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Contents

   



(Top)
 


1 Early life and education  





2 Racing career  





3 Awards  





4 References  





5 External links  














Joe Amato (dragster driver)






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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 


Amato relaxing in his pit area as an owner at the 2001 Southern Nationals at Atlanta DragwayinCommerce, Georgia, 2001
Joe Amato
Amato after winning the 1979 Gatornationals

Joe Amato (born June 13, 1944)) is an American dragster driver, who won the National Hot Rod Association's Top Fuel championship five occasions and scored 52 event victories, most of them with crew chief Tim Richards. He was the first driver to exceed 260 mph and 280 mph in competition.

Early life and education

[edit]

Amato was born in Exeter, Pennsylvania, on June 13, 1944. He 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 automotive wholesaler and distributor.

Racing career

[edit]
Amato dragster doing a burnout at the Mile High Nationals in the Denver

Between 1982 and 2000, Amato finished in the Top 10 every year and, in 1983, earned his first Top Fuel victory in Montreal in 1983. His final career victory came in Reading, Pennsylvania in 2000.

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.

Darrell Russell drove Joe Amato's dragster from the 2001 NHRA Winter Nationals until he was killed in an accident at the 2004 Sears Craftsman Nationals at Gateway International Raceway in St. Louis. Morgan Lucas drove the car the remainder of 2004 and 2005, prior to Amato retiring.

On the National Hot Rod Association Top 50 Drivers, 1951–2000, Joe Amato was ranked No. 9.[1]

He currently resides in Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania (Glenmaura, Montage Mountain) and West Palm Beach, Florida. Amato has married three times.

In 2008, Amato's record of five championships in the Top Fuel division was beaten by Tony Schumacher, who won his sixth championship that year.

His corporate office is in Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania.[2]

Awards

[edit]

References

[edit]
  • ^ "Joe Amato Story".
  • ^ Joe Amato at the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America
  • [edit]
    Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Joe_Amato_(dragster_driver)&oldid=1231674103"

    Categories: 
    1944 births
    Living people
    People from Exeter, Pennsylvania
    Sportspeople from Luzerne County, Pennsylvania
    Racing drivers from Pennsylvania
    Dragster drivers
    International Motorsports Hall of Fame inductees
    Hidden categories: 
    Webarchive template wayback links
    Articles with short description
    Short description matches Wikidata
    Articles with VIAF identifiers
     



    This page was last edited on 29 June 2024, at 16:16 (UTC).

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