Conrad Kalitta (born February 24, 1938) is an American businessman and former

drag racing 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, mos ...

driver, nicknamed "the Bounty Hunter." Kalitta is the CEO of

Kalitta Air Kalitta Air is an American cargo airline headquartered at Willow Run Airport, Ypsilanti Township, Michigan. The company operates international scheduled and cargo charter services. Its call sign "Connie" is from its founder, Connie Kalitta. His ...

and the owner of Kalitta Motorsports.Kalitta Motorsports - About Connie Kalitta
Retrieved 2016-05-07

Biography

Kalitta was born in

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

, grew up in Mount Clemens, and was a 1957 graduate of Mount Clemens High School. He raced from the 1950s through the 1990s. He was the first driver of a

Top Fuel dragster 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 3.641 second ...

to hit in a

National Hot Rod Association The National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) is a 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 motorsport sanction ...

(NHRA) sanctioned eventthe 1964 NHRA U.S. Nationals. Kalitta teamed up with

Shirley Muldowney Shirley Muldowney (born June 19, 1940), also known professionally as "Cha Cha" and the "First Lady of Drag racing, Drag Racing", is an American auto racer. She was the first woman to receive a license from the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) ...

as the ''Bounty Hunter'' and ''Bounty Huntress'', in a pair of

Ford Mustang The Ford Mustang is a series of American Car, automobiles manufactured by Ford Motor Company, Ford. In continuous production since 1964, the Mustang is currently the longest-produced Ford car nameplate. Currently in its Ford Mustang (seventh ...

s, hers a Buttera chassis, his a Logghe. Kalitta was runner-up at the 1963

NHRA Winternationals The NHRA Winternationals (commonly called the Winternats) are an annual drag racing event held by the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona, In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip in Pomona, California. History The National ...

in Top Gas and at the 1965 NHRA SpringNationals in Top Fuel. His first major event win was the 1967 American Hot Rod Association (AHRA) Winternationals in

Scottsdale, Arizona Scottsdale is a city in eastern Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, and is part of the Phoenix metropolitan area. Named Scottsdale in 1894 after its founder Winfield Scott (chaplain), Winfield Scott, a retired Chaplain Corps (United States ...

, in a 427ci "cammer"–powered Top Fuel dragster. Kalitta stepped back from driving in 1971, focusing on growing his airline business. He first returned to the sport as Muldowney's crew chief including her 1977 Top Fuel championship seasonbefore getting back into a Top Fuel dragster in 1978. Kalitta won the 1989 NHRA Winternationals, most notable for the fact that the win included him becoming the first ever Top Fuel driver (any sanctioning series) to hit . Kalitta ultimately won a total of 10 NHRA national events, including the 1994

Gatornationals The Gatornationals is a drag racing event in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series that has been held annually each March at Gainesville Raceway in Gainesville, Florida since 1970. The event is one of the sport's most revered with a rich t ...

and

U.S. Nationals United States nationality law details the conditions in which a person holds United States nationality. In the United States, nationality is typically obtained through provisions in the U.S. Constitution, various laws, and international agree ...

- his final title. Kalitta was inducted into the

Motorsports Hall of Fame of America The Motorsports Hall of Fame of America (MSHFA) is a 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 ...

in 1992. In 2001, the 50th Anniversary list of National Hot Rod Association Top 50 Drivers, 1951-2000, ranked Kalitta at #21. Kalitta was played by

Beau Bridges Lloyd Vernet "Beau" Bridges III (born December 9, 1941) is an American actor. He is a three-time Emmy Award, Emmy, two-time Golden Globe Award, Golden Globe and one-time Grammy Award winner, as well as a two-time Screen Actors Guild Award nomine ...

, in a lead role, in the Muldowney biography film ''

Heart Like a Wheel ''Heart Like a Wheel'' is the fifth solo studio album by Linda Ronstadt, released in November 1974. It was Ronstadt's last album to be released by Capitol Records. At the time of its recording, Ronstadt had already moved to Asylum Records and re ...

'' (1983). He is the father of racer

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 had 17 career Top Fuel ...

, killed in a drag racing crash in

Old Bridge Township, New Jersey Old Bridge Township is a township in Middlesex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of th ...

, in 2008. He is the uncle of racer Doug Kalitta. On November 14, 2016, Kalitta was honored at the season-ending Mello Yello Awards Ceremony with

NHRA The National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) is a 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 motorsport sanction ...

's first ever Lifetime Achievement Award.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kalitta, Connie 1938 births Living people 20th-century American businesspeople 21st-century American businesspeople American airline chief executives Businesspeople from Michigan Dragster drivers NHRA drivers International Motorsports Hall of Fame inductees People from Mount Clemens, Michigan Racing drivers from Detroit Sportspeople from Metro Detroit