Rocco Gets to Know Conn. Governor
Congratulates Driver On Title, Parenthood
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Keith Rocco received double congratulations from Conn. Gov. Dannel P. Malloy recently.
Gov. Malloy invited to Rocco, 29, of Wallingford, Conn., to his state capitol office in Hartford on Jan. 24. He congratulated the driver on his sixth consecutive NASCAR Whelen All-American Series state championship. He also congratulated Rocco on the birth of his first child, Keith “K.J.” Rocco, who arrived on Jan. 3. The baby was born on Rocco’s 29th birthday.
“It was great to go back and see Gov. Malloy again. It’s starting to feel like we know each other,” Rocco said. “He remembered me. He congratulated me on another state championship and he knew I just became a father. He congratulated me and sent his best wishes to Cassandra on K.J.’s birth.”
Rocco won his fourth Sunoco Modified track championship in 2013 on the newly rechristened Thompson (Conn.) Speedway Motorsports Park’s high-banked .625-mile paved oval.
“The governor is really on top of things in racing. He knows about all the improvements and new road course at Thompson and asked me what I thought. I told him it was a great track and they just keep improving it. The oval schedule is shorter, but they’ve got some double-feature race nights that will help us.”
Rocco also won his third SK Modified title at Waterford (Conn.) Speedbowl last year and has two SK Modified championships at Stafford (Conn.) Motor Speedway. He was the 2010 NASCAR Whelen All-American Series national champion. He placed third in the nation in 2013 and finished in the top three in national standings for five consecutive years.
Rocco’s 2013 racing record included 14 wins, 30 top-fives and 39 top-10s in 48 starts.
Sources: Paul Schaefer/NASCAR PR