Mather Gets Fast and Furious

Patrick C. Staropoli ’12 may sit behind you in class, but he’d undoubtedly be in front of you on the racetrack. When he’s home in southern Florida, the dark-haired junior neurobiology concentrator in Mather moonlights as a professional racecar driver in the American Speed Association Late Model Series, a regional version of NASCAR.

Staropoli started racing go-karts at the age of 13, and moved up to the fast and furious world of racecar driving in high school. He was inspired by his father and grandfather, both veteran racecar drivers who took him to his first race track at the tender age of six months.

“There are a lot of kids who are racing now because of Jeff Gordon, but Patrick’s racing because he likes to race,” said Joe E. Winchell, a veteran racecar driver from Florida who has raced with Staropoli and his father in the past. According to Anthony A. Sandora, a member of Staropoli’s crew, their routine simply starts up when he gets back to Florida. “When he’s home, we’ll be working in the garage, wondering who is actually going to be at the race track, what times people will be running, and how stiff the competition will be when we get there,” said Sandora.

This summer Staropoli won an impressive two out of the five races in which he entered. Racing tests a driver’s physical strength and endurance­—the car will go about 160 miles per hour on the straightaways, and about 90 miles per hour around the corners. “It’s not like driving a car on a road,” said Staropoli. “It’s a lot of g-force on your body.” While he’s at Harvard, Staropoli keeps up with the newest adjustments to the car’s technology, which he explains is a critical part of the sport.

Although New England doesn’t hold racing’s biggest fanbase, he enjoys spreading the racing love. “There’s definitely a big 180 from Florida­—when I’m home I’m in my element and surrounded by people who are passionate about racing too. At school, I like trying to introduce my friends to it,” he said.

Staropoli’s dedication to the sport makes him well regarded in the racing community, explained Winchell. “If you’re called a racer, that means a lot. You’re not just doing it for whatever reason. We consider Patrick a racer.”