Michael Ciochetti Jr. (born April 23, 1959) is an American

stock car racing Stock car racing is a form of Auto racing, automobile racing run on oval track racing, oval tracks and road courses. It originally used Production vehicle, production-model cars, hence the name "stock car", but is now run using cars specifical ...

driver and aviation entrepreneur. He is a former competitor in the

ARCA Racing Series The ARCA Menards Series is an American stock car series, the premier division of the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA). It is considered a minor, semi-professional league of stock car racing, used as a feeder series into the three nationa ...

, and planned to compete in the

NASCAR Winston Cup Series The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the NASCAR, National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR), the most prestigious stock car racing series in the United States. The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, ...

before suffering a career-ending injury.

Racing career

Mike Ciochetti Jr. began his racing career in South Florida in the mid 1970s racing at both Hialeah Speedway and the South Florida Fairgrounds Speedway in West Palm Beach. In the early 1980s he competed on the NASCAR All Pro Series traveling circuit throughout the Southeastern U.S. In 1992 he worked as a mechanic on

Alan Kulwicki Alan Dennis Kulwicki (December 14, 1954 – April 1, 1993), nicknamed "Special K" and "the Polish Prince", was an American auto racing driver and team owner. He started racing at local Short track motor racing, short tracks in Wisconsin bef ...

's 1992 Winston Cup Championship-winning team. Following Kulwicki's death in a 1993 plane crash, Ciochetti transitioned to

Precision Products Racing Precision Products Racing (PPR) was a NASCAR team that competed regularly from 1990 to 1998. It was owned by Richard Jackson and based in Asheville, North Carolina. The team officially closed after the 2001 season following a part-time schedule i ...

and driver

Rick Mast Richard Kenneth Mast (born March 4, 1957) is an American former NASCAR driver. He competed in both the Winston Cup and Busch Series, retiring in 2002. He holds a business administration degree from Blue Ridge Community College. Early career M ...

where he worked for the 1994 season before resuming his own career as a driver on the ARCA Racing Series. Between 1996 and 1999, Ciochetti competed in 41 ARCA Racing Series races, posting a best finish of third twice in 1998, at

Charlotte Motor Speedway Charlotte Motor Speedway (known as Lowe's Motor Speedway from 1999 to 2009 due to sponsorship reasons) is a quad-oval Oval track racing#Intermediate, intermediate speedway in Concord, North Carolina. It has hosted various major races since it ...

and

Texas Motor Speedway Texas Motor Speedway (formerly known as Texas International Raceway from September to December 1996) is a quad-oval Oval track racing#Intermediate, intermediate speedway in Fort Worth, Texas. It has hosted various major races since its inaugura ...

.Mike Ciochetti - ARCA Racing Series Results
''Racing-Reference''. USA Today Sports Media Group. Accessed 2014-04-18. In 1998 he attempted to make his debut in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series, driving the No. 80

Hover Motorsports Hover Motorsports was a NASCAR Nextel Cup Series team. They last attempted a race at the 2006 in NASCAR, 2006 Daytona 500, when they fielded the No. 8Roadloans.com Ford Taurus for Carl Long, but failed to qualify. They were planning to partner wi ...

Ford in qualifying for the

1998 Daytona 500 The 1998 Daytona 500, the 40th running of the Daytona 500, event, was held on February 15 at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida as the first race of the 1998 NASCAR Winston Cup Series, 1998 NASCAR Winston Cup season. It wa ...

, but he failed to make the race due to an accident on the final lap of the Twin 125-mile qualifying race.Mike Ciochetti - 1998 NASCAR Winston Cup Results
''Racing-Reference''. USA Today Sports Media Group. Accessed 2014-04-19. He won one pole in the ARCA series, at

Pocono Raceway Pocono Raceway (formerly known as the Pocono International Raceway in early years) is a tri-oval track in Blakeslee, Pennsylvania. The track has held a variety of events since its opening in 1969, including NASCAR, IndyCar Series, and IMSA GT ...

in 1998. Towards the end of the 1999 season, Ciochetti signed a deal to drive for Cale Yarborough Motorsports and run for NASCAR Winston Cup Rookie of the Year in the 2000 season; planning to run the No. 39, the team planned to make its debut in the season-ending race of the

1999 NASCAR Winston Cup Series The 1999 NASCAR Winston Cup Series was the 51st season of professional Stock car racing in the United States, the 28th modern-era Cup series, and the last Cup season of the 1990s and the 20th century. The season began on Sunday, February 7, a ...

season at Homestead-Miami Speedway. However shortly after the announcement, Ciochetti's shoulder was broken in an ARCA crash at

Talladega Superspeedway Talladega Superspeedway (Alabama International Motor Speedway from 1969 to 1989) is a tri-oval superspeedway in Lincoln, Alabama. Built in 1969, the track has hosted a variety of racing events, primarily races sanctioned by NASCAR. The track is ...

;Halvatgis, Jenna.
Rudd is beginning to understand the importance of teamwork
October 17, 1999. Fredericksburg, VA: ''

The Free Lance–Star ''The Free Lance–Star'' is the principal daily newspaper distributed throughout Fredericksburg, Virginia, United States, with a circulation area including the city of Fredericksburg and all or parts of the counties of Spotsylvania, Stafford, ...

''. Page B6. Accessed 2014-04-18. the injury forced him to undergo multiple surgeries, and sidelined his racing career.Brown 2008, p.102. Ciochetti would return for one final ARCA race, at Talladega in 2007 driving for

K-Automotive Motorsports Keselowski Motorsports, formerly known as K-Automotive Racing and Brian Keselowski Motorsports, was a stock car racing team in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. K-Automotive previously raced in Automobile Racing Club of America, ARCA and the Nati ...

, where he was very competitive, running as high as 6th, but finished 39th after blowing a tire in the late laps of the race. Mike Ciochetti Jr. is now the developer of a "Fly-In Community" named Heaven's Landing which is located just outside of Clayton, Georgia. He is an avid pilot with a continued interest in NASCAR.

Aviation career

A long-time flyer, following his injury Ciochetti developed property he owned in northern Georgia as Heaven's Landing, a

fly-in community A residential airpark (also spelled air park) is a "fly-in community" specifically designed around an airport where the residents own their privately owned airplanes which they park in their hangars, usually attached to the home or integrated i ...

. Ciochetti is also active with the Liberty Foundation, maintaining the

Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is an American four-engined heavy bomber aircraft developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). A fast and high-flying bomber, the B-17 dropped more bombs than any other aircraft during ...

bomber '' Liberty Belle''.

Motorsports career results

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

=Daytona 500

References

;Citations ;Bibliography *Brown, Mike. "Flyer of the Month: Five Aces: Mike Ciochetti's Winning Hand at Heaven's Landing". ''Aero Trader''. Volume 32, Issue 2: February 2008. Accessed 2014-04-18.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ciochetti, Mike Living people 1959 births People from Clayton, Georgia Racing drivers from Georgia (U.S. state) ARCA Menards Series drivers NASCAR drivers