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NHRA: Doug Kalitta Wants to Celebrate Birthday with a Win in Brainerd

13 August 1998

BRAINERD, Minn. - Just about a month ago rookie Top Fuel driver Doug Kalitta won his first NHRA National event in Sonoma, Calif. He doesn't want to be greedy, but he would like to have a repeat of that weekend when he gets to the NHRA VisionAire NorthStar Nationals at Brainerd International Raceway next weekend (August 21-23). Getting the second win of his short career would make a great belated birthday present.

Kalitta, who turns 34 on August 20, took over the driving chores on the American International Airways/Kitty Hawk entry after his uncle Connie Kalitta extended his driving hiatus and his cousin, two-time Winston Top Fuel Champion Scott Kalitta, retired at the end of last season. It was the break Doug had been waiting for a long time.

A racer since he was 9 years old, Doug started out on motorcycles and go- carts before moving to midget and sprint cars where he enjoyed much success. Driving the Kalitta Flying Service midget entry in 1990, Kalitta earned ARCA/WWAR Rookie of the Year honors and two victories. He kept busy in 1991 by competing in both the midget and a sprint car in the USAC series where he again was named midget Rookie of the Year. In addition to seven sprint car victories, Kalitta collected the 1994 USAC National Sprint Car Championship. He also has 14 midget titles to his credit. Before the dragster position came up late last year, he was trying his hand at stock car racing in the ARCA Bondo/Mar-Hyde Series.

Kalitta, a resident of Ann Arbor, Mich., has made a smooth transition from the round track to the straight track. Currently number seven in the Winston points chase, Kalitta has qualified for all but one event this season. His first final round appearance came in just his seventh start in the dragster. After qualifying number two for the Castrol Lone Star Nationals in May, Kalitta went on to record low elapsed time of every round as well as low e.t. of the meet. The day ended when Joe Amato used a holeshot in the final round to take the win.

It was a lesson Kalitta didn't forget. At the Autolite Nationals last month, Kalitta used a holeshot against Bruce Sarver in the final to earn his first win. Not just a win, though, a sweep, as Kalitta also qualified number one and had low e.t. and top speed of the meet.

To win the VisionAire NorthStar Nationals Kalitta will have to hold off the rest of the field. One challenger who will be new to the field this season will be Kalitta's team owner, his uncle Connie. A veteran of over 30 years, Connie has not raced since April of last year when he took time off to tend to business. Making his comeback at this event, Connie would like to recapture the event title he won here in 1985 when he swept the competition.

"I think it's great that Connie is coming back," said Doug of his uncle's return. "It's great to see him getting back to something he loves to do. The first time we run against each other will be a special thing for me. But, I have to look at him as another competitor that I have to beat."

When he's not at the racetrack, Doug can be found at American International Airways, a division of Kitty Hawk, Inc., where he is the vice president of Central and South American operations. Doug is also a pilot for the company and is rated for DC-8, Learjet and Hawker aircraft. Like his racing career, Doug also got an early start in aviation. Receiving his Learjet rating in 1985 at the age of 21 made him one of the youngest persons to achieve the goal.

In addition to Connie's win here, Scott was the runner-up in 1994. Ed "the Ace" McCulloch, crew chief for Doug, had 49 final round appearances in Funny Car and Top Fuel before joining the team. Three of those came here at BIR as he won the Funny Car title in 1989 and had runner-up finishes in 1986 and 1990.

Professional qualifying for the 17th annual VisionAire NorthStar Nationals will begin on Friday, August 21 with sessions at 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. Qualifying will conclude on Saturday with sessions scheduled for 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. Final eliminations will begin on Sunday, August 23 at 11 a.m. ESPN2 coverage of the event includes live first round action beginning Sunday at 11:30 a.m. (EDT) and final round coverage beginning at 8 p.m. (EDT).