The Racing Scholar: The Next Opportunity Awaits Staropoli
Patrick Staropoli, 24, of Plantation, FL is hunting for a new ride. The inaugural Peak Stock Car Dream Challenge winner finished fifth in his NASCAR K&N Pro Series West debut at Spokane for Bill McAnally Racing. The attention and the feel-good story should have ended there.
“It kind of eats at you, but at the same time I got a lot of confirmation this year that I belong there and that I can run there,” Staropoli said. “… I know that if I get that right opportunity again that I can go out there and get it done.”
A third generation driver, Staropoli’s grandfather drove midgets in the 1940s and 50s at places like Orange County Fair Speedway in Middletown, NY and Wall Stadium in Belmar, NJ. The family relocated to Florida, where Staropoli’s father Nick raced Street Stocks and Late Models. His father raced “religiously” at Hialeah in the 1980s and 90s, before touring in the 90s for a few years. Patrick was at his first race at six months old, watching his dad.
Hialeah Speedway, west of Miami, was a flat 1/3 mile paved oval that opened in 1954. Hialeah was the home track for the Staropolis for decades. The track closed in August 2005 after being sold for redevelopment. The property is now a Target and Lowe’s.
The track nearly cost them everything in 2001. Nick Staropoli was racing at Hialeah when the return spring got stuck in the top of the manifold. Staropoli had a stuck throttle on the backstretch and struck the opening for the turn 3 wall head on. The car went through the tires in front of the flat wall and “it shot the car straight up in the air and then dropped back down on the tail of the car and rolled over,” Staropoli said. “Obviously you don’t want a dead flat wall going into a corner like that. It was right after I guess (Dale) Earnhardt’s wreck and the HANS thing hadn’t caught on that quickly, but he was really lucky to make it through that in one piece.”
Nick Staropoli was hospitalized for a few months, but returned to driving about one year after the near fatal crash. Nick drove several races before calling it quits, knowing he had the ability to drive again.
Now the focus was on Patrick. Patrick started his career in Go Karts at Hialeah. He moved to the Pure Stocks after one season. Staropoli finds that the K&N cars are similar to the Pure Stock class because the cars are heavy, and struggle with braking and turning.
“For anybody out there that’s getting into racing, I would highly recommend, definitely starting in that class,” Staropoli said. “That’s the most fun I’ve ever had in a race car and I only did that division for about a year, but I learned more about racing with guys, passing guys and fixing a bent up race car in that class than I have in anything since then. And it was a blast and I think that really kind of laid the foundation for a lot of what I did since.”
Staropoli won from the pole and led every lap during Hialeah’s final night.
“Hands down the biggest thing that ever happened to me,” Staropoli said. “… That’s the place I grew up, where I fell in love with racing. I learned about everything about a car from (the) front to the back. …. To have all of that kind of come full circle at that track I grew up at, my dad almost died at and then I won the deal. There’ll be nothing ever on the short track level that meant more than that win to me.”
From there, Staropoli drove in the Pro Trucks tour in Florida and Super Late Models the past few seasons.
Staropoli had a deal from the beginning of his career that his racing was dependent on his grades.
“If I got straight A’s in school, no matter what my parents were going to make sure they had a race car ready for me,” Staropoli said. “…That statement made a really big impression on me so I took school very seriously. And then that started taking off, the racing started taking off. I want to make sure that I could still race, so both of those things kind of snowballed together and once I had success whether it was in school or racing I wanted to keep it going. And it just developed to the point where I got the opportunity to go to Harvard.
“That’s a life-changing experience,” Staropoli said. “And as soon as that became an option for me I knew that the chances of even getting into a place like that were kind of like the chances of landing a Sprint Cup ride. They saw something in me that they liked and wanted me to go there and I took advantage of the opportunity.”
It was a difficult decision for the 18-year-old aspiring driver, who believed that a departure from Late Model racing in Florida would derail his career. Patrick, his father and a friend Anthony fielded their own car from a one-car garage.
“We deserve vacations off for the kind of equipment that we have and the kind of manpower that we have,” Staropoli said. “We’ve won a lot of races and ran really good with that stuff.”
