Legends of NASCAR - Mario Rossi Traditional Cache
EggSilent4: It was a good run. R.I.P. Mario Rossi!
Legends of NASCAR - Mario Rossi
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This series is in honor of the legends of
the sport of NASCAR racing who have passed away. There is something
for everyone (the numbers hounds or the history buffs). The series
is meant to be done from east to west. Please park completely off
of the road and use caution at all times. Most weekends, there
isn't more than a handfull of cars along this road but 2 weekends a
year this becomes one of the largest cities in the
State!
Latter day NASCAR fans may not immediately
recognize the name Mario Rossi or be familiar with his numerous
contributions to the sport. But if you've heard of Darrell Waltrip,
Donnie and Bobby Allison, Bud Moore, or Joe Weatherly, you already
know something of Mario Rossi. Among other things, Rossi was a key
player in NASCAR's famed winged warrior era of the late '60s and
early '70s and took on the formidable Bill France in a power
struggle that earned him both fame and enmity. The early years ...
Mario Rossi, a native of New Jersey, had a long and successful
career in stock car racing at a time when most of the sport's
participants were born and raised in the south. While Rossi's
talent and skills as a mechanic and engine builder are undeniable,
his tenure in the sport was, at times, a rocky one. A young Mario
Rossi was operating a high performance tune-up shop in New Jersey
in 1957 when he had a chance meeting with Tom Pistone, a driver in
what was then NASCAR's Grand National Series -- the equivalent of
today's Nextel Cup Series. Rossi himself had a short stint as a
Grand National driver, running four races between 1955 and 1958 and
scoring one top-10 finish. But his real aptitude was for things
mechanical and he decided that his talents would be better utilized
turning a wrench than a steering wheel. Mario went to work for
Pistone in Chicago in 1958, helping to service and maintain his
race cars. The relationship was short-lived and the young mechanic
moved to Daytona three months later with an eye toward greater
involvement in NASCAR. Shortly thereafter, he and Pistone reunited
and Rossi became Pistone's crew chief and head mechanic. "When
Mario moved to Florida in the late 1950s, his struggles were those
of so many hopefuls trying to survive in the early years of auto
racing," said Rossi's sister, Virginia Rossi DiMattia. "The nickel
and dime days were long and hard, and he did not know if it would
be a successful career." Over the next few years, Mario changed
jobs and residences several times while working on NASCAR cars and
engines, gaining knowledge of the sport and developing important
connections for his future along the way. "Mario had the good
fortune to meet up with some very open-minded owners looking for
new talent," said DiMattia. "The knowledge he gained, along with
his own skills, launched his career in auto racing." One of those
opportunities took Mario to Spartanburg, N.C., where he worked for
some of the era's better known NASCAR owners, including Smokey
Yunick and Bill Stroppe. In 1964, Mario went to work for Bud Moore
Engineering in Spartanburg as a chief mechanic and engine builder.
Fielding cars for drivers Carl Balmer and Darel Dieringer, Rossi's
reputation as an innovator and engine wizard grew. "Mario was a
gifted and talented human being who at the age of nine could take a
tractor apart and put it together in running condition," his sister
said proudly. "His automotive skills were partly self-taught and
partly taught by the best of the best." One of Bud Moore's drivers
at the time was 1963 Rookie of the Year Billy Wade. A close friend
of Rossi, Wade won four consecutive races for Moore between July 10
and July 19, 1964, and notched five poles along with 25 top-10
finishes in 35 starts. Sadly, Wade died after crashing during a
tire test at the Daytona International Speedway in early January
1965. Wade's crash came close on the heels of another race-related
death for a Bud Moore driver. Joe Weatherly, who won two successive
championships for Moore in 1962 and 1963, was killed in a crash at
Riverside International Raceway in California a year before Wade's
demise. Mario took both deaths hard, but was especially haunted by
that of his buddy Wade, and he made it his mission to improve
driver safety. "Billy Wade died because of his seatbelt," Rossi
said in a 1965 interview. At that time, doctors concluded that the
lap belt compressed Wade's intestines and caused them to rupture --
the only fatal injury he suffered. "Under the impact, the belt
became a lethal weapon," noted Ross back then. "Maybe it was a
freak [accident], but I don't want that to happen again to anyone."
