Media Contact: Megan Dupuy - woodhullracewaypr@gmail.com For Immediate Release – June 1st, 2018 – Joe Kaminski Jr. photo -
After an unexpected accident at Outlaw Speedway last season ended his 2017 season, Adam DelGrosso has been on a great start to the 2018 season. The wreck at Outlaw Speedway sent DelGrosso’s car flipping and he ended up with an injury that put him out for the season. Over the course of the winter months, DelGrosso and his crew got a new car together for the 2018 season.
Outside the race track, DelGrosso works for Navient as a defaulted student loan collector and raises three kids, Camden, Kiera, and Caleb with his fiancé Andrea.
“Besides that racing is pretty much all I do.” DelGrosso said
DelGrosso first started racing back in 2009 but didn’t do exactly how he expected to do. He had never gotten into a racecar before and learned by watching and trying different tactics out himself.
“I bought my own car. Did kind of crappy, got lapped a lot of times and then Codie hired me,” DelGrosso expanded.
2011 brought a better season for DelGrosso as he won his first couple of races. Eventually Codie Baker, driver of the No. 14 Bear’s Auto body FWD, decided to sell out. DelGrosso’s brother, Josiah, decided to help him out.
From that point Josiah started buying and started help working on DelGrosso’s car. Since then DelGrosso has won championships and a bunch of races. Even with half a year off, DelGrosso has come back with a punch. He’s won two out of the four races and is currently leading the points at Woodhull Raceway.
The competitive side of racing is what makes DelGrosso stick with racing. DelGrosso has learned over the past ten years what helps make a competitive car. The Bear’s Auto Body FWD class is slightly different from those in the Joe Willcox Performance Automatics Street Stocks or NAPA Crate Sportsman divisions.
In those classes everyone nearly has the same motor and roughly the same set up. The make of car can make a huge difference in speed in the FWD car. DelGrosso started with a Kia which is known for not having high speed.
“My car has 200 HP. A neon only gets to about 150 HP so even if you get it running dead on I still have more horsepower,” DelGrosso revealed.
The difference in horsepower can make it hard for initial starts and restarts. This season at Woodhull Raceway there is a cone rule that makes it so cars have to stay in line until they are past the cone. DelGrosso talked about how hard it is for him.
“I hate that cone thing. There’s a big difference between the top 5 cars and the rest of the field. It makes it hard to stay in line.”
DelGrosso also explained some of the different suspensions used in the FWD classes. He would much rather have a suspension where he can feel it shift through the corner.
“I like the Honda’s because they have the double wishbone suspension. When I’m driving at Woodhull especially, you want to have a pivot point. I want the weight to transfer over,” DelGrosso mentioned about his preferred suspension.
Woodhull Raceway can be challenging to many new drivers. Although DelGrosso has been racing for 10 years he was asked what was the most challenging aspect of the track?
“It took me a solid three or four years to figure out turns three and four. One and two is a little more sweeping,” DelGrosso answered.
One of the most random facts you might not ever get to know about DelGrosso is that he’s ate an entire Carolina Reaper pepper on a dare. He did it before Thanksgiving dinner which he admits wasn’t the best idea.
“I felt like I ate the sun for about eight hours after that.” DelGrosso mentioned.
DelGrosso is definitely a top contender for this year’s points championship. With two wins already under his belt and top fives the other two races he’s sure to be a top car. In the upcoming years we may just see him in a different style car but it’s not determined yet.