Happy 2009! I hope everyone’s New Year has gotten off to a good start. I know my 2008 ended well.
As you probably know, my team and I were in Australia racing to end our year. Our intention was to win the first ever Scott Kalitta Memorial Trophy given at Western Sydney International Dragway. We were determined to bring back the trophy to honor our fallen teammate. We shipped our dragster that we had so much success with this past season and as much stuff as we could possible fit in a container to Sydney. Crew Chief, Jim Oberhofer, assistant crew chief Troy Fasching, team members Tom Davis, Dave Griffiths, Steve Watts, Todd Myers, and Chris (Caveman) Butler all were willing to forgo their Christmas and New Year holidays at home for some racing Down Under.
We were all ready to do some winning and bring that trophy back to Scott’s family. However, our formerly faithful and docile dragster was not ready. Maybe he missed Mac Savage, Chris Glass, Trucker Mike LaJoice, Jerry Cook, and Colby Campbell who normally work on the car, too. (I know we all missed them a lot.) Our dragster just did not want to forgo his holiday snuggled up in the KB Racing trailer. On qualifying day, he would not go down the track. He didn’t even want to start, nor did he want to leave the pit area. We have never had so many problems. My team did everything they could to make him behave. They were working really hard. To make matters worse it was extremely hot and humid outside.
Even on race day, our dragster didn’t want to snap out of his laziness. In the first round, I didn’t go two inches off the starting line before smoking the tires. Thankfully, Scott helped us out, and our opponent had mechanical problems and never staged his car so we had a single. In the second round, my stubborn and lazy dragster started to wake up a little. He nearly made it to half track before smoking the tires, but I wasn’t going to let him decide the race was over. I gave the throttle a pedal and then kept it smashed down. That was a bit of payback to him for being so lazy, but we got the win light. (Scott helped us on that one, too.) In the final, our good ole dragster finally realized we weren’t playing around, woke up a little, and went down the track. He made extra work for himself by spinning his tires most of the way down but at least we made it 1320 feet and got the win light. It was awesome! We ended the 2008 racing season on high note. We did it in honor of Scott, and he was very much with us for the whole thing.
And I still love my dragster, even though he gave us so much grief. I loved every second I got to sit in him, even when we had to wait through the rain delay before the final. I was all suited up and strapped in the car. The track temp was nearly 150 degrees so I was a little bit hot and sweaty in there, but I didn’t care. I was in Australia, a country I’ve always wanted to visit, and having the opportunity to do what I love. I was very content. I looked up in the stands and there were a lot of fans sitting through the sticky heat and rain. They all looked happy and anxiously waiting for the finals.
The fans there are so great. They all seemed excited to have our team there. They were very welcoming. All the other racers and teams were very friendly as well.
The Read Family was very, very welcoming to our entire team and my family. Jim Read is the track manager at WSID and he made it possible for us to go there and try for the Scott Kalitta Memorial Trophy. His wife, Denise, made sure our accommodations were just right. I have been friends with his son’s Bruce and Phil Read since I joined Kalitta Motorsports because they come over here a lot. They have a two-car race team and we pitted in between them in a hospitality-style tent. They were great hosts. Phil’s wife, Julie, kept their two teams and ours fed with great food all weekend. The Read Family was good friends with Scott. They were great hosts and we def couldn’t have won without them. We appreciated everything.
I also appreciated having my family there. My Dad, his wife, Chris, my sister, Jessica, my twin brother’s Austin and Kevin flew in on the 23rd. I was supposed to be on their flight from San Francisco to Sydney but my flight was way late getting into SFO so my family had to leave without me. I had a wonderful day in San Francisco though, but that’s a whole other story. Having my family in Australia meant a lot to me. It’s the first time I’ve won in Top Fuel with them in attendance. Also, we really needed their help. My brother, Austin, did parts washing and anything the guys needed him to do. I put my Dad to work helping me with chutes and strapping me in the car. Kevin, organized the T-shirts for selling. Jessica and Chris helped sell. It was cool working with my family again. It was like old times. Chris, Jessica, and Kevin got great suite seating for watching the race thanks to Denise Read. Caveman’s wife, Betsey, went along with her dad, Mike, managed the T-shirt sales. We brought in a lot of revenue that will all go to Scott’s charities.
The entire trip was a great experience. I will forever be grateful for the opportunity to do something like that. Mostly I loved getting the win for Connie, Kathy, Cory, and Colin Kalitta. It wasn’t easy, but we overcame a lot of adversity and that’s what my team is best at doing.