Rob Moroso
| Robert Moroso | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born | September 26, 1968 Madison, Connecticut |
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| Died | Script error: The function "death_date_and_age" does not exist. Near Mooresville, North Carolina[1] |
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| Cause of death | Highway automobile crash | ||||||
| Achievements | 1989 NASCAR Busch Series champion | ||||||
| Awards | 1989 Busch Series Most Popular Driver 1990 Winston Cup Series Rookie of the Year (posthumously) | ||||||
| NASCAR Cup Series career | |||||||
| 29 races run over 3 years | |||||||
| Best finish | 30th (1990) | ||||||
| First race | 1988 Oakwood Homes 500 (Charlotte) | ||||||
| Last race | 1990 Tyson Holly Farms 400 (North Wilkesboro) | ||||||
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| NASCAR Xfinity Series career | |||||||
| 86 races run over 4 years | |||||||
| Best finish | 1st (1989) | ||||||
| First race | 1986 Roses Stores 150 (Rougemont) | ||||||
| Last race | 1989 Winston Classic (Martinsville) | ||||||
| First win | 1988 Myrtle Beach 200 (Myrtle Beach) | ||||||
| Last win | 1989 All Pro 300 (Charlotte) | ||||||
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| Statistics current as of March 4, 2012. | |||||||
Rob Moroso (September 28, 1968 - September 30, 1990) was a NASCAR racing driver who was champion of the NASCAR Busch Series (now Xfinity Series) in 1989,[2] and was posthumously awarded the 1990 NASCAR Winston Cup (now Sprint Cup Series) Rookie of the Year award. A promising young driver, he was killed in a traffic accident on roads near his hometown of Terrell, North Carolina.[2][3]
Born in Greenwich, Connecticut, he was the son of Dick Moroso,[4] founder of Moroso Performance, suppliers of aftermarket automotive parts, and former owner of Moroso Motorsports Park in Jupiter, Florida.[5]
Contents
Early life
Moroso grew up in Madison, Connecticut with two other siblings, Rick and Susan. His father, Richard D. "Dick" Moroso, was a New Rochelle, New York-born former drag racer who founded Moroso Performance the year Rob was born. Rob Moroso's father served as his owner and sponsor for much of his racing career.[6][7]
After graduating from high school, Moroso enrolled in courses at Central Piedmont Community College in Charlotte, North Carolina, though he failed to complete them. He also attended the Buck Baker Racing School at Rockingham Speedway.[6]
Racing career
Busch Series
Moroso made his debut in the Busch Series at Orange County Speedway in North Carolina in 1986. two days after his 18th birthday. Driving the #23 Old Milwaukee Chevrolet, he qualified an impressive sixth, but finished 21st after suspension issues.[3][8] He made his second start of the season in Rick Hendrick's #15 Chevrolet at Rockingham Speedway, finishing 18th.[3][8] Moroso began running full-time in 1987, driving the #25 Oldsmobile owned by his father and sponsored by Moroso Performance. Moroso ran 25 of 27 races that season, with eight top tens and a 15th place points finish.[3] 1988 was a breakout season for Moroso.[8][3] He won his first career race in July of 1988 at Myrtle Beach Speedway, at the age of 19, after out-dueling defending series champion Larry Pearson.[3][4][8] He would score his second win of the season at Charlotte, and finished second in the final Busch series points to Tommy Ellis.[8]
In 1989 Moroso, was vying with veteran driver Tommy Houston for the championship in the final race of the year, at Martinsville Speedway. Houston's engine failed during the race, while Moroso finished third and won the title by 55 points from Houston. At the time Moroso was the youngest champion in the history of NASCAR.[4][8] Moroso won a total of six races from 1988 to 1989, including 3 consecutive at Charlotte Motor Speedway, and was voted the most popular driver on the circuit.[4]
Winston Cup Series
Moroso made his debut in Winston Cup in 1988 at Charlotte in the #47 Peak Antifreeze Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports, finishing 14th.[8] He would race one more time in 1988 and ran two races in 1989 as a warm up for the following season. Moroso declared he was running for Rookie of the Year in the 1990 season, driving the #20 Crown Central Petroleum Oldsmobile for his father.[8] The highlight of the season was a ninth place finish in the Pepsi Firecracker 400 at Daytona.[8]
Motorsports career results
Winston Cup Series
| Year | Races | Wins | Top 5 | Top 10 | Poles | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 54th |
| 1989 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 63rd |
| 1990 | 25 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 30th |
| Total | 29 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Busch Series
| Year | Races | Wins | Top 5 | Top 10 | Poles | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 59th |
| 1987 | 25 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 15th |
| 1988 | 30 | 2 | 10 | 18 | 2 | 2nd |
| 1989 | 29 | 4 | 12 | 16 | 7 | 1st |
| Total | 86 | 6 | 24 | 42 | 9 | 89' Champ |
Death
On September 30, 1990, four days after his 22nd birthday, Moroso was killed in an automobile crash on North Carolina Highway 150 near Mooresville, North Carolina only hours after finishing 21st in the Holly Farms 400 at North Wilkesboro Speedway. Traveling at an estimated 75 mph (121 km/h), Moroso lost control of his vehicle in a curve with a 35 mph (56 km/h) posted speed limit, skidding over 200 feet before being struck in the driver's side door by an oncoming car in the opposite lane. The resulting collision killed both Moroso and Tammy Williams, the driver of the vehicle in the opposite lane. The passenger in Moroso's vehicle, girlfriend Debbie Bryant, as well as a passenger in Williams' vehicle both survived the crash.[8][9][2][10]
Investigations revealed that he had been driving under the influence of alcohol. Moroso had been seen drinking several beers at a Cornelius, North Carolina lounge prior to the accident, and his blood alcohol level was found to be 0.22, over twice the then legal level of 0.10.[9][11][12] He also had been convicted of speeding four times between 1987 and 1989, and had been involved in two prior highway accidents which included a rollover.[9][11] Judges could have revoked his license at least twice, which would have made him ineligible to compete in NASCAR events, but the charges were reduced.[11][13]
Moroso earned enough points after completing just 25 of 29 races that he was posthumously awarded the Raybestos NASCAR Rookie of the Year Award in 1990, the only driver to receive the award under such conditions.[3][8]
References
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- ↑ 8.00 8.01 8.02 8.03 8.04 8.05 8.06 8.07 8.08 8.09 8.10 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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External links
- Rob Moroso driver statistics at Racing-Reference
| Preceded by | NASCAR Rookie of the Year 1990 |
Succeeded by Bobby Hamilton |
| Preceded by | NASCAR Busch Series Champion 1989 |
Succeeded by Chuck Bown |
