Indianapolis Diary

Day One

By Susan Wade
8/28/03

Kalitta Kquotes

Some odd thoughts while wondering how Pro Stock Motorcycle racer Craig Treble knows, as he claims, that Jim Hughes, 2002 Super Comp champion and fellow Arizonan, wears fuzzy pink slippers . . .

Two-time Top Fuel champion Scott Kalitta (1994-95) has two things he won't tell you as he returns to competition at Indianapolis in the Mac Tools/Jesse James Dragster.

He's mum about whether Rahn Tobler will come on board as crew chief once wife Shirley Muldowney completes her farewell tour in November at Pomona.

"Rahn who?" he deadpanned.

"They're not racing next year, so I don't know what the deal is."

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He claims his father, drag racing legend Connie "Bounty Hunter" Kalitta, only will "call me once in awhile to tell me the big highlights."

He said he's "not sure" whether his dad has made an offer or reached an agreement with Tobler for 2004. "I live in Florida now, so I'm not sure what all they've been doing," he said. "In another couple of months we'll know next year's direction."

He recited his lines dutifully that his crew chiefs are "at this point, Jim O. (Oberhofer) and my dad."

He also won't say aloud how soon he thinks he'll be in winning form.

While cousin Doug Kalitta is in second place in the Top Fuel standings, 289 points behind leader Larry Dixon, Scott Kalitta knows he won't earn a third series title this year. Still, he has a goal.

"It'd be nice to win a race or two," he said. "I don't see any reason why we don't have the ability to do that. The car that I'm running is the one Doug drove in the beginning of the year, until St. Louis." It reached the winners circle twice, at Houston and Englishtown, and made his cousin No. 1 qualifier at the first five events and at seven of his eight times overall this season.

"We have two cars that have very good combinations, and they're exactly the same combination. So I think our chances are real good," Scott Kalitta said. As for how soon he thinks that first victory will come, he isn't venturing a guess. "I donít like to jinx myself," he said.

Of course, having Jesse James, founder and owner of West Coast Choppers and host of the Discovery Channelís Monster Garage, as part of the sponsorship program is, Kalitta said, "is going to bring a new level of exposure to our team and our sport. The support we are getting from Mac Tools made this all possible. I want to thank them and everyone involved with Kalitta Motorsports by winning some races before the season is done. That's the best thank-you I know."

He said James "has a huge following, and Mac Tools is putting together some Jesse James-signature tools. It'll be fun having him around and helping him promote his tools for Mac Tools."

After selling the family airline, Scott Kalitta took a couple of years off. Then he bought a marina/boatyard on Boca Ciega Bay in St. Petersburg, Fla., and has been working on craft ranging from small fishing boats to 80-foot yachts. He went to a few races since leaving the sport but said, "I'm usually ready to go (home) by Friday night." Then again, he said, his return was just as sudden. "When I did quit, I didn't intend on coming back, especially this soon," he said.

Dixon acknowledged that Scott Kalitta has winning record against him but said, "There was a four-year stretch that he pummeled everybody. Everybody had a losing record against him." He said Kalitta's return "is exciting. It's good for the sport. The more names you got out there, the better. He didn't come back to Brainerd to start a season; he came back to Indy. Well, his cousin won at Brainerd, so he's probably happy about Brainerd."

Doug Kalitta said he's happy about his new teammate. "Our shop was set up for two cars, so we're not cramming things into small spaces." he said. "It's going to be nice to see more competition out there."

Whether the rest of his competition thinks it's peachy is another matter.