The Joe Amato Story

I guess when I woke up the next morning it was like what happened to the switch? I'm used to waking up and full speed with Amato Racing. Tomorrow is more or less unwinding everything and moving all the pieces of the puzzle to the next chapter. It's been a great, great ride. Like all good things in life, sometimes you have to change the chapter. I have my health and now I'll have the time and freedom to come to a few races and do what I want to do, but not be here and have the Monday to Friday obligation. I still have many other business interests and I will be keeping myself busy. I'm not the type of person to sit on the couch, trust me. It's a big responsibility out here to have a team and make sure you know what's going on with them. Keeping sponsorships going is a business and it's becoming an even bigger and more competitive business. After all these years, it can wear you out a little bit. Plus, when you're not driving, you lose a little bit control over your ability to win.

A lot of people came up to me this weekend and said thanks for the memories, but I think it's been my pleasure to be able to perform in front of all the fans. Without the fans, this sport would be nothing. What supports that are the media, the sponsor people, and the NHRA. Over the years, that's been the best part – the people, whether it's the fans or the people involved in the sport and having the same denominator of competition. I have all the memories. Wins and records are great, but the people, the fun in trying to be the best of the best on Sunday and being lucky enough to do it every once in a while, lets me savor and enjoy my career from what I've accomplished in my mind during my unwinding years.

I think the way the 'Snoopy' thing came along. I met a big fan in Minnesota at the Brainerd race. There was a woman with a couple of kids in a wagon that I befriended. The next thing you know they brought me a pair of Snoopy underwear and I won the race. I modeled my Snoopy shorts in the winner's circle and that started the whole Snoopy thing for many years. I had Snoopy on my car, it was Snoopy everywhere. I still have a lot of Snoopy stuff at my house to this day and I've always been a (Charles) Shultz fan. It was a lot of fun, but it also developed into as part of my racing aura.

I think to begin discussing that racing relationship you have to understand that we were friends, we're from the same area, and we grew up together. Ray Laboski was a good friend of Tim's and we ended up racing Alcohol together. At the time, Tim had his own Super Stock car, I wanted to go Alcohol Funny Car racing, and Tim decided to come with us and be the crew chief, building the engines for Ray and me. The three of us grew up together as sportsman racers and then later we transferred up to Top Fuel. Probably the biggest single mistake I made in my career was not staying involved with Timmy.

There are two races that I remember most. When I raced Ormsby for the championship in 1990, which was a high-pressure drama of having the final round determine the champion and the other one was when I finally won the Keystone Nationals after 15 years of trying to win it. After many runner-ups, I was able to win the race (1999) and then as luck would have it; I won it again the next year. To me that was about as emotional of a win in front of the hometown crowd. I remember we had around 3,000 employees of Keystone Automotive, family, friends, and everybody you've known all your life were there celebrating with us.

I still want to stay a part of racing. I'll be back at Pomona next year. How I want to be part of it all is yet to unwind and who ends up where. However, I would like to stay included with a small part of a team or hang around with a couple of teams. I'll see what develops. I've got many people that I'm friends with out here. I've got many business interests. I still do real estate and some developmental projects. I want to be able to kick back, slow down and smell the roses. I've always been full speed ahead on a treadmill all my life.

That's a tough question. I would tell them thanks for all their support over the years. For being there through thick and thin, because in any sports business, you're not a winning team every year. You have some ups, some downs, good luck and bad. The true Joe Amato fans have been through it all and that's what a true fan is as well as a friend. Someone that is with you all the way. Thanks fans, you're the best!