YPSILANTI, MI (April 1, 2021) – Hall of Fame driver and team owner Connie “The Bounty Hunter” Kalitta will return from retirement for a one-race winner-take-all Funny Car exhibition showdown against Don Schumacher during the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The epic race is tentatively scheduled to take place before the first qualifying session of the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series event in two weeks.
On Friday, April 16, just before the NHRA’s Camping World competitors take to the track for the first round of qualifying for the Vegas 1 event, Kalitta and Schumacher will strap into nitro Funny Cars and line up to make a pass down the renowned Vegas dragstrip. The Hall-of-Fame owners will be piloting machines prepared by their race teams, and their modern-day Funny Car bodies will be wrapped to reflect their favorite liveries with Kalitta racing a special Bounty Hunter designed Toyota Camry Funny Car. They will make one pass only, and the winner will be rewarded with bragging rights.
While it has been nearly seven decades combined since Kalitta and Schumacher traded in their firesuits for dress slacks, the NHRA mainstays feel confident in their ability to successfully defeat their opponent in the opposite lane. Kalitta, who stepped out of the seat in 1998, and Schumacher, who retired from driving in 1974, made practice runs and renewed their competition licenses in a closed test session last month. The former champion drivers opted to partake in the highly-anticipated one-off race as a way to thank the NHRA’s loyal fanbase for weathering the turbulent 2020 season.
“I am doing this for the fans and everyone that has supported Kalitta Motorsports over the years, especially last season,” said Kalitta, owner of Kalitta Motorsports, and crew chief for Shawn Langdon last year’s US Nationals Top Fuel champion. “Don and I have battled each other for decades and I jumped at the chance to kick his butt in a Funny Car. I have been talking with my Funny Car drivers and they have given me some great tips. I know I will be able to get the job done in Vegas and I am looking forward to racing this Toyota Camry Funny Car to another win.”
“We know the fans will get a kick out of this, and this is our way of saying ‘Thank You’ for sticking with us during the tough season we all endured last year,” said Schumacher, owner of Don Schumacher Racing. “Never in a million years did I think I’d get back behind the wheel of one of these nitro-breathing machines, but here we are. Connie and I have enjoyed kicking each other’s butts with our race teams all these years, and now we’ll get to go head-to-head on the starting line for the first time and really settle the score, and I have no doubt my Dodge Charger will come out on top.”
Kalitta and Schumacher are expected to exceed the 330-mph benchmark during the exhibition event, and their 11,000-horsepower floppers will be tuned by their respective organizations’ braintrust of Funny Car crew chiefs. Both are hoping to reset their career-best E.T.s by clocking runs in the low 4.0/high 3.9-second zone, and if you’re still reading this, now is probably a great time to say Happy April Fool’s Day, and let you know that Kalitta and Schumacher will be leaving the driving to their current roster of skilled nitro pilots.
[U]About Kalitta Motorsports:[/U]
Based in Ypsilanti, Mich., Kalitta Motorsports is a Top Fuel and Funny Car drag racing team in the NHRA (National Hot Rod Association) Camping World Drag Racing Series. The team was founded and is owned by drag racing icon Connie “the Bounty Hunter” Kalitta. For more than 60 years, Connie has been involved in the sport as a driver, tuner, and team owner. Kalitta Motorsports is one of the most successful teams in the history of auto racing with seven world championships and over 100 national event titles in five different professional drag racing sanctioning bodies since it was established by Connie in 1959.
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