- Joe Amato
Joe Amato (born
June 13 ,1944 in Exeter,Pennsylvania ) is an Americandragster driver, who won theNHRA Top Fuel championship a record five occasions and scored 52 event victories, most of them with crew chief Tim Richards. He was the first driver to exceed 260mph and 280 mph in competition.Amato began racing cars as a teenager, when he worked at his family's auto parts store. He dropped out of high school to help run the store when his father had serious heart problems; eventually, Amato built the business into Keystone Automotive, a large and successful retail chain.
Between 1982 and 2000, he finished in the Top 10 every year. Eye surgery forced him to retire from competitive driving at the end of the 2000 season. He then participated as a team owner until selling the business and retiring permanently in 2005.
On the National Hot Rod Association Top 50 Drivers, 1951-2000, Joe Amato was ranked No. 9. [http://www.nhra.com/50th/top50/J_Amato09.html No. 9: Joe Amato] ;
National Hot Rod Association ; written 2001]He currently resides in Lackawanna County. Amato has married twice, divorced once, and is a stepfather to one son.
Awards
*He was inducted into the
International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2005.
*He was inducted into theMotorsports Hall of Fame of America in 2004. [http://www.mshf.com/index.htm?/hof/amato_joe.htm Joe Amato] at theMotorsports Hall of Fame of America ]References
External links
* [http://www.amatoracing.com/ Amato Racing]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
