A great friend, mentor, and what I considered my second father, Fausto
Vitello passed away this past Saturday afternoon after suffering a
heart-attack while riding his motorcycle.
It was unexpected and sudden and it is a loss for me bigger than any I have
experienced outside of my own father's 8 years ago. Fausto meant so much to
me and I will miss him more than I can describe.
Fausto and I first met nearly 13 years ago when I was just some guy that met
him in his office about a go-kart ride. "So you want to race go-karts?"
The first thing he said, "You need these gears, this clutch etc." Then he
said, "Lets go get that stuff now." Together and we jumped in his Corvette
and hauled ass over to his go-kart shop to get me going on what would
ultimately be the start of my racing career and our friendship.
Fausto was this type of guy. If he was your friend he would do anything for
you-- and he did for me. He was a self-made man and was the type of guy that
would always cut through the bullshit and tell you exactly what was on his
mind. This insulted a lot of people-- but made me smile and learn. So many
times we would be at the track and the next thing I would notice is Fausto
telling somebody to get the f@$# out of his pits! This made Fausto stand
out. If you didn't want to hear the truth you weren't going to get along
with Fausto that was for sure!
I respected Fausto so much that I confided in him with everything from
personal advice to business advice and everything in-between. I was able to
do this because his character and integrity was stronger than anybody I have
ever known-- and I trusted him.
I was also impressed by Fausto as a family man. We talked often about Gwen
his wife, Tony his son, and Sally his daughter and the time he spent with
them. He was so proud of all of them and made me realize how important
family is to a happy life.
I have always said that racing for Fausto and his company Trackmagic Karts
was the best experience I ever had in racing. When I was racing go-karts
full time, Fausto provided me with anything that I needed to win races.
Fausto loved to race and win and he inspired me to work harder than the
competition to win races and to push myself as a person. He was the team
owner and person that could care less about the racing hype. If staying all
night at the track and rebuilding your kart would make you win, he was there
with you doing it all night. One of the happiest moments of my life was when
I won the 1999 Super Nationals shifter kart championship with Fausto there
wrenching on my kart. My next happiest moment was having Fausto at my first
Champ Car test in 1999 after everything we had been together with go-karts.
However, it wasn't the go-karts, or racing stuff that made my experience
with Fausto great. Fausto, the man, was the reason. And now here I am
writing this. There is so much more that I wanted to experience with Fausto
and I can't believe he is gone. However, I will always appreciate the 13
years that I had to be around one of the biggest influences of my life.
Thanks, Fausto for being a great friend, and everything you have done for
me. You will be missed immensely.
-Memo
