The road-racing community lost an icon with the death of Joe Stimola, who made his mark preparing cars, building engines and coaching young open-wheel talent.
Stimola, of Glen Cove, on Long Island, died Saturday of complications from heart surgery at Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center in Florida. Stimola, whose age wasn't given in his obituary, had a triple bypass and double valve replacement operation on Friday.
His wife, Nancy, is an active partner in his Stimola Race Preparation business and is the daughter of the late Alberta Swartwood of Elmira.
Internet message boards have been filled with the words of people remembering Stimola. People have described him as "kind," "generous" and "always willing to help."
Stimola had a passion for racing and freely shared his knowledge with others. He gladly offered advice to any racer, even those from competing teams.
A message board poster by the name Pru may have summed up his character best, in saying on the web site forum of
www.apexspeed.com, "Joe went above and beyond what was expected to help others."
Stimola was a driver coach, engine builder, crew chief, race engineer and a chassis setup specialist. But to those who knew him, even briefly, he was a friend.
He spent many of his more than 40 years in racing helping young formula-car drivers reach their highest goals, whether it was in Sports Car Club of America amateur competition or driver developmental feeder series such as the North American Formula Atlantic Series.
Among the drivers he nurtured in Formula Ford and Formula Atlantic racing were Bobby Rahal, Chip Ganassi, Danny Sullivan, Michael Andretti, Davy Jones and Price Cobb. He ran an Indy Lights programs in the 1980s and also worked with drivers Boris Said, Guy Cosmo, Johnny O'Connell, Eric Bachelart, Bruce McInnis and Paul Newman.
He was a fixture at the annual SCCA National Championship Runoffs, where his drivers scored five titles.
Stimola competed in Formula Ford and some sedan racing from 1969 to 1973. He started Stimola Race Preparation in 1971 in Locust Valley, N.Y. The company was originally focused on engine and chassis preparation before it grew to team preparation in the 1980s.
Donna and I will personally miss Joe, he built the shocks on our Solstice and provided a lot of help with our setup. Farewell old friend!
Login
Register
FAQ
Search
