Greetings Team Kalitta fans from beautiful Sonoma Valley! It’s Saturday and there’s only one more day left in this year’s running of the famous, and probably infamous to some, Western Swing. It’s always great to visit Northern California this time of year. The weather is almost always perfect and the scenery is unmatched. For us here at Kalitta Motorsports, Sonoma is special for another reason. This is the one time of year that we get a visit from our biggest fan – Awesome Dude!
Awesome Dude, a.k.a. Mark Quinn, began his tenure as our team’s biggest fan in 1991 when he met and became friends with the “O Bros”, Jim and Jon. According to legend, or at least Jim O’s memory, it all started with a first round loss for Scott Kalitta and the team here in wine country. The O’s and the rest of the team were servicing their dragster and getting ready to load it back in the trailer for the trip back to Michigan. Jim, a cylinder head specialist at that time on Scott’s rail, and some of the other crew members, including Jon, started chatting with a fan at the ropes about race cars and all things Kalitta. The conversation was memorable for all involved and the icon that is Awesome Dude was born.
“I think the next time we saw him was in 1993. He came up to the ropes and said, ‘Hey Jim and Jon, remember me?’,” Jim O recalled. “We said yes, of course, and he thought that was awesome. Awesome Dude thinks most things are awesome…thus his nickname. We talked to him for a long while until it was time to leave again. In 1994, we came to Sonoma trying to be the first team to win four races in a row. Scott beat “Snake”, a California boy, on a holeshot in the semis. You could have heard a pin drop in this place except for one very loud cheer from the grandstands on the right-hand side – ‘Awesome…awesome…maximum slippage (Awesome Dude’s second favorite exclamation)’. Then, in the finals, we beat [Kenny] Bernstein, another Cali boy, and the place went silent again…except for that one voice on the right that was even louder – ‘Awesome! Awesome!’”
Ever since then, Awesome Dude has been a fixture in the Team Kalitta pit area in Sonoma. He gets the royal treatment, and he always brings with him a sense of optimism that is uncanny and heartfelt to the core. He also never makes a visit without bringing the team some edible local goodies. “I tried to pick him up once and give him a hug,” Jon O said. “But, he told me not to because I would hurt myself. I didn’t care. He’s such a great guy, and we look forward to Sonoma because we know he’ll be here cheering us on.”
Awesome Dude was in the winner’s circle for Scott’s wins in ’94 and ’95, and he has been there for all of Doug Kalitta’s five wins at Infineon Raceway, who, in case you haven’t heard will be inducted into Infineon Raceway’s Wall of Fame tomorrow morning. So, if you’re in attendance at Infineon in the morning for Doug’s induction, don’t be surprised if you hear an uproarious chant of “Awesome…maximum slippage” from somewhere in the crowd.
Awesome Dude is even proclaiming his catchphrase in this photo taken with Jim and Jon this morning.
Todd has left the building.