Class is ...Doug Kalitta... (1 Viewer)

[downtime]

The look on Doug's face said it all. He was "there". The odds of someone setting the national ET record and winning the race, despite all the brains and money behind the Army car, were in Doug's favor. He ran a good race and almost made it to the final round himself. The number of things that can go wrong is so huge that even a great tuner like AJ had to really pull one out to make it all happen in the manner that it did.

A point in the first race of the season is just as valuable as a point in the last race. That is just the way it works.

Team Schumacher put on one of the most incredible performances I have ever seen in drag racing.

For Doug Kalitta to even look at a camera at that moment took an incredible amount of strength and class. I have been there (but not at that level), during various sporting events in my life. It is like the whole world falls out from under your feet, then you just get numb for awhile... The next morning it is even worse when you start to relive what happened. It eats at you.

team kalitta will be back and I believe they will be stronger because of this but that does not make the pill any less bitter to swallow. My hat is off not only to team kalitta but to all the teams in the hunt and to the champions who also exhibited class.

 

[willy]

Well said, Ted.

 

[BaldyLochs]

It's certainly a defining moment. I couldn't help but wonder what Doug (or Tony) was thinking at that precise momen (granted Tony was just thinking about stopping LOL) but.... can you imagine? You had to be prepared to either be really happy and talk to ESPN2; or the complete opposite and still talk to ESPN2. I noticed Dougie's wife & kids were right there with him and Shoe's family probably 6 feet away. What a way to end the traditional points system though, huh? 2 great Top fuel names

 

[gw 64 savoy]

That had to be a tough pill to swallow, especially in the public eye, it said a lot about Doug, the way he handled it, class all the way.

 

[Jake]

What did you expect him to say,"Aw shucks, I guess it wasn't my year?"

I was just stating what I saw on tv, and if you quoted the rest of what I wrote it said I wouldn't have even been around the cameras I would have been so upset. I never expected him to say or do anything.

 

["Dr. Dirt"]

A point in the first race of the season is just as valuable as a point in the last race. That is just the way it works.

Actually that's not true next year but your point is well taken.
I was rooting for Doug, Force and Andrew and after winning two of the three you'd of thought I'd be ecstatic? I'm just sick for Doug.

 

[afx421]

congrats to the enitre kalitta motorsports team. dougie and crew have NOTHING to hang thier heads about. you dont have to have a # 1 on your car to be a champion. that whole team and doug are champs in my book!!!!

 

[BaldyLochs]

The more I think about it, this years Top Fuel points run was reeeaaaaly spectacular. I kind of wish I was more of an open-minded fan and not so friggin Kalitta-biased so I could just enjoy the pure sportsmanship of it. Very entertaining - and I thank ALL the big teams for that.

 

[Four Kalitta]

The more I think about it, this years Top Fuel points run was reeeaaaaly spectacular. I kind of wish I was more of an open-minded fan and not so friggin Kalitta-biased so I could just enjoy the pure sportsmanship of it. Very entertaining - and I thank ALL the big teams for that.

Chris,
There is nothing wrong with being Kalitta-biased. I think there might be quite a few of us!!

 

[DLB]

Every once in a while you go away from a contest thinking "It's a shame someone had to lose at all."
That was the case for me yesterday.
Doug got beat by AJ then had his title hopes dissolved by AJ in the final?

No discredit to Mel whatsoever Kurt. I was giving credit where it was due in the tuneup-speculating that the teams talk to one another given the championship implications.

In another thread in response to "so Coil and Johnson win again?"

Really?
Really?
The numbers demonstrated that Coil had the inferior tune up to Todd's. Anyone could have seen that from Beckman's record run. I believe someone who knows how this sport works would understand that it was clearly decided at the starting line by the superior driver?

As I see it, AJ WAS the sole determining factor in T/F. Without the record, Kalitta would have earned his championship but AJ stole it away fair and square. I would love to see AJ make a move next year. Oh, Please!!!!

Doc -
I have absolutely nothing against you, but you are just contradicting yourself for the sake of who you want to? Why? If Mel won on the holeshot, it would be (in your words) "because she was the superior and it was decided at the starting line." Rahn obviously had the better tune up than Richard, so what gives? Either you accept this, or you don't.

Like I said, I am not trying to pick anything with you, and I definitely don't want any hard feelings, but I don't see how you get off saying Force was superior driver, but Mel's must have been the tune-up just because who they were racing (and it was a holeshot win). IMO, Doug is consistently the best Top Fuel driver out there, but he went down this time. Force red-lighted this year, remember? Stuff happens.

And I completely understand you saying you were discrediting Mel, I red that - but you still are trying to fight the argument for your sake because you just don't like the Schumacher/Johnson combo (yes, Schumacher actually drives the car, even though god tunes it. )

 

[Bullet]

My phone call to my wife right after the numbers flashed up on the board contained a lot more than one expletive....

