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Vito Pugliese

“I attended my first race in 1982 at the Champion Spark Plug 400 at Michigan International Speedway, when it held maybe 50,000 people. Even then it still took 3 hours to get out of Brooklyn after the race. My next race wasn't until 1989, when I picked Mark Martin as my favorite driver. I have thus spent 18 years now as a self-described "Bitter Martin Fan". Hopefully the limited schedule he runs now will help relieve that pain. Ever since then I usually attend 3 or 4 races a year. I have met several drivers at the track and at the hotel I used to work at in college. I can't say that I've ever been put off or disappointed with anyone I've ever met in the NASCAR community. I also share the distinction of graduating from the same high school as Johnny Benson, however 13 years after him.

I graduated from Grand Valley State University in 2001 with a Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration, with a Major in Marketing. I would love to be able to turn motorsports writing and journalism into a full-time career someday. I participate in motorsports as well, competing in bracket racing at The Mid-Michigan Motorplex, and the occasional autocross event at Grattan Raceway, one of the tracks that Car & Driver often uses to evaluate performance cars. I am somewhat capable with tools as well, having restored a 1972 Plymouth ‘Cuda from the ground-up when I was in high school, before Mopars were going for $500,000 to $1,000,000 at Barrett-Jackson.”

You can click here to email Vito

Some of Vito’s favorite websites:

