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The End Justifies the Means
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At least that's how IHRA Top Sportsman Marco Abruzzi sees it…
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By Bobby Bennett, Jr. Photos by Bryan Epps |
Marco Abruzzi readily admits that he's still in a state of shock when it comes to understanding what transpired on the 2003 IHRA Hooters Drag Racing Series tour. The 35-year old automatic transmission rebuilder from Warren , Ohio cannot grasp the reality of the good fortunes that fell in his lap. Winning the Top Sportsman World Championship was something he clearly didn't expect.
The interesting thing about Abruzzi 's conquest is that he clinched the title after winning the second national event of the season. If that seems a little far-fetched, it isn't once you consider that the event was the first of two scheduled during the same weekend in October. Abruzzi took home the rain-delayed Top Sportsman title from the Spring Nationals in Rockingham , NC . Choosing to be on the safe side, Abruzzi ended his season on Thursday, the first day of the four-day race weekend. A potential mechanical failure and the subsequent loss of points for an oildown made the decision for Abruzzi . Earlier in the year at Milan , he lost an oil line off of the dry sump at the finish line in the fourth round of eliminations.  “At the time, I didn't even know there was a penalty,” Abruzzi said of the Black Flag Penalty. “I wasn't happy because it was a certified line. Pretty much, there wasn't anything I could do about it. It was the first time that I had ever left fluid on the track in the six years that I had raced with the IHRA. I got a 15-point fine from it.”
“I had no idea that I could ever be a player in the championship game,” explained Abruzzi . “It wasn't that big of a deal because I wasn't doing that well. I had been winning rounds, I just couldn't close with a win.” Abruzzi 's thought process began to change. At the first of two Pittsburgh divisional events, Abruzzi reached the final round. When rain halted the event until the second one, it gave him something to build on. He then traveled to VMP's points race and lost early. He admitted, “I raced about nine weekends in a row and my head just wasn't in it.”
Abruzzi sat home when the President's Cup Nationals rolled into Maryland International Raceway and the break from racing may have been the best thing for him. A phone call came over that weekend from newly crowned Stock World Champion Michael Beard informing him that if he won both Pittsburgh races and the Spring race in Rockingham, that he had a good chance of contending for the title.
“I thought to myself that since I had not won a race all season that my chances were pretty slim,” explained Abruzzi . “I went to Pittsburgh and won both of them. I knew that we had to win Rockingham.” The odds worked in Abruzzi 's favor. Not only did he have to win the race, he had to hope that second place runner Ken Langlois failed to make the cut in the World Finals race. Third place Ricky Adkins had failed to make the cut at the Spring Nationals.
Pittsburgh 's second points race was the key, because he stopped Langlois in the first round. If Langlois had won that event, the championship would have been done at that point. Langlois still could have won the championship had he have qualified in Rockingham. This is one time that Abruzzi is grateful for the saying, “would have, should have, could have.” “Going into Pittsburgh , I was actually considering this to be a pretty poor season,” Abruzzi added. “I hadn't won a race this season. I really hadn't suffered any breakage this year. We had no major problems with the car. I was driving well - I just wasn't able to produce a win.”
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“I guess I really can't believe it has happened,” explained Abruzzi . “It was a bizarre situation to get there. My dad said it the best, ‘After over $300,000 spent, we finally got a $10,000 check.' It feels good. When I got home, a lot of people that wasn't at the race from Division 1 and Division 3 called and offered their congratulations on winning. That was a pretty nice gesture.” 
Even if someone did win the World Finals, they still couldn't have caught him. However, if he had oiled the track, we would be featuring someone else now. Gaining the championship points lead and losing again would have turned his dream into a nightmare. 
As is with all great champions, Abruzzi recognized that he couldn't have done it alone. He credits his Mom and Dad, wife Kim, Gary Reavis at Huntsville Racing Engines, Hoosier, Victory titanium valves, Tim McAmis Race Cars, Jay Marshall Race Cars and Abruzzi Racing Transmissions for helping him to attain the championship. 