Determined to find a better solution, Rossi investigated other
high-speed collision data, including the results of U.S. Army
rocket sled testing. He eventually developed an improved driver
restraint system for stock cars, which included the first use of a
driver headrest, along with the addition of a third belt to the
existing shoulder harness/seat belt configuration. The extra belt
pulled down on the lap belt and fastened to the floor, preventing
the horizontal belt from riding up and compressing the diaphragm or
intestines during a hard crash in the same manner that killed Wade.
While fulfilling a personal conviction to his departed friend,
Rossi's efforts also earned him a prestigious safety award, and led
to the installation of a bust in his likeness at the Joe Weatherly
Stock Car Museum located on the grounds of historic Darlington
Raceway. Making a Name for Himself ... In 1967, Rossi parted ways
with Moore and established his own racing team in Spartanburg,
signing a talented young racer named Donnie Allison as his driver.
Donnie's first race for Rossi was the 1967 World 600 at Charlotte.
Though he finished 26th, Allison went on to win 1967 Rookie of the
Year honors, helping cement Rossi's position as a major player in
competitive NASCAR. His stature in the sport now well established,
Mario attempted to capitalize on his first factory deal, pairing
with Plymouth in 1968 and reuniting with driver Darel Dieringer.
Expectations for the season weren't met, but Rossi was offered
another desirable factory contract, this time with Dodge, for the
1969 season, teaming with Donnie's brother Bobby Allison in the
cockpit. Bobby Allison won four of 23 races he entered in 1969 in
Rossi's 426-powered Dodge Daytona, including Bristol, North
Wilkesboro, Richmond, and Macon. Ford dominated the season overall,
however, with 28 victories and a championship for driver David
Pearson. The Rossi/Allison team won the Atlanta 500 in 1970, but by
the end of the year a downturn in the economy, coupled with the
shift of Chrysler's factory support to Richard Petty, left Rossi
scrambling for a new game plan. Still, the pit crew from Mario's
race shop, Rossi Automotive Engineering, won the 1970 Pit Crew
championship competition on the strength of another of Rossi's
notable innovations - gluing the lug nuts to the wheel. In 1971,
Rossi's Dodge team was reportedly the first in the history of
NASCAR to use this time-saving technique under race conditions -- a
method which, though more refined, is used throughout the sport to
this day. An Aero Warrior ... The seasons 1969 and 1970 were unique
in NASCAR history, part of an ultra-competitive era known as the
"Aero Wars," when two of the nation's biggest auto makers fought
head-to-head for dominance in the sport. This manufacturers' battle
also set the stage for one of Rossi's most memorable NASCAR races,
the 1971 Daytona 500. While track purses and bragging rights were
sought-after prizes for race teams, car companies realized that
"what wins on Sunday sells on Monday" -- an adage pointing up the
fact that consumer purchasing decisions were heavily influenced by
a car's performance on the NASCAR circuit. These racecars were,
after all, stock vehicles -- in theory, modified versions of the
same models available to the average consumer. Fans at home could
motor to work on Monday in the "same" car they saw in Victory Lane
on Sunday. The development of ever larger, more powerful engines
was starting to peak in the late '60s, with NASCAR's top teams
running engines from 426-429 cubic inches in size and capable of
producing massive horsepower. Chrysler and Ford were the leaders in
this area and competed against one another for the manufacturer's
title in 1967 and 1968 -- Chrysler taking round one in '67 and Ford
winning round two the following year. Round three was in the works
for 1969, but with engine size and horsepower now leveling off, the
two powerhouses car companies turned their attention to aerodynamic
design to try to squeeze even more speed out of their cars on race
day. Engineers added several new features aimed at reducing drag
and improving downforce on their vehicles. Modifications included a
pointed fiberglass nose extension and a huge rear spoiler or
"wing". The configuration created a totally new, exotic look for
cars on the NASCAR circuit. Models bearing this aero design came to
be known as the Winged Warriors, and included the Dodge Charger
Daytona, the Plymouth SuperBird, the Mercury Cyclone, and the Ford
Torino. The Winged Warriors ruled NASCAR competition in 1969 and
1970, but by the end of the '70 season, NASCAR President Bill
France was fed up with the Aero Wars and the dominance of just two
manufacturers. Feeling that he had lost some of his control over
the sport, France changed the rules for the winged warrior cars
prior to the start of the '71 season. He mandated that the
aerodynamically superior cars could use a 305 cubic inch engine
only -- 120 cubic inches smaller than that of other body types.