With the benefit of hindsight, Staropoli has no regrets.
“I had an awesome experience up there,” Staropoli said. “Obviously I did pretty well in school (3.94 GPA with a degree in neurobiology), but I made a ton of friends from all around the world, a lot of connections that like you said you can only get a place like Harvard.”
Staropoli believes that the unique Crimson experience provides an advantage over his competition.
“It gives me a different approach when I’m setting up my own race cars or when I’m at the track giving feedback to my crew chief,” Staropoli said. “I go about things differently than other people and I think that has a lot to do with what I’ve learned in school.”
Staropoli made seven starts in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East and West through May with a 5.7 average finish. He won at Irwindale Speedway in March and took the Coors Light Pole Award at Iowa for the West division.
Staropoli said that he was given a one race deal with Bill McAnally Racing in the Peak #99. After exceeding expectations, the sponsorship was extended for six events. He is continuing to work with Michael Waltrip Racing and Bill McAnally to increase his schedule, but there was never a plan to add additional races beyond the grand prize from the contest.
Staropoli said that the cars and crew members changed between races. He said that an unfamiliar environment made success more difficult. He had to adapt to a new car, hundreds of pounds heavier than his familiar Late Model. He had limited seat time, with only a pair of practice sessions to dial-in the car to new tracks.
“It’s a positive and a negative,” Staropoli said. “A lot of teams trying to move up from here would like to see you have run more races and seen that success over a longer period of time, but at the same time being able to say you took this very small opportunity and expanded it into something so big and had a lot of success with I think that impresses a lot of people too. … It would be really interesting to get a prime opportunity in K&N or in a division above that and see what happens.”
Staropoli believes that timing is everything, referencing drivers that have raced in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series, but not succeeded at higher levels. He is trying to maintain the momentum from his recent performance and keep his name out there. He wants to have a ride in the NASCAR Nationwide, Camping World Truck or K&N Series lined up for late this season or 2015. Staropoli has been attending Sprint Cup events to maximize his networking opportunities.
“I do deserve to be that top prospect or at least be considered one of those guys towards the top,” Staropoli said. “…I’ve always been very realistic about this and I know what the challenges are as you move up to the next level and I feel like I kind of have a trend right now of exceeding expectations. And a lot of the guys that you mentioned came into the K&N Series with huge expectations and got on the teams that won the championship last year and they did well. They performed the way they should have. They won championships, they moved on.”
“I’ve been talking to absolutely everybody that I can,” Staropoli said. “… The best part is a lot of teams and people I’ve talked to have been interested because they’ve heard about our story and all the success, so I think from that perspective it’s probably been the biggest benefit of everything I’ve done in the last year is that people that never wanted to sit down and have a meeting with me before know who I am and are interested in hearing what I’m trying to do.
The last year was difficult for Staropoli as he had races in Washington and California during his exams. In order to provide some balance, he was given an approved leave of absence from medical school.
“I have a few more months here before I need to make an ultimate decision on school, so I’m pursuing the racing 100 percent. I’m following up on every lead possible and just looking for the person that can kind of help take this to next level and take the success that we had in the K&N and bump it up.”
Prior to declaring a major, Staropoli is doing ophthalmology research with his mentor at Bascom Palmer Eye Institute (of the University of the Miami) and has been awarded a grant for his research. He is also studying neurology and dermatology.
Staropoli may have found an opportunity in himself. He has Celiac Disease, which means he has to eat gluten free. He is currently trying to work with organizations to increase awareness through racing.
A recent example of this in action is NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Brian Vickers. Vickers has suffered blood clots and drove a Xarelto sponsored car at Auto Club in March. He has been featured in a commercial for the medication this summer.
“And what I think is really cool it’s kind of how my passion for racing and for medicine kind of intersect and I’ve been fortunate in getting to working on some projects,” Staropoli said. “… getting to work with the ophthalmology stuff obviously, while I’m doing the racing, so it’s a bit of juggling a lot but I consider myself lucky to be able to pursue all my interests at the same time.”
