February 12, 2011
By Allen Madding
Rob Moroso was born on September 28, 1968 in Madison, Connecticut. His father was nationally recognized drag racer.
The same year Rob was born, his father Dick Moroso, launched Moroso Performance an innovative manufacturer/supplier of parts that racers needed.
Rob had started racing go-karts at the age of 10 and at the young age of 16 began competing in the Charlotte/Daytona Dash Series.
The following year, 1986, at the age of 17, he made his debut in the NASCAR Busch Grand National Series in the Roses Store 150 driving Rick Hendrick’s No. 23 Old Milwaukee Oldsmobile at Orange County Speedway at Rougemont, North Carolina. He made a second appearance on the NASCAR Busch schedule when the series visited Rockingham, North Carolina for the Sandhills 200. Again Moroso was driving Hendrick’s Old Milwaukee Oldsmobile, only this time it was the No. 15. Moroso finished 18th in a field of 28.
In 1987, Moroso competed in the NASCAR Busch North Series Diet Coke 100 at Oxford Plains, Maine where he finished 16th. That year, his father’s company, Moroso Performance became his sponsor and his father became his car owner in the NASCAR Busch Series. Driving the Moroso Performance No. 25 Oldsmobile, Moroso competed in 25 of the 27 NASCAR Busch events on the 1987 schedule.
His first top ten finish in the series came in the Busch 200 at South Boston Speedway in Virginia where he finished eighth. A few weeks later he scored a fifth place finish in the Kroger 200 at Indianapolis Raceway Park. Another fifth place finish came in the Oxford 250 at Oxford Plains, Maine. By the season’s end, Moroso had racked up two top five and eight top ten finishes.
In 1988, 19 year old Moroso began to make a name for himself as a race car driver. He finished ninth in the season opening Goody’s 300 at Daytona, then finishing third in the Miller Classic at Martinsville. A second place finish in the Pennsylvania 300 at Nazareth, Pennsylvania signaled that a win was just around the corner.
When the Series rolled in to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina in July, Moroso scored his first NASCAR Busch Series win in the Myrtle Beach 200. He then scored back to back poles in qualifying for the Coors 200 at South Boston, Virginia and for the Pepsi 200 at Hickory, North Carolina. He scored his second career win in the All Pro 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. By the end of the 1988 season, Moroso had started in the complete 30 event Busch Series scheduled recording two poles, two wins, ten top-fives and 18 top-ten finishes.
1988 also marked Moroso’s debut in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series. He drove Rick Hendrick’s No. 47 Peak Antifreeze Chevrolet to a 14th place finish in the Oakwood Homes 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. And, he drove his father’s No. 22 Oldsmobile in the Holy Farms 400 at North Wilkesboro, North Carolina.
Moroso continued to succeed behind the wheel of his father’s No. 25 Oldsmobile in the NASCAR Busch Series in 1989 with sponsor Swisher Sweets. He qualified on the pole and then won the Goodwrench 200 at Rockingham. He qualified on the pole for the Miller Classic at Martinsville and for the Busch 200 at South Boston, Virginia. He won the Champion 300 at Charlotte. He qualified on the pole and then won the Firecracker 200 at Volusia County Speedway at Barberville, Florida. Three more poles came in qualifying for the Old Milwaukee 200 at New River Valley Speedway in Dublin, Virginia, for the Texas Pete 200 at Orange County Speedway at Rougemont, North Carolina, and for the Zerex 150 at Martinsville. And he chalked up another win in the All-Pro 300 at Charlotte. By year’s end, Moroso had logged seven poles, four wins, 12 top-five and 16 top-ten finishes winning the NASCAR Busch Series Championship.
He made two more starts in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series driving his father’s No. 22 Prestone Oldsmobile at Dover and the No. 20 Swisher Sweet Oldsmobile at Atlanta but was involved in crashes at both events.
His father elected to step the team up to competing fulltime in the NASCAR Winston Cup series in 1990. Moroso finished ninth in the Pepsi 400 at Daytona in July in the No. 20 Crown Petroleum Oldsmobile.
Just hours after finishing 21st in the Tyson Holly Farms 400 at North Wilkesboro, North Carolina, Rob Moroso was involved in a crash on highway 150 outside of Mooresville, North Carolina. Moroso lost control of his Oldsmobile at an estimated speed of 75 mph, skidding 242 feet broadside into a curve and colliding with an oncoming car killing himself and the driver of the other car, Tammy Williams, a 27 year old mother of two. Debbie Bryan, Rob’s girlfriend and passenger in his car, and John Earnhardt, a passenger in William’s car, were both injured and required surgery following the accident. Toxicology reports would later reveal His blood-alcohol level was 0.22 percent at the time of the accident, more than twice the legal limit.
What prompted me to tell you the story of a young promising NASCAR driver tragically killed in his prime?
On Sunday, February 6, 2011, Mooresville, North Carolina Police arrested a NASCAR Nationwide Series driver after slamming into the back of another car sitting at a red light. Officers charged the driver with resisting arrest, failure to reduce speed, unlawful use of a mobile phone to text or send email, and driving while intoxicated. His blood alcohol level was 0.32 percent almost four times the legal limit. Fortunately, no one was injured in this crash which did an estimated $9,000 damage to the two vehicles involved.
The driver involved? Michael Annett, driver for Rusty Wallace Racing in the NASCAR Nationwide Series.
Rusty Wallace Racing announced that they will require Annett to participate in an alcohol awareness program and a year-long community service program.
I hope that Rusty Wallace takes the time to make Annett familiar with the story of Rob Moroso, a promising career cut short due to driving while impaired and the senseless death of Tammy Williams, mother of two.
The thoughts and ideas expressed by this writer or any other writer on Insider Racing News, are not necessarily the views of the staff and/or management of IRN.
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