Faced with the choice of running a mighty 426-427 cc engine with a
different aerodynamic body, or a 305 cc engine with the winged body
type, all of the car owners opted for the larger, more powerful
engines to race in the Daytona 500. All except Mario Rossi, that
is. Rossi was upset not only with France's crackdown on the aero
cars, but with Chrysler's decision to throw its factory support
behind Petty. In a moved designed to flaunt both decisions, Rossi
attempted the unthinkable -- he brought a competitive Dodge Charger
Daytona to the '71 Daytona 500 with the improbably small 305
engine. It was the only winged warrior vehicle in the race. The 305
Hemi used that day was built specifically for Rossi's Daytona 500
car by California engine builder Keith Black. The motor looked so
small in comparison to the larger engines that several people who
saw it in the garage joked that someone must have stolen the car's
engine and left a lunchbox in its place -- resulting in the
engine's permanent nickname, "the lunchbox." Rossi had signed 1969
Rookie of the Year Dick Brooks to drive for him in 1971, and it was
Brooks behind the wheel at the '71 Daytona 500. The crowd was
astonished -- and thrilled -- when Brooks drove Rossi's big car
with the little lunchbox engine to the lead. Unfortunately, Brooks
was caught up in a wreck after leading five laps, though he
finished a respectable seventh from an eighth-place starting spot.
The race marked the last appearance of a winged racecar in the
NASCAR Cup series until the Car of Tomorrow debuted earlier this
year. Rossi ran a total of 15 races with Dick Brooks in 1971,
posting 12 top-10 finishes but no victories. Petty won 21 of 48
races that year starting with the Daytona 500, and took his third
Cup championship. Leaving NASCAR ... Mario's discontent with NASCAR
had been building for years, even before his showdown with Big Bill
France at Daytona in '71. A few years earlier, Rossi was one of the
car owners who, with then-driver Bobby Allison, participated in an
unprecedented boycott of a major NASCAR event -- the famous
Talladega Boycott of 1969. That incident saw 37 teams leave the
track in protest, refusing to participate in the first 500-mile
race at what was then Alabama International Motor Speedway, over
safety concerns specifically related to tire wear at the higher
Talladega speeds. Based on his experiences in NASCAR over the
years, Rossi was an early advocate for the creation of an oversight
organization that would address problems in the sport and improve
communications between the sanctioning body, owners, drivers and
sponsors -- a concept truly ahead of its time. "The sport should
have a combined organization of car owners and drivers with a
capable Board of Directors, which is allowed to present its
problems to the Commissioner of Stock Car Racing," Rossi explained
in an article from 1971. "The Commissioner would have to be
completely impartial and knowledgeable, a man who can not be
'bought' by anyone. There's the answer to the success of this
sport." With economic and operational frustrations mounting, Rossi
spoke of retiring from NASCAR as early as 1971, prompting friend
and journalist Gene Grainger to pen an article entitled "A Farewell
to Rossi" that year. "I think about how [Rossi] struggled to reach
the top only to have the foundation wiped out by an economy slump,"
wrote Grainger. "The words 'he will be missed' are overworked. He
won't be missed until an honest-to-goodness effort is made to
encourage people of his caliber to stay in racing." In fact, Rossi
did stay in NASCAR a few years longer. His next job was as team
manager for DiGard Racing, a well-funded start-up team launched in
1973. DiGard signed a young talent named Darrell Waltrip to drive
for them in 1975, but he and Rossi were frequently at odds, mainly
over engine endurance. Rossi was fired from the company and left
NASCAR soon thereafter. In retrospect, Rossi was among the sport's
first participants to acknowledge that NASCAR was changing -- years
before polished, media savvy crew members became the norm. In 1974,
he was asked if he had any advice for a young man desiring to work
on a NASCAR team. "I would suggest that he continue in school and
get an education," Rossi said. "Building a race car is a highly
skilled profession. As the sport continues to reach higher levels,
a mechanic has got to be able to twist a wrench as well as present
himself in a good light to the public. There's far more to this
sport than changing oil and getting dirty." Rossi also acknowledged
the toll that being a NASCAR team member could take on an
individual. "There are many obstacles on the way up," he said.
