott Kalitta was tracked down and asked to bring his helmet, he answered the call.

And how!

You see, Mac Tools team owner and Scott's dad Connie Kalitta and driver and nephew Doug Kalitta experienced nothing but frustration in a two-day trip to Gainesville last weekend.

Bad passes? That was hardly the start of it. Their tire-shaking machine didn't get past the 60-foot mark on Sunday, following a Saturday idled by rain.

So a two-day test became four.

First, it was thought, go on to Las Vegas, en route to Pomona for next week’s NHRA opener.

Then Connie, Doug and crew chief Jim Oberhofer huddled and figured, although the first two couldn't be present because of business commitments, they'd leave the rig in the pit and try again this week.

After all, they might open another whole can of worms in high altitude Las Vegas and they'll be back at this venue in just six weeks for the first eastern race of the POWERade/NHRA series.

But what about a Mac Tools driver? Let's keep it in the family.

So Connie tracked down son Scott, who was fortunately in not-too far away southwest Florida.

"They called me Monday," Scott said. "They had actually kind of abandoned running and Jim O was planning to go to the airport to fly back to Michigan, but he just didn't want to leave here without knowing something, so they started trying to track me down.

"I happened to be in Florida already, down in the St. Pete/Clearwater area and drove up here."

First attempt with the new chauffeur was a half-track pass at 3.262 E.T. and a speed of 198.19 mph.

Better for that first effort, while the second was de ja vu, but the third had everybody smiling

"Mainly, before the first run, they just changed the motor around a little bit to give it a little bit more power and just changed the clutch and looked for a right place to start with tire pressure, since it's a different kind of tire," Scott said.

"It wouldn't have been a great lap, but it gave them a decent baseline and something to work on," Scott said of the first pass.

The final lap had an 1/8 mile at 3.101 with a speed of 268.81 and finished out the quarter at 4.835 and 215.00 because Scott pulled the chutes early.

"It was a lot better and was pulling smoothly," Scott said. "I pulled the chutes early, but we're going in the right direction.

"Hopefully, we'll get three and maybe four runs tomorrow."

Stay tuned.