Background
He grew up in Mount Clemens, Michigan, and was a 1957 graduate of Mount Clemens High School.
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Connie Kalitta
Edit ProfileChief Executive Officer of Kalitta Air
Career
He raced from the 1950s through the 1990s. He was the first driver to hit 200 mph in an NHRA sanctioned event. He also helped Shirley Muldowney get started (in the "Bounty Huntress" car).
He defeated Eddie Hill in the final round.
He was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 1992. On the 2001 National Hot Rod Association Top 50 Drivers, 1951-2000, Kalitta was ranked #21.
He was played by Beau Bridges in the Muldowney biography film Heart Like a Wheel. He is the father of racer Scott Kalitta, killed in a fiery crash in Old Bridge Township, New Jersey His step-daughter is Commander Shanti Sethi of the United States Navy, former commander of the United States Ship Decatur (DDG-73).