Staropoli has changed his life in order to try and pursue a racing career. He has moved to Charlotte instead of being a full time student. Staropoli is now working full time in marketing at Michael Waltrip Racing.
“I feel like the way we ran this year and with the pressure situation that I’m in right now… I need something big to happen and obviously a lot of big things have happened this past year which I’ve been fortunate to have happen but I would ideally like to see myself in those series because I feel like the way I’ve been able to adapt so quick to the K&N cars that it will still obviously be a huge challenge but I really think that’s where I want to see myself, that would make pursuing the racing and (putting) the school on hold, I guess more worth it. The ultimate goal obviously like any race car driver that ever strapped into a car is to race on Sundays and I think at a certain point you get enough young racers saying that that it starts to get cliché but it doesn’t make it any less true.”
Sometimes the fast track that Staropoli has been on seems surreal. “Even this past week when I started at MWR, and I’m just working on the computer and I’m running down to the shop to get something and I walk back up to the office and you’re sitting there and you’re looking out at this whole Cup shop,” Staropoli said. “It’s an amazing thing to look at and I catch myself stopping and saying where the heck am I? How did all this come about that I’m in these shoes right now that I’m working in a Cup shop chasing my dream of racing? … When you’re a kid, you think you’re chasing your dream of racing your whole life, oh I wish I could do that. But now I’m in Charlotte, I’m feeling that this is actually happening. I definitely stop every once in a while and think how did I end up right here. I never would have thought this is what I would be doing at 24 years old. It’s humbling and I’m thankful for it.”
Staropoli has an open season in front of him without any driving commitments.
“If it’s got four wheels and a steering wheel, I’m going to be there driving it if I ever get an opportunity. Like I said, everyone that I’ve driven for and have worked with this year, all they want to do is help me as much as possible. So any kind of a ride or opportunity that I get 100 percent supports me and obviously, I have no fear. I’ll hop in anything.”
The inaugural Peak Stock Car Driver Challenge was held last summer in Charlotte with a one race deal with Peak in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series as the grand prize. The event was broadcast nationally in August before Staropoli entered the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West race.
“It was a challenge,” Staropoli said. “They didn’t reveal any details about the contest, basically at all. Everything that did was a surprise.”
Instead of three days around Charlotte Motor Speedway, contestants tested car control, reaction time, short track road course, eventually driving the 1.5 mile oval and a pitstop. Then contestants had a press conference and commercial with Danica Patrick. The drivers were cut from 12 to nine, nine to five and three.
Staropoli said it was a “challenging and nerve-wracking experience,” waiting for the judges’ decision. Staropoli said it’s the opposite of driving his race car. He can call for adjustments to the car, or evaluate the cars around him. He had no control on the outcome
Staropoli believes that exposure from the contest helped the careers of the final nine drivers. The show aired on SPEED Channel and Fox Sports 1.
“I stay in touch with a lot of guys through the contest last year, and whether it’s the Late Model they’re running, dirt Late Model, everyone has picked up new sponsors,” Staropoli said. “They (are) running more races, the more people are following them and so I think it was positive for everyone’s career that went through it. .
“… Having the opportunity to be there and get yourself and your story in front of the right people was huge and to capitalize it on your own. ….Whether you win or not, you still have a huge opportunity here to turn it into something, so don’t let that go by.”
The show as broadcast last August due to the TV schedule. Highlights from this year’s event were posted to social media but information regarding the event has been kept mum.
“It definitely drew a lot of people in,” Staropoli said. “I don’t think that Peak knew this would kind of turn into what it has. “…The way to get all of the social media activation that they have. It’s worked out. It’s been a great program for Peak I feel like and I’m definitely backing it up with the success we’ve had on the track this year.
And you mentioned Paul. He is a real good kid I got the chance to meet him and he seems like a really good racer.
As Staropoli plans his future, the next opportunity for another young driver will arrive this weekend. The second Peak Stock Car Dream Challenge airs on Velocity at 9PM EST.
Sources: Nicholas Teto/YankeeRacer.com