Connie Kalitta
Connie Kalitta is one of the most durable participants in the sport of drag racing today. He is one of a very small group of people who began participating in the sport when he was very young and is still active today as an owner, builder, and innovator. Connie’s driving career began at the wheel of a 1951 Willys that he raced abandoned Michigan airstrip when the reward for the winner was the other guy’s pink slip. His list of accomplishments not only prove what a true competitor he is, but they also stand head and shoulders above the majority of the sport’s other competitors. As a driver, Connie has 10 NHRA national event titles to his credit, and as an owner/crew chief has collected numerous NHRA national event titles. Connie also has five Winston championships to his credit. The first came in 1977 when he was crew chief for Shirley Muldowney, when she became the first and only female top fuel champion in NHRA history. His next to Winston championships came in 1979 and 1982 when he captured the IHRA championship honors. His last two Winston championships were back in NHRA competition and came as a team owner when his son Scott drove the Kalitta motorsports top fuel dragster into the spotlight in 1994 and 1995. Connie’s first appearance in a final round at an NHRA national event was in 1963 at the Pomona Winternationals where he was runner-up. He was finally able to make it to victory circle at the Winternationals in 1967 and was runner-up three more times. At the 1989 Winternationals Connie became the first person to officially break the 290 MPH barrier. His luck at the US Nationals in Indy reflected Pomona a bit when he reached runner-up positions in 1982 and 1984 before finally winning there in 1994. Connie was the first person to make a 200 MPH run at the US Nationals at the 1964 race. In 1994 he won the Gatornationals in Gainesville when he defeated son Scott in the first-ever father versus son top fuel final in NHRA history. Among his many other titles wins, etc., Connie was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 1992.
While many know about Connie and his achievements as a racer, his off-track accomplishments are also very impressive. In the early 1960s he became involved in flying and by 1997 was the owner of a company with worldwide operations and over 100 aircraft in its inventory. During operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm in 1991, the company flew over 600 missions for the military, which was the second largest number of cargo-only flights during the effort. Connie appeared at the White House on behalf of his employees where he received its accolades from then-President George HW Bush. Connie has also been honored as Michigan Entrepreneur of the Year and Air Cargo Man of the Year. He also supplied aircraft for nearly a dozen motion pictures, and shortly after the incidents of September 11, 2001, Kalitta Air flew relief supplies from Los Angeles to Philadelphia and was one of the very few non-military aircraft that night. Connie Kalitta is truly a one-of-a-kind person