I felt so sad for Doug, and still do, like I said in another post, i really felt like crying for him.... just a tough way for it to happen.

Let's hope they can be right there next year.

 

[Rollout96]

The more I think about it, this years Top Fuel points run was reeeaaaaly spectacular. I kind of wish I was more of an open-minded fan and not so friggin Kalitta-biased so I could just enjoy the pure sportsmanship of it. Very entertaining - and I thank ALL the big teams for that.

Well there ya go.... I think it is great to be a passionate fan of one team and yet appreciate the overall sport.

 

[Too many to list here]

My phone call to my wife right after the numbers flashed up on the board contained a lot more than one expletive....

LOL-I was yelling some expletives at the tv and the poor dog hid upstairs.

I was pissed but like Doug said "They got the job done".

 

[.]

Doug has always been a class act and handled himself well. I've always wondered how he seems to always remain so calm despite all the excitement that surrounds him. I really felt for Doug because he, Rahn and the rest of the Kalitta team put up an incredible fight til the end. Like somebody else said it's a shame someone has to lose. Doug's definitely champion material I hope he gets to put that #1 on the side of his car soon.

 

[none]

Originally Posted by Chris Wilt
The more I think about it, this years Top Fuel points run was reeeaaaaly spectacular. I kind of wish I was more of an open-minded fan and not so friggin Kalitta-biased so I could just enjoy the pure sportsmanship of it. Very entertaining - and I thank ALL the big teams for that.

Well there ya go.... I think it is great to be a passionate fan of one team and yet appreciate the overall sport.

They had the camera on Ron Capps after Schumacher's run and you know he had to still be feeling pretty bad about the way things turned out in FC and even he was applauding.....................

I know everyone has their own opinion but I think that is the most astounding, amazing turn of events I have ever seen in drag racing

 

[Bullet]

Originally Posted by Chris Wilt
The more I think about it, this years Top Fuel points run was reeeaaaaly spectacular. I kind of wish I was more of an open-minded fan and not so friggin Kalitta-biased so I could just enjoy the pure sportsmanship of it. Very entertaining - and I thank ALL the big teams for that.

That says it all for me right there.

I was so down in the dumps with Kalitta losing that I found it hard to appreciate the spectacle that I had just watched, which I am starting to appreciate a little more with time.

 

[Jenn]

Great Article by the reporter formerly known as Scoop

Geiger Counter: November 2006

General Douglas MacArthur once prayed, "Build me a son, O Lord, who will be proud and unbending in honest defeat, and humble and gentle in victory."


Those words ring especially true after what has to go down as the single greatest quarter-mile run of all time -- Tony Schumacher's otherworldly 4.428-second pass that set a world record, won him the race, and finally erased the largest deficit in championship chase history. Of course the flipside of Schumacher's awesome run is the shocking and heart-wrenching reality that likable and deserving Doug Kalitta had to suffer one of the worse letdowns ever.


As Master of Ceremony Bob Frey recounted what is already being called "The Run" during Monday night's awards ceremony when he introduced Schumacher as the new champ, the pain was so unbearable that most of the Mac Tools team got up and left the room. Kalitta and Rahn Tobler stayed, chins held high, and graciously watched Schumacher accept the trophy. ESPN2 cameras recorded their every flinch and grimace as a highlight reel of Schumacher's season ran on the big screens. So close, and yet so far away.


Only time will tell how this cruel turn of events affects Tobler and Kalitta, who was given a long, heartfelt, and well-deserved standing ovation by the capacity crowd when he was recognized as the No. 2 racer in the points. I suspect that upon reflection, both of them, along with the wounded men on the crew, will rebound better than ever. Once they reflect on the fact that Schumacher and crew chief Alan Johnson did what they had to do to win it all, and did so within the parameters of the sport, they will realize that it just wasn't meant to be this time through.


Just as Schumacher was "humble and gentle in victory," so to was Kalitta "proud and unbending in honest defeat."


MacArthur also said that "the difference between victory and defeat is oftentimes no more than an eyelash." This rings especially true for Kalitta, who lost his first title by 14 points, less than a single round of action. I'm sure he can go back over the season and find several rounds he'd like to have back. But Schumacher could say the same thing. Bottom line, Schumacher got it done, Kalitta didn't, at least not in 2006.


Perhaps MacArthur's most memorable and recognizable quote should become the new rallying cry of Kalitta's troops: "I shall return!"

 

[BaldyLochs]

Interesting to note here that Doug also finished 12th in IHRA Nitro Funny Car this season!
This was a GREAT year for these guys. Doug went to 5 TF final rounds - and won 5 races. They won the Big Bud Shootout. The special Chip Foose & Von Dutch cars. Facing Hillary Will in the Memphis final. Overtaking the points lead from Troxel in Denver. Thier heads are high - and right now as you read this, they're already prepping & plotting out the course for next season.