 The next day, in what would have been his opening elimination round event, the entire Kalitta team stood on the starting line on his designated side of the dragstrip as Robert Hight, who would have been his opponent, idled his car down the quarter-mile track as a sign of respect.On July 2, 2008, the NHRA shortened Top Fuel and Funny Car races to in response to the ongoing investigation, and extra safety measures were placed at all tracks, including padded retaining walls at the end of sand traps, replacing the polymer nets held up by concrete posts.Although unpopular with the fans, the 1,000-foot distance is still in use for the Top Fuel and Funny Car categories.