Past articles By Vito Pugliese

May 2008
05/13: So I Was Just Thinking... NASCAR Odds 'N' Ends [5]
05/06: Kyle Busch: The Sound of One Hand Clapping Drowned Out By A Million Boos [23]
April 2008
04/29: Chalk Up Another One For Toyota [5]
04/22: Mexico City: The Answer To A Question No One Asked [8]
04/15: Playing It Safe: Martin's Team Trades Victory for Conservative Top 5 Finish. Why? [20]
04/08: Is Petty Enterprises Circling The Drain? [7]
04/01: Johnny Benson, Jr. - NASCAR's Longest Overnight Success Story [6]
March 2008
03/25: Five Ways To Save NASCAR From Itself [20]
03/18: The Day The Biscuit Wheels Fell Off Toyota's Gravy Train [30]
03/11: Whoo-Ah! Resurgent Roush Fenway Aiming To Keep Toyota In Check [12]
03/04: Mark Martin: He's Bad, He's Nationwide - The All-Time Wins Leader Continues To Make An Impact In Semi-Retirement [3]
February 2008
02/25: Car of Tomorrow Helps To Provide Parity Today [11]
02/18: Put A Dodge In Your Garage : Dodge Returns To Prominence At Daytona [2]
02/12: Tony Stewart : Center of Controversy Once Again [5]
02/05: Toyota's Preseason Testing Numbers: The Shape of Things To Come? [6]
January 2008
01/22: The Best Of The Frontstretch : Give Me A Break: The Significance of Martin Finally Taking The Week Off As Promised
01/21: The Best Of The Frontstretch: 2007: The Worst NASCAR Season Ever
November 2007
11/15: Driven To The Past: Yeah, Here Come The Rooster.....Ricky Rudd [3]
11/13: Hendrick Motorsports: A Decade of Dominance ... And Then Some [5]
11/08: No Small Feat: Tiny Lund [3]
11/07: Change For The Better: Helping The CoT From Becoming a PoS [10]
11/01: A Racer and A Gentleman: Ned Jarrett [3]
October 2007
10/30: 2007: The Year The Biscuit Wheels Came Off The Gravy Train For Dale Earnhardt, Jr. [6]
10/25: One Fast Cat in a Bad Hot Rod: Rusty Wallace
10/23: Getting Their Just Desserts - NASCAR Driver Earnings Finally Matching Those Of Other Major Athletes [5]
10/18: Three Brothers, Two Championships, and a Monkey: Tim Flock [5]
10/16: NASCAR Fans : Still Reviled Among The Elite [17]
10/10: Ain't No Joke: Joe Weatherly [3]
10/09: Talladega Plus The Car of Tomorrow Equals The NFL And A Nap [8]
10/04: One of the Very Best: Bobby Allison [7]
10/03: Much Ado About Nothing At Kansas: Attempting To Create Controversy Where There Is None [13]
September 2007
09/26: 2007: The Worst NASCAR Season Ever [35]
09/20: Wood, Whiskey, Women, and Winning : Curtis Turner [8]
09/18: Mustangs, Camaros, and Challengers, Oh My! Busch Series To Ponycars in 2009? [13]
09/13: Blaze of Glory: Fireball Roberts [4]
09/11: Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and Martin Truex, Jr. : How To Handle The Chase for The Championship [1]
09/06: 83 Wins, 4 Daytona 500's, 3 Championships, and 9 Lives - Driven To The Past: Cale Yarborough [1]
09/04: Where's The Beef? Chase For The Championship A Far Cry From Past Battles [15]
August 2007
08/30: Sounds Like A Stock Car Driver: Coo Coo Marlin [3]
08/28: NASCAR: Lacking Southern Flair? [4]
08/23: Best Of Driven To the Past : Alan Kulwicki [1]
08/22: Blew By You: Kurt Busch Making A Case For Legitimate Title Contender...Turning Bud Fans Blue In The Process
08/16: Driven To The Past: Benny Parsons
08/14: Kyle Busch: Giving 110% for a Great Opportunity...And Other Favorite Cliches [2]
08/09: The Best There Could Have Been - Driven To The Past: Tim Richmond [4]
08/07: Pat Tryson: The Right Man, Right Time For Kurt Busch [3]
08/02: Junk In The Trunk - Driven To The Past: Junior Johnson [1]
July 2007
07/31: The Chase For The Cup: Saving Fans From A Championship Already Decided [5]
07/30: NASCAR: Still Showing What's Right With Sports [12]
07/26: A Winner In Any Era - Driven To The Past: Darrell Waltrip [6]
07/25: Turn That Frown Upside Down: DEI / Ginn Merger Has Upside All Around [7]
07/19: Driven To The Past: Phil Parsons
07/17: Kyle Busch: There's Nothing More Dangerous Than A Man With Nothing Left To Lose [18]
07/12: Turning The Blue Oval Gold - Driven To The Past: Fred Lorenzen [1]
07/10: Green & 13: Unlucky as Ever for Ginn Racing [3]
07/05: Driven To The Past: Greg Sacks [1]
07/04: What's In A Suspension? [6]
June 2007
06/28: Driven To The Past: Ricky Craven [4]
06/26: Why Things Aren't So Bad In NASCAR...Despite What You May Think [2]
06/21: Driven To The Past: Morgan Shepherd [3]
06/19: Get Born Again: Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Leaves Behind Controlling Fans [32]
06/14: Stock Cars: Slightly Cooler Than Golf - A Father's Day Tribute [1]
06/13: Breaking News! Earnhardt, Jr. To Hendrick! Earth Thrown Off Axis, Headed Towards Sun! [11]
06/07: Wicked Fast - Driven To The Past: Pete Hamilton
May 2007
05/31: This Bud's For You - Driven To The Past: Bud Moore [1]
05/29: Another One Bites The Dust: Roush Racing Losing Talent Hand Over Fist [8]
05/24: Italians Do It Better - Driven To The Past: Mario Andretti [1]
05/20: NASCAR: Pandering To Everyone Except Race Fans [21]
05/17: A More Level Playing Field? Toyota Performing Well In Busch, Not So Much In Cup. [2]
05/17: Smoke 'Em If Ya Got 'Em: Driven To The Past-Dick Trickle [2]
05/15: Who Will Drive The No. 8 in '08? [15]
05/14: Dale Earnhardt, Jr.: One Tough Customer [4]
05/10: Driven To The Past: Lake Speed
05/07: Car of Tomorrow Plus Rain Delay Leads To Throwback Race Weekend
05/03: Driven To The Past: LeeRoy Yarbrough [1]
April 2007
04/30: Phantom Cautions: Nothing New To NASCAR [9]
04/26: Driven To The Past: Davey Allison [4]
04/19: Driven To The Past: Dave Marcis [1]
04/12: Driven To The Past: Bobby Hillin, Jr.
04/11: Playing By NASCAR Rules: Continuing To Dissect Section 12-4 [1]
04/05: Driven To The Past: Bobby Isaac [3]
04/03: NASCAR Rules : Actions Detrimental To Stock Car Racing [4]
04/02: The Voice of Vito : Rubbin's Racin'; Wrecking Is Not [11]
March 2007
03/29: Driven To The Past: Harry Gant [2]
03/22: Driven To The Past: Alan Kulwicki [4]
03/20: Give Me A Break: The Significance of Martin Finally Taking The Week Off As Promised [1]
03/15: Driven To The Past: Rick Mast [1]
03/08: Driven To The Past: Neil Bonnett [2]
03/01: Driven To The Past: Buddy Arrington [1]
February 2007
02/28: All That's Missing Is Some Turnbuckles [5]
02/23: Busch Whacked. Again. [3]
02/22: Salute To You III....IV....Anyone For V? [4]
02/22: Driven To The Past: Ernie Irvan [1]
02/15: Driven To The Past: Geoffrey Bodine
02/08: Driven To The Past : Buddy Baker
02/01: That's History Profiles: Derrike Cope [5]