John "Reggie" Ruggiero is an American former NASCAR driver. He is known for his dominance in the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour in the 1990s despite never winning the championship.[1]
Reggie Ruggiero | |||||||
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Born | John Ruggiero July 28, 1951 Rocky Hill, Connecticut | ||||||
NASCAR Xfinity Series career | |||||||
4 races run over 3 years | |||||||
1995 position | 113th | ||||||
Best finish | 54th (1987) | ||||||
First race | 1987 Miller 500 (Martinsville) | ||||||
Last race | 1995 NE Chevy Dealers 250 (Loudon) | ||||||
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Racing career
editNASCAR Busch Series
editRuggiero debuted in the Busch Series in 1987, where he drove the No. 90 Cox Chevrolet to a 10th place finish after he had started 20th. He returned to the car for the next race at Darlington, where he finished 26th after starting 27th. He was then replaced by Rusty Wallace for the remainder of the season.
In 1993, he drove the No. 13 Auto Palace Chevrolet at Loudon, and started 23rd. A crash caused him to finish 30th in the race.
His fourth and last race in the series was in 1995, where he drove his own No. 06 Chevrolet at Loudon to a 20th place finish after starting 18th.
NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour
editRuggiero raced in the Modified Tour from 1985 until 2009; a total of 24 years. He has participated in a total of 419 races in the series and won 44 of those races.[2] He has also finished as runner-up in the points standings seven times.[3][4]
Ruggiero has the second most wins in the series as of 2018, with 44 victories, 30 behind from Mike Stefanik's 74.[5]
After racing
editRuggiero later found work in the chassis shop of Stewart-Haas Racing, where he helps them in building their cars.[6] He has also been inducted into the New England Auto Racers Hall of Fame.[7]
Motorsports career results
editNASCAR
edit(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)
Busch Series
editNASCAR Busch Series results | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Year | Team | No. | Make | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | NBSC | Pts | Ref | |||||||
1987 | Shugart Racing | 90 | Chevy | DAY | HCY | MAR 10 |
54th | 134 | [8] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Buick | DAR 26 |
BRI | LGY | SBO | CLT | DOV | IRP | ROU | JFC | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
80 | Ford | OXF DNQ |
SBO | HCY | RAL | LGY | ROU | BRI | JFC | DAR | RCH | DOV | MAR | CLT | CAR | MAR | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
1993 | 13 | Chevy | DAY | CAR | RCH | DAR | BRI | HCY | ROU | MAR | NZH | CLT | DOV | MYB | GLN | MLW | TAL | IRP | MCH | NHA 30 |
BRI | DAR | RCH | DOV | ROU | CLT | MAR | CAR | HCY | ATL | NA | - | [9] | ||||||||
1995 | Ruggiero Racing | 06 | Chevy | DAY | CAR | RCH | ATL | NSV | DAR | BRI | HCY | NHA 20 |
NZH | CLT | DOV | MYB | GLN | MLW | TAL | SBO | IRP | MCH | BRI | DAR | RCH | DOV | CLT | CAR | HOM | NA | - | [10] |
References
edit- ^ Albert, Zack (February 5, 2018). "Reggie Ruggiero's legend lives on at Stewart-Haas Racing". Retrieved March 16, 2019.
- ^ DeGray, Nick (November 17, 2017). "Class of 2017 Announced For the Riverside Park Speedway Hall of Fame". Retrieved March 16, 2019.
- ^ Courchesne, Shawn (October 25, 2018). "Modified Racing Pioneer And Legendary Team Owner Bob Judkins Passes".
- ^ "The Famous Barney 14: A Family And Grandson Continue A Tradition On Whelen Modified Tour". October 5, 2018. Retrieved March 16, 2019.
- ^ Courchesne, Shawn (August 6, 2018). "Exclusive: Ted Christopher, Mike Stefanik Lead 2018 New England Racing Hall Of Fame Induction Class". Retrieved March 16, 2019.
- ^ Schrote, Jesse (February 5, 2018). "A legendary racer is behind all of Stewart Haas' cars". Retrieved March 16, 2019.
- ^ Remillard, Jason (April 5, 2012). "Racin' with Jason: Ted Hebert and Teddy Bear Pools to help sponsor NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour race at Monadnock". Retrieved March 16, 2019.
- ^ "Reggie Ruggiero – 1987 NASCAR Busch Grand National Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved March 18, 2019.
- ^ "Reggie Ruggiero – 1993 NASCAR Busch Grand National Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved March 18, 2019.
- ^ "Reggie Ruggiero – 1995 NASCAR Busch Grand National Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved March 18, 2019.
External links
edit- Reggie Ruggiero driver statistics at Racing-Reference