"Nowadays, it takes dedication and education. Unless a man is
willing to give the number of hours required, deny himself the
luxury of an eight hour day, and dedicate himself to the job at
hand, I would recommend that he choose another profession." Though
unconventional in his methods and controversial in his battles with
the brass, Rossi was inarguably a skilled engine builder, mechanic
and crew chief who played a vital role in the growth of stock car
racing, and whose innovations are in use to this day. Where is
Mario Rossi now? The Mysterious Disappearance ... When Mario's
sister Virginia first contacted me about writing this article, she
said, "My brother Mario has been missing since January of 1983. It
is a very long and complicated story. My sister and I have been
trying to find out what happened to him for the past 24 years."
Indeed, the mystery portion of Rossi's life story begins shortly
after his involvement with NASCAR ends. Not much is known about
Mario's specific activities from the late 1970s until early January
1983, when his mother received a phone call informing the family
that Rossi had died in the crash of a plane he was allegedly
piloting off the coast of the Bahamas. "At first, when we received
the call in January of 1983, we did think he was dead," said
DiMattia. "But as the weeks went by and we reflected on the
information and phone calls, we were not sure." Rossi had left
NASCAR shortly after his departure from DiGard. His financial
situation was grim and he reportedly declared bankruptcy and moved
to Atlanta, later returning to Florida to work as a builder of
racing boat engines. South Florida was a mecca of drug activity in
the early 1980s (think Miami Vice) and it is rumored that Rossi got
mixed up in that dangerous world. If true, Mario's family believes
that some aspect of his involvement in the drug trade could account
for his strange disappearance. DiMattia says that over the years,
she and other family members have had numerous indications that the
plane crash story was not true. "There have been too many
unanswered questions and people possibly knowing some answers,
telling us to leave it alone," she said. "We do know that for every
door opened, another one closed. So many different stories have
been told or related to us. Some are hair raising, some are not."
Of note, Mario was an experienced flyer who had owned and piloted a
private plane for years. According to a 1998 article in the
Spartanburg, S.C. newspaper about Mario's disappearance, "An
investigation by Prudential years later showed that the plane Rossi
supposedly died in had been resold three times in the years since."
Rossi's remains were never recovered. A Family Seeking Closure ...
The surviving family members (siblings and children -- Rossi's
mother died in 1986), have considered every theory from the tenable
to the extreme - among them, that Rossi may have been killed by
someone from the local or international drug scene, or that he
turned state's evidence and was placed in a Witness Protection
Program, in which case DiMattia believes he could still be alive.
Rossi's sister sent a letter earlier this year to the U.S. Marshals
Service requesting information under the Freedom of Information Act
about Mario's possible placement in a Witness Protection Program
years ago. She received a written reply stating in part, "The
Marshals Service will neither confirm nor deny the existence of the
records you seek." DiMattia says that the family had been together
just days before receiving word of the plane crash. "The last time
I was in my brother's presence was December 28, 1982, for the
Christmas holiday at my mother's home in Trenton, New Jersey.
(Mario) was driven by family members on December 29th or 30th to
the Philadelphia International Airport at 9 a.m. give or take a few
minutes. He waved goodbye from inside the terminal, changed airline
tickets, and was never seen again by the family. I tried to reach
him in the Bahamas on January 1 to wish him a happy New Year, but
there was no answer." Two days later, the family was told that
Mario was dead. Despite the passage of time and the lack of
definitive answers, Rossi's next of kin hold out hope that he could
still be alive. "If Mario is alive, and he still follows racing
news, he may read this and know we are still trying to find him,"
DiMattia says. Either way, the family vows that they will never
give up trying to learn the truth about Rossi's disappearance. "It
has been 24 years of total frustration, not knowing if Mario is
alive or dead," said DiMattia. "We, as a family, must have
closure."
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