Sunday’s Daytona 500 provided quite the local flair, as two Connecticut natives finished inside the top-10, with Joey Logano and rookie Ryan Preece finished fourth and eighth, respectively, and three in the top-15. Though generally associated with other states, auto racing and Connecticut do share some history, with a number of current and former drivers hailing from the Constitution State.
Here are some of the most famous racing folks the state has produced:
Joey Logano:
The most popular of the bunch, the Middletown native has made quite a career for himself at NASCAR’s highest level. He debuted at age 19 in 2009, winning Rookie of the Year and becoming the youngest winner in Cup history. He won the 2015 Daytona 500 and has another handful of top-10 finishes at the event. And his crowning achievement came last year, when he won the Cup Series championship.
Ryan Preece:
The 28-year-old from Berlin debuted at the Cup Series level in 2015 but is still technically a rookie in 2019. His season got off to a good start with a top-10 finish in his first Daytona 500, and it could have been even better had he not dropped a few positions on the final lap. He’s expected to compete for Rookie of the Year honors.
Parker Kligerman:
Still living in the state in Stamford, Kligerman grew up in Westport, graduating from Staples High. A bit of a journeyman racing career, Kligerman has raced for a number of different teams on a number of different levels – Cup Series, Xfinity Series and Truck Series – and got off to a strong start to 2019 for Gaunt Brothers Racing, finishing 15th in his second Daytona 500. It’s his best finish in any of his 15 Cup Series races.
Jerry Nadeau:
Only Logano has more starts at the Cup level among Connecticut natives than Nadeau, who ran 177 races over a seven-year Cup career. Originally from Dangury, Nadeau won once in his NASCAR career, taking home the 2000 Napa 500 in Atlanta, while compiling 19 top-10 finishes. His racing career was cut short by a serious practice session car accident in 2003, where he suffered life-threatening injuries, from which he has recovered. He is now a mentor to young drivers.
Arlene Hiss:
Hiss only raced at the professional level for a few years, but she reached previously uncharted territories for women. Hailing from Derby, her participation in the 1976 Jimmy Bryan 150 made her the first woman to start an Indy Car race. Though she tried and failed to qualify for both the Indianapolis 500 and NASCAR’s Los Angeles Times 500, she still was a pioneer in women’s racing, facing the kind of criticism you would expect a woman in the 1970s trying to break into racing would face.
Rob Moroso:
Before moving to North Carolina, Moroso lived in Madison in his early years. He looked like a star in the making, winning the Busch Series in 1989 at age 20, the youngest champion in NASCAR history. However,in September 1990, he died four days after his 22nd birthday in an alcohol-related car crash. He was posthumously awarded Rookie of the Year in the Winston Cup.
Ted Christopher:
Best known for competing in the Whelen Modified Tour (NASCAR’s only open-wheeled division), the Plainville native did run in six Cup Series races over a four-year span. Christopher died in a plane crash in 2017 in North Branford when it was believed the plane lost power en route to a Whelen Modified Tour race.
Mike Joy:
Technically he’s never been in an auto race, but he’s one of the most recognizable names in the sport as the lead broadcaster for FOX. He’s been on TV for 40 Daytona 500s, including this year’s. Though born in Chicago, Joy was raised in Windsor and graduated from Conard High in West Hartford before attending the University of Hartford for a brief period.
Jack Arute:
Another legendary name in auto racing broadcasting, Arute grew up in New Britain (think Arute Field… same family). He worked as a pit reporter for over 20 years with ESPN and ABC and is currently the president of Stafford Motor Speedway.