PHOTOS: ROBERT RICHARD, JOHNBOY ULLMAN

FOR UNIONTOWN, Ohio’ s Scott Chitty, drag racing is not just a pastime, it’ s a way of life. Following in the footsteps of his father, Terry Chitty, who ran NMCA Nostalgia Pro Street for many years, Scott began racing Jr. Dragsters at eight years old. From that point forward, he spent countless weekends traveling with his parents, competing, and forming lifelong friendships along the way.

Among his many wins during his Jr. Dragster career, Chitty recalls his victory at the Thunder Valley Challenge in Bristol, Tennessee, when he was just 10 years old as his most memorable. He also notably earned two Summit Motorsports Park track championships, one at just nine years old and another at 17.

After aging out of Jr. Dragsters, Chitty transitioned to the Sportsman class driving a 1992 Chevy Camaro, which proved to be a smooth transition thanks to his many years of foot brake experience. He went on to win his first race in the Camaro at Summit Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio. Over time, he shifted into index racing, where he has since found his groove.

“ I like index because it’ s different from bracket racing. I like the pro tree; I was always good on a pro tree even in Jrs. Plus, it’ s new competition and just something different for me.” Chitty says.

Now at 30 years old, Chitty competes in the Summit Racing Equipment Index Series at Dragway 42 in the 7.00 class. Since 2020, he has secured five track championships in the 7.00 and 11.50 index classes. When his schedule allows, Chitty also bracket races his LS-powered 2000 Chevy S-10 and travels to various races in the Midwest region.

Over two decades of racing, Chitty has collected numerous wins and championships across multiple classes, but a few stand out as career highlights.“ Winning my first Ironman was huge,” he says.“ I never ran IHRA races in Jrs., so to finally get one in a big car meant a lot.”

He’ s also proud of his strong performance at Norwalk’ s prestigious Night Under Fire event, where the top 32 in each class face off. Chitty runnered up in 2023 and took part in the iconic winner’ s parade under a massive fireworks show.“ At the end of the race, they drive you up the track and then stop to let everybody come out for autographs,” Chitty says.“ It was a pretty cool experience.”

Just this past October, Chitty captured another

win at Dragway 42, this time behind the wheel of a borrowed 1981 AMC Spirit. After breaking his Camaro at the Bracket Finals for, coincidentally, the second year in a row, he piloted the Spirit to a win in the Box class before defeating No Box winner Mark Frazier in the final round of the Mickey Thompson Tire Run-Off Race.

When he’ s not at the track, Chitty works full

time at Charlie’ s Garage, an automotive service shop that his mother, Terri, had scouted out for his dad many years ago. After the passing of his mother in 2014, an opportunity arose for his dad to take a leap of faith and purchase the very shop the couple had often talked about owning together. Nowadays, working side-by-side with his father every day at their shop, located just five minutes from home, is something Chitty never takes for granted.

“ My mom found this for him when he originally got a job there. A couple years after that, we acquired it. Dad runs the front while I do

tires, brakes, and oil changes because I went to school for it all,” he says.“ We can work on the car here too. We’ re very lucky to have all of this.”

Before his mother’ s passing, Chitty fondly recalls many years of cherished memories. She would always have the motorhome ready for them to just hop in and go.“ We went everywhere. They weren’ t afraid to drive anywhere. I was very lucky to experience a lot of things because of Dad and Mom. It was pretty cool,” Chitty says.

Beyond his own racing, Chitty also crews for Glenn Butcher’ s Top Sportsman Camaro on the PDRA tour. The opportunity, and the years-long friendship that followed, began with a simple act of kindness when his dad helped Glenn’ s son with his Jr. Dragster. Now, Chitty wrenches on Butcher’ s 959-cubic-inch motor and recently helped him secure a PDRA win in Martin, Michigan.

When Ohio’ s winter season arrives, Chitty’ s competitive spirit doesn’ t slow down, it just shifts scale. He’ s also a devoted slot car racer, running 1:24 scale replicas of his own drag cars across the Midwest.“ When we put the big cars away, it’ s slot car season,” he says.

Chitty has claimed several big-money victories in Ohio and Pennsylvania, but mostly enjoys travelling with friends like 2019 DI 30 Under 30 honoree Matt Dadas, JP Schuster, and Jaeden Durst during what’ s typically considered their offseason.

For Chitty, his racing goals are simple. He wants to keep improving, learning, and racing with his friends and family. While he’ s focused on another 7.00 index championship, he also hopes to climb higher in both the Top and Sportsman classes. Looking ahead to 2026, his schedule includes a few big-money bracket races and possibly a few IHRA events as he chases down another Ironman trophy. More than anything, though, Chitty most enjoys the camaraderie of the tightknit racing community he’ s formed over the years. – MADELYN MARCONI DI

November / December 2025

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