Force declines comment on accident

FORCE DECLINES COMMENT ON SCOTT KALITTA ACCIDENT
14-Time Champ Grieves for Family; Will Wait for Data from Investigation

YORBA LINDA, Calif. -- In the aftermath of the crash that claimed the life of two-time NHRA World Champion Scott Kalitta Saturday in Englishtown, N.J., one of the voices noticeably silent has been that of John Force.

The usually accommodating 14-time NHRA Funny Car champion said through a spokesperson Tuesday that neither he nor any other members of his team would have any comment on the accident until after the completion of an investigation that will include evaluation of the data generated by the Ford-provided "blue box" installed on Kalitta's Toyota Solara.

Furthermore, he said he wanted to talk personally with Scott's father, drag racing veteran Connie Kalitta, before making any comments that might be misconstrued or taken out of context, something he said occurred too frequently in the days after his own driver, Eric Medlen, was fatally injured last year in a testing accident in Florida.

"We grieve with the Kalitta family," Force said from his team's headquarters here. "We know the pain they're going through right now and we want to be there to support them in any way we can. Other than that, I'm not going to speculate."

-credit: jfr