FORT WAYNE, Ind. — It isn’t for lack of effort or desire, but rather a lack of luck that third generation driver Joe Liguori hasn’t ventured into the Rumble in Fort Wayne victory circle.
“I have been leaving the Rumble every year since 2007 saying, maybe one day I’ll win that race,” remarked the Lebanon, Ind. driver.
“Each year, as I mail in my entry form, I say to myself, ‘Maybe this is the year,’ and our team gets to work in preparation of the challenge.”
He will get two more chances at the end of the month, when the annual indoor racing event returns to the massive Allen County War Memorial Coliseum December 29-30.
The event will be broadcast live by SPEED SPORT affiliate PitRow.tv.
He will be in the mix on the purpose-built concrete oval with his trusty Cliff Jacobs chassis that was built in 1990. The chassis has been highly modified and updated through the years to keep up with the competitive nature of indoor racing.
With a total of 30 Rumble appearances and 16 consecutive feature starts to his credit, Liguori’s stats reflect three top-threes, eight top-fives and 16 top-ten finishes.
But when it comes to wins, the score remains at zero. The frustrations continued last year as Liguori was handily leading the feature race and in strong contention for that elusive win until a collision with one of the infield marker tires ended his run.
“I was very upset at the time, but at the end of the night, I was back to being me – head up and smiling,” reflected Liguori. “I have tried nearly everything to change my luck, and it has become somewhat of a standing joke among my racing friends. This year, I had foam can coolers imprinted with ‘0X Rumble Winner’ on them. I sure hope they become outdated quickly.”
Following the footsteps of his popular grandfather, Ralphie ‘the racer’ and dad Frank, Joe is keeping the Liguori racing heritage moving forward. He will be taking the familiar No. 8up machine to Fort Wayne this month with sponsorship help from Sunshine Trailer Park, Power Cool Manufacturing, Indy Power Coating, Brand X, Penske Shocks and Keizer Wheels.