The Team Moroso Racing, based in Connecticut at the home of Moroso Performance Products, is where Rick prepares his racecars, and credits his success to the close working relationship he has with his people, Team Manager Paul Minore and Crew Chief Rob DiLella. Rick’s support crew also includes his family, wife Lori, son Mathew and daughters, Penelope and Olivia. During the season the car is used as a test vehicle for new products being developed at Moroso Performance and Competition Engineering. During the off season you can find the car as a showpiece in the Moroso Performance booth at major trade shows throughout the country.

	Rick Moroso Driver Richard Boyd "Rick" Moroso has been around racing and the racing business for all of his life. At a very young age he was at the drag races helping his dad, the late Dick Moroso, with his race car and then at 17 was working at Moroso Performance Products, the family business. Starting as a welder and fabricator at the business, he then graduated to quality control, research and development, chassis fabrication and product and sales management. After 16 years of apprenticeship at the company, he was named president of Moroso Performance Products by his father in April 1997 and carries into the future Moroso’s reputation for supplying the best quality products available anywhere. Rick, 37, started racing in earnest when he was 19, campaigning a few cars along the way including the same ’61 Corvette his dad won with in the 1960’s. Rick ran the ’61 in NHRA Super Gas/Super Street and NMCA Hot Street. He also drove a dragster in NHRA Super Comp and IHRA Top Dragster classes. Rick had some success in these classes, where he won or was runner up in the Super Gas, Super Comp and Hot Street eliminators. In 2000 Rick and his Competition Engineering Custom Fab Shop under the direction of Paul Minore (also his Team Manager) decided to take a brand new 2000 Corvette from the dealer showroom and turn it into a NMCA Hot Street “only" race vehicle. Since that time Rick has had ever increasing success, placing 9th in 2000, 4th in 2001 and finally winning the Hot Street championship in 2002 with an impressive 5 wins and 5 runner up finishes in the 10 race season.

	Paul Minore Team Manager Paul, 38, got hooked on racing in his early teens after hanging around a friends (father's) racecar shop. Shortly after high school he started working for Moroso in the stock room, where eager to learn more, Paul transferred to the shop where he soon found he had a real talent when it came to welding and fabricating. After some years of hands-on experience, Rick Moroso asked him to help open a chassis shop where they could build racecars. It was at this shop originally known as "Rick's Chassis" where today's Competition Engineering Custom Fab Shop now resides, managed by Paul. After an extensive project building Rick's 2000 Hot Street Corvette and helping at the racetrack to get the car dialed in, Rick asked Paul to be Team Manager, and now in addition to his "Fab Shop" duties, is responsible for all logistics of the racecar operation which include preparation, transportation and chassis set-up at the track. Paul is supported by his wife Gina and three sons, Nick, Chris and Peter.

	Rob DiLella Crew Chief Rob has had an interest in racing, cars and things mechanical since he was a young boy. His father was a mechanic for 28 years for various Ford and GM makes before switching to helicopters, so they would always be working on, (or breaking) things that involved an engine. Rob's uncles were also into building things, so he was always getting into what they were doing. Being interested in racing and never having done any, he saved up and went to the Skip Barber Racing School located in Connecticut. That turned out to be a learning experience in many ways, the biggest realizing the financial implications, racing gets expensive. So Rob figured, why not just help his friend Rick Moroso, and for the last 11 years has been his crew chief. He has helped wrench on the 1961 Corvette in various forms of competition, Rick's dragster which was raced in IHRA and NHRA competition and of course the NMCA Competition Engineering Hot Street championship winning 2000 Corvette. Rob can be found during the week busy working at where else? You guessed it, Moroso Performance, where he has worked for the last five years as the Product Manager for Marketing and Sales. His duties also include managing all trade show displays and readying all new product for sale.

	Lori, Mathew, Penelope and Olivia Moroso The wife and kids (a.k.a. the cheering section). Although we cannot make it to every race these days (Olivia is too little to go), we do encourage and support Rick, and are excited about racing. I have had the pleasure to be part of Rick’s racing team from the start. I didn’t know a thing about cars but I soon learned to scrape header gaskets, use a tire gauge, pack a parachute and drive a truck and trailer. I’ve even had the pleasure of taking all the chrome off the ’61 Vette before it was painted. So while I’m changing diapers instead of tires, I still get to do some of the odd jobs for each race (like stock the motor home with food and linens and beer). The best part of racing is being at the track and we always look forward to cheering the team on and seeing all our racing friends.