Dick Moroso
One of the most innovative figures in motorsports, Dick Moroso used foresite and imagination to become one of the most successful speed equipment manufacturers in the modern era. He began his career in the mid-1960s racing is ’61 Corvette in the Modified Sports and Modify Production categories. Much of his performance advantage came from hand-built pieces Dick design for his car. When other racers requested duplicates of his parts, he soon found that filling these requests took all the spare time he had from his Performance Automotive speed shop in Stanford Connecticut. He established Moroso Performance Products in 1968 where he developed and manufactured such innovative products as aluminum and steel valve covers, Blue Max spark plug wires, and extra capacity oil pans. After 10 years in his first 40,000 square-foot plant in Stanford, he moved to a larger facility in Guilford Connecticut, which needed even further expansion in the mid-80s. Dick bought a dragstrip in West Palm Beach Florida, developing it into Moroso Motorsports Park and annually held the sports highest paying bracket race. Dick passed on at the young age of 59 in November 1988, but the tradition of Moroso Performance Products lives on with his son Rick as company president and daughter Susan as president of Moroso Motorsports.