Doug Kalitta (born August 20, 1964) is an American

auto racing Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. Auto racing has existed since the invention of the automobile. Races of various sorts were organise ...

driver from

Ypsilanti, Michigan Ypsilanti (), commonly shortened to Ypsi, is a city in Washtenaw County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the city's population was 20,648. The city is bounded to the north by Superior Township and on the west, south, an ...

and owner of airline

Kalitta Charters Kalitta Charters is an American charter airline based in Ypsilanti, Michigan, United States. Its main base is Willow Run Airport. The company is owned and run by Doug Kalitta Doug Kalitta (born August 20, 1964) is an American auto racing dri ...

. He started racing in open wheel cars on an oval. Kalitta won the 1994 USAC Midget rookie of the year title and the 1994 USAC Sprint car championship. He moved to drag racing in 1998 and, as of 2020, has been NHRA Top Fuel Championship runner-up a total of six times.

Open wheel oval racing

Kalitta formerly raced in USAC events. He was the 1991 USAC rookie of the year in the midget series, and won the 1994 championship in the sprint car category. Kalitta won 21 USAC events: 14 in midget races and 7 in sprint competitions.

Drag racing

In 1998 he joined the

NHRA The National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) is a drag racing governing body, which sets rules in drag racing and hosts events all over the United States and Canada. With over 40,000 drivers in its rosters, the NHRA claims to be the largest motorsp ...

, becoming a

top fuel Top Fuel is a type of drag racing whose dragsters are the quickest accelerating racing cars in the world and the fastest sanctioned category of drag racing, with the fastest competitors reaching speeds of and finishing the runs in 3.62 second ...

drag racer Drag racing is a type of motor racing in which automobiles or motorcycles compete, usually two at a time, to be first to cross a set finish line. The race follows a short, straight course from a standing start over a measured distance, most ...

. Kalitta finished second in the top fuel points race in 2003, 2004, 2006, 2016 and 2019. He is fifth on the all-time top fuel wins list; the most recent of his 49 victories (Kalitta also has 105 career final round appearances) came in winning at the Midwest Nationals in Illinois, on October 4th, 2020.

Personal life

Kalitta has a wife, Josie Kalitta, a son Mitchell Kalitta, and a daughter Avery Kalitta. Kalitta's father is the now-deceased Doug Kalitta Sr., and he is the nephew of

Connie Kalitta Conrad "Connie" Kalitta (born February 24, 1938) is an Americans, American businessman and former drag racing driver, nicknamed "The Bounty Hunter". Kalitta is the CEO of Kalitta Air and the owner of Kalitta Motorsports.Motorsports Hall of Fame of America The Motorsports Hall of Fame of America (MSHFA) is hall of fame that honors motorsports competitors and contributors from the United States from all disciplines, with categories for Open Wheel, Stock Cars, Powerboats, Drag Racing, Motorcycles, ...

Scott Kalitta Scott D. Kalitta (February 18, 1962 – June 21, 2008) was an American drag racer who competed in the Funny Car and Top Fuel classes in the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Full Throttle Drag Racing Series. He was killed at Old Bridg ...

, an NHRA driver who died on June 21, 2008 in a racing accident, was his cousin. He owns the airline

References

Living people 1964 births Sportspeople from Ypsilanti, Michigan Racing drivers from Michigan Dragster drivers USAC Silver Crown Series drivers {{US-autoracing-bio-stub