Veteran driver Doug Kalitta has raised several trophies in the winner’s circle at Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis.
However those trophies were earned a couple of decades ago when he was winning races and championships in the USAC Sprint Car Series.
Kalitta raced to victories on the historic multi-purpose motorsports complex’s asphalt oval in 1992 and 1996. It is the same track where motorsports icons like A.J. Foyt, Parnelli Jones, Al Unser, Tony Stewart and Jeff Gordon have also scored victories.
While Kalitta takes great pride in his many USAC accomplishments, his focus in motorsports has now changed. These days he wants to etch his name in a different record book, next to the biggest legends of NHRA drag racing who have won the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals, the world’s most prestigious drag race: Don “The Snake” Prudhomme, Shirley Muldowney, “Big Daddy” Don Garlits, Bob Glidden and Tom “The Mongoose” McEwen.
Kalitta has raced to two runner-up finishes at the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals during his career and hopes that this season will be the time when he finally breaks through and gets the job done over on the championship drag strip at Lucas Oil Raceway.
The tradition-rich NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series event will be held Aug. 31-Sept. 5 and will be showcased during more than 10 hours of coverage by ESPN2 HD. Larry Dixon (Top Fuel), Ashley Force Hood (Funny Car), Greg Stanfield (Pro Stock) and LE Tonglet (Pro Stock Motorcycle) are the defending winners of the Labor Day weekend classic.
“It would go to the top of my racing resume,” said Kalitta about earning a Mac Tools U.S. Nationals victory. “Winning Indy is every racer’s dream. I remember when Connie (Kalitta, uncle and team owner) won Indy in 1994. I know it’s his favorite trophy as a driver and he got his first NHRA trophy in 1967.”
When told that if he could win the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals he would be the only driver in history to win major races on both the drag strip and the oval at the legendary facility, the reserved Kalitta said in his laid-back style, “I hadn’t really thought about it, but that would be a cool statistic.”
As the three-time world championship runner-up heads to the last race of the regular season and prepares for the start of the six-race Countdown to the Championship playoffs, which get under way in mid-September, he’s facing the prospect of ending his 13-year final round streak. He’s hoping to turn that around during the course of the last seven races this season. He’d like to finish the year with a few finals and at least one or two victories. And, if everything goes his way, perhaps even a world championship title.
Tickets are available for the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals presented by Lucas Oil. Call (800) 884-NHRA (6472), or online at www.NHRATIX.com.
