Rob Rizzo (born June 5, 1973) is an American former NASCAR driver. In his career, he scored three top-10 finishes in the Craftsman Truck Series, which was the only national touring series he raced in.

Rob Rizzo
Born (1973-06-05) June 5, 1973 (age 51)
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series career
19 races run over 4 years
Best finish29th - 1997 (Craftsman Truck Series)
First race1996 Parts America 150 (Watkins Glen)
Last race1999 Grainger Industrial Supply 225K (Portland)
Wins Top tens Poles
3

NASCAR career

edit

Rizzo made his debut in 1996, running his own Rizzo Racing Ford at Watkins Glen International. He had a top-10 run there, started 6th and finishing 7th. Rizzo qualified for three more races that year, including an 11th place at Infineon Raceway. However, he did not finish the other two races.

Rizzo made a dozen starts in 1997. Once again, he got his best finish of the year in his first start, a 6th-place run at Tucson. However, Rizzo struggled in his other starts, as he only posted three top-20 finishes thereafter.

Rizzo would only make two starts in 1998, as Scot Walters purchased Rizzo's ride. Rizzo, however, ended up with the #98 Liberty Racing Ford team. Rizzo struggled in his first race at Homestead-Miami, finishing 30th after a crash. However, in the next race at Watkins Glen, Rizzo managed another top-10 finish. He started and finished 8th in that event.

Rizzo made his final start in 1999, running one race at Portland International Raceway. He struggled, ending up 21st in that event. He has not raced in NASCAR since.

Marriage

edit

Rizzo married actress Natalia Cigliuti in 2004 but in 2013 it was revealed that they had since divorced.[1] They have a son.[1]

Motorsports career results

edit

NASCAR

edit

(key) (Bold - Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics - Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Craftsman Truck Series

edit
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series results
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 NCTC Pts Ref
1996 RGR Racing 27 Ford HOM PHO POR EVG TUS CNS HPT BRI NZH MLW LVL I70 IRP FLM GLN
7
NSV RCH NHA
22
MAR NWS SON
11
MMR PHO LVS
37
49th 425 [2]
1997 WDW
DNQ
TUS
6
HOM
16
PHO
DNQ
POR
25
EVG I70
DNQ
NHA
39
TEX BRI
16
NZH
30
MLW LVL CNS HPT IRP
30
FLM NSV
30
GLN
31
RCH
DNQ
MAR SON
23
MMR
18
CAL
28
PHO
DNQ
LVS 29th 1306 [3]
1998 Liberty Racing 98 Ford WDW HOM
30
PHO POR EVG I70 GLN
8
TEX
DNQ
BRI MLW
DNQ
NZH CAL PPR IRP NHA FLM NSV HPT LVL RCH MEM GTY MAR SON MMR PHO LVS 52nd 310 [4]
1999 CJ Racing 27 Ford HOM PHO EVG MMR MAR MEM PPR I70 BRI TEX PIR
21
GLN MLW NSV NZH MCH NHA IRP GTY HPT RCH LVS LVL TEX CAL 96th 100 [5]

References

edit
  1. ^ a b Soap Opera Digest. Catching up with...Natalia Cigliuti. December 30, 2013 (vol. 38, no. 52). pg. 76–78.
  2. ^ "Rob Rizzo – 1996 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 10, 2023.
  3. ^ "Rob Rizzo – 1997 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 10, 2023.
  4. ^ "Rob Rizzo – 1998 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 10, 2023.
  5. ^ "Rob Rizzo – 1999 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 10, 2023.
edit
  • Rob Rizzo driver statistics at Racing-Reference