Joe Amato (born June 13, 1944 in

Exeter Exeter () is a city in Devon, South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter was established as the base of Legio II Augusta under the personal c ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; (Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, Ma ...

) is an American dragster driver, who won the

NHRA The National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) is a drag racing governing body, which sets rules in drag racing and hosts events all over the United States and Canada. With over 40,000 drivers in its rosters, the NHRA claims to be the largest motorspo ...

Top Fuel Top Fuel is a type of drag racing whose dragsters are the quickest accelerating racing cars in the world and the fastest sanctioned category of drag racing, with the fastest competitors reaching speeds of and finishing the runs in 3.62 second ...

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

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 automotive wholesaler and distributor.

Racing career

Between 1982 and 2000, Amato finished in the Top 10 every year and, in 1983, earned his first Top Fuel victory in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...

in 1983. His final career victory came in

Reading, Pennsylvania Reading ( ; Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Reddin'') is a city in and the county seat of Berks County, Pennsylvania, United States. The city had a population of 95,112 as of the 2020 census and is the fourth-largest city in Pennsylvania after Phila ...

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 The National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) is a drag racing governing body, which sets rules in drag racing and hosts events all over the United States and Canada. With over 40,000 drivers in its rosters, the NHRA claims to be the largest motors ...

Top 50 Drivers, 1951–2000, Joe Amato was ranked No. 9.No. 9: Joe Amato
;

; written 2001 He currently resides in

Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania Lackawanna County (; unm, Lèkaohane) is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is located in Northeastern Pennsylvania and had a population of 215,896 as of the 2020 census. Its county seat and largest city is Scranton. The county ...

(Glenmaura, Montage Mountain) and

Tony Schumacher Tony Schumacher may refer to: * Tony Schumacher (drag racer) (born 1969), American drag racer * Tony Schumacher (kayaker) (born 1976), Australian sprint canoeist * Tony Schumacher (German author) (1848–1931), German children books author * Ton ...

, who won his sixth championship that year. His corporate office is in Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania.

Awards

*He was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2005. *He was inducted into the

Motorsports Hall of Fame of America The Motorsports Hall of Fame of America (MSHFA) is hall of fame that honors motorsports competitors and contributors from the United States from all disciplines, with categories for Open Wheel, Stock Cars, Powerboats, Drag Racing, Motorcycles, ...

in 2004.Joe Amato
at the

References

External links

* 1944 births Living people People from Exeter, Pennsylvania Racing drivers from Pennsylvania Dragster drivers International Motorsports Hall of Fame inductees {{US-autoracing-bio-stub