Kalitta Motorsports: the bar rises, but so does the passion to perform
For the Kalitta Motorsports team, success is measured not only in the speed of the race cars and the number of winning Wallies (drag racing's most competitive award), or the coveted trophy of the NHRA. The team enjoys the passion of drag racing and the family atmosphere instilled by company founder Connie Kalitta, and in the adrenaline-intensive, competitive world of drag racing, the bar rises every year.
Kalitta Motorsports’ four race cars – two Top Fuel and two Funny Cars – now compete in 24 races a year, placing major demands on the assembly and repair crew. To meet the challenge, the team relies on the cooperative spirit of its 60 employees and its parts, equipment and tool partners.
While race fans may be familiar with Kalitta Motorsports celebrity drivers like Alexis De Joria, Del Worsham, David Grubnic, Doug Kalitta and Conrad (“Connie”) Kalitta, the responsibility for keeping the cars running at optimum performance falls to the entire crew.
Under the supervision of Jim Oberhofer, vice president of operations, the staff remains passionate about the assembly, maintenance and repair of the races at the facility in Ypsilanti, Mich.
“Trying to keep that competitive edge is huge,” explains Oberhofer, who is now in his 25th year with the Kalitta team. “We win and lose races by thousandths of a second. To remain competitive, we have to make sure the chasses are as fast as possible.”
The team uses a combination of OEM and custom-made parts to remain competitive. The team assembles two to three cars per year, Oberhofer notes, and competes in a race almost every month of the year.
A custom-designed work space
The 50,000-square-foot building at the Kalitta headquarters was constructed 10 years ago in an industrial park to meet the growth of the team, which 74-year-old Connie Kalitta started in 1957. The rectangular building houses an open work area where technicians attend to maintenance, assembly and repair.
The work areas include spaces for parts assembly, tire work, brake repair, and a soundproof room for analyzing the air flow of the teams’ blowers, an important part of creating speed for the engines. Seven 53-foot-long semi trailers that transport the race cars, pit crews and tools to and from races double as movable partitions inside the main work area, designating areas for specific tasks. The building also has business offices and storage areas.
Repair stations share the same open work area as the assembly. There are five dedicated repair technicians. Thirty company-owned tool boxes are positioned throughout the general work area. The repair techs also work on the transport trailers. Each tech is responsible for the tools in a section of the shop.
Everything is assembled in-house. Painting and testing are done off site. The company custom builds over 100 parts. While they don’t make their own engine blocks, they do repair them, along with cylinder heads.
The engines are assembled according to National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) specifications for Top Fuel Dragsters and Funny Cars. Crank shafts, pistons, valves, connecting rods, cam shafts, gears, front hub lifters, piston rings, superchargers, clutch discs and bearings are used to assemble the engines.
Preparation for future events is also done at Kalitta headquarters. “It’s a constant rotation of parts,” notes Oberhofer. In meeting the NHRA specs, the team has the flexibility to experiment with different clutch and cylinder head configurations. “We’re planning a whole year out for clutch parts right now,” Oberhofer says. “Everything is so specialized with these cars that you have to plan ahead or you fall behind.” Planning for future needs is challenging because parts are becoming obsolete faster.
These highly sophisticated engines are inspected regularly to determine wear. The cylinder walls of the engines must retain a specific size. They get replaced if they get “out of round.” A dial board gauge is used to determine this.
The growth in electronic components has made parts assembly easier in the time that Oberhofer has worked at Kalitta. “It’s actually easier to work on this stuff now,” he says.
Tools of the trade
While the tools used in the assembly have changed over the years, the pit crew tools have not changed as much since race car engines have not evolved the way regular car engines have. “Our stuff reminds me more of the cars in the sixties and seventies,” Oberhofer says for the pit crews’ tools. Kalitta Motorsports relies on Mac Tools for all of its standard tool needs.
Certain tools, such as line borers, mills, lathes, valve grinders, soldering guns and wire crimpers are used more in parts making than in maintenance.
Soldering guns and wire crimpers are used to make wire harnesses for electronic ignitions.
A valve grinder cuts engine valves to a precise length to get the right angle on the base of the engine. An intake valve has a 55-degree “seat.” A grinder makes the seat a precise 55-degree angle on the intake side.
A dynometer in a soundproof room allows a tech to use an analyzer to test the airflow of the teams’ blowers.
Kalitta Motorsports serves as a tool test laboratory for Mac Tools. Mac Tools recently developed a wrench used for tightening the inner head nuts of cylinder heads and other delicate tasks. Mac Savage, a clutch tech, told Mac Tools he wanted to see more weight on the handle in its precision torque wrenches. This gives him a more solid grip.
Pit crews play a vital role
The pit crews play an important role in the success of the racers. The engine must deliver as much horsepower and torque as possible through the clutch to the rear wheels without the wheels losing traction.
The pit crews have 75 minutes between races to prepare the cars.
The biggest challenge the pit crew faces is being able to work fast and as a team during the races. “It’s organized chaos,” Oberhofer says. Each of the two pit crews has one person in charge of making sure tools are accounted for.
“Every time that engine runs, it has to be torn apart,” explains Bob Lawson, Kalitta Motorsports business manager, who grew up in a racing family and has spent his life in the business.
Marketing: cornerstone of success
The marketing effort has increased significantly over the years as parts and tool manufacturers have partnered with racing teams to promote their products. Drag racing gets great media exposure for the partners such as Mac Tools.
Mac Tools has used other partnerships to leverage its drag racing ties, such as bringing rock star Kid Rock to appear at various events to autograph miniature race cars. “Anybody that’s a fan of his is going to associate him with us,” notes Lawson. “You make these people (fans) feel exclusive.”
Mac Tools also gives away lots of tickets as prizes in race-related contests it sponsors over ESPN.
While the marketing efforts target the general public, Mac Tools also invites tech and shop owner customers to many of the races. Professional customers recognize that drag racing represents the most demanding use of their tools.
Who gets to be on the drag race pit crew?
Success in motorsports relies on a competent pit crew as much as a talented driver. Kalitta Motorsports, like other race teams, has recognized the importance of identifying good candidates for the pit crew. But veteran team managers like Bob Lawson, business manager, is quick to note there is no formula for identifying a good candidate for this very important role.
“There’s no educational property that teaches you how to work on a race car,” says Lawson.
Candidates need to have a commercial driving license, a high school diploma and some mechanical aptitude. Beyond these simple requirements, the main quality they seek is a personality that will fit in with the rest of the team. This is an intangible quality that teams learn to identify with experience.
Candidates are interviewed extensively by different people in management. Several technical schools send the company candidates for these positions.
“Chemistry (among the crew members) is the most important thing for us because of the amount of time the team must stay on the road,” notes Lawson. “Youth and enthusiasm are two pretty important things. If they start out with the right character, we can grow on that and teach them the things they must know.”
Chemistry refers to the ability of crew members to communicate under pressure. During a race, the driver calls to the crew chief for changes needed once he gets a sense of how the car handles on the track. The crew chief then oversees the crew in making sure these things get done. Every team member must understand what he must do.
Lawson says some people come to the field thinking it is glamorous. Some think the position is a way to get on national television. He says it’s easy for the Kalitta team to determine which candidates have this misconception and which ones understand that the work is a very demanding of members’ time. “Once you do the interview process, you can pretty well weed people out,” he says.
In time, the techs earn the respect of the crew by demonstrating their technical competence and their ability to work with the team.
