Albert John Loquasto Jr. (June 21, 1940 – July 31, 1991), was an American

racing driver Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. In North America, the term is commonly used to describe all forms of automobile sport including non ...

and businessperson.

Racing career

Born in

Easton, Pennsylvania Easton is a city in and the county seat of Northampton County, Pennsylvania, United States. The city's population was 28,127 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Easton is located at the confluence of the Lehigh River and the Delawa ...

, Loquasto died in a plane crash in

Fogelsville, Pennsylvania Fogelsville is an unincorporated area in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania. It is a suburb of Allentown, in Upper Macungie Township, and is part of the Lehigh Valley, which has a population of 861,899 and was the 68th-most populous metropolitan area i ...

. He drove in the USAC and

CART A cart or dray (Australia and New Zealand) is a vehicle designed for transport, using two wheels and normally pulled by draught animals such as horses, donkeys, mules and oxen, or even smaller animals such as goats or large dogs. A handcart ...

Championship Car American open-wheel car racing, generally and commonly known as Indy car racing, is a category of professional automobile racing in the United States. As of 2025, the top-level American open-wheel racing championship is sanctioned by IndyCar a ...

series, racing in the 1969–1980 and 1982–1983 seasons, with 61 combined career starts, including the 1976 and 1977

Indianapolis 500 The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly shortened to Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indian ...

. He finished in the top ten 11 times, with his best finish in seventh position in 1975 at Ontario. Loquasto raced on a tight budget, fielding his own cars which were often several years old. He qualified for his first Indianapolis 500 after receiving technical assistance from Clint Brawner. Loquasto drove six

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. It is considered to be one of the top ranked motorsports organizations in ...

races from 1981 to 1982. Prior to his open-wheel career, Loquasto was a five-time national

hillclimbing Hillclimbing, also known as hill climbing, speed hillclimbing, or speed hill climbing, is a branch of motorsport in which drivers compete against the clock to complete an uphill course. It is one of the oldest forms of motorsport, since the firs ...

champion.

Personal life

Loquasto's chief occupation was as the owner of APCO, Inc., an automotive warranty company, and he was a veteran of the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

. Loquasto was a fourth-degree member of the

Knights of Columbus The Knights of Columbus (K of C) is a global Catholic Church, Catholic Fraternal and service organizations, fraternal service order founded by Michael J. McGivney, Blessed Michael J. McGivney. Membership is limited to practicing Catholic men. ...

. Loquasto was the first cousin of scenic designer and costume designer

Santo Loquasto Santo Richard Loquasto (born July 26, 1944) is an American production designer, scenic designer, and costume designer for stage, film, and dance. Early life and education Loquasto was born in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, on July 26, 1944. Loquas ...

, and a distant cousin of American author Angelo F. Coniglio.

Motorsports career results

Indianapolis 500

NASCAR

( key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. ''Italics'' – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Winston Cup Series

References

External links

Loquasto's ancestry at rootsweb.com
* 1940 births 1991 deaths Accidental deaths in Pennsylvania Indianapolis 500 drivers IndyCar Series team owners Racing drivers from Pennsylvania American people of Italian descent IndyCar Series people NASCAR drivers Champ Car drivers Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1991 Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in the United States Team Penske drivers {{US-autoracing-bio-stub