Dennis Vitolo

Dennis Vitolo
Nationality	American
Born	December 18, 1956 Massapequa, New York, U.S.
Retired	1999
CART World Series
Years active	1988–1989, 1991–1999
Teams	Bettenhausen Racing Dale Coyne Racing Walker Racing Dick Simon Racing Pagan Racing Project Indy Payton/Coyne Racing
Starts	36
Wins	0
Poles	0
Best finish	25th in 1997
Previous series
1997	Indy Racing League

Dennis Vitolo (born December 18, 1956) is an American former race driver who competed in the CART series. He raced in the 1988 and 1991-1999 seasons with 36 career starts, including the 1994 Indianapolis 500. He was involved in a notorious pit-lane crash in that race, taking out reigning CART champion Nigel Mansell.^[1] He also raced in the 1997 Indianapolis 500, which by then had become part of the Indy Racing League. His best career CART finish was 7th, in the U.S. 500 at Michigan International Speedway. He was noted for being much more of a businessman than race car driver, always able to find sponsorship despite his lackluster race results.

Racing record

American Open Wheel racing results

(key)

CART

Year	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	Rank	Points
1988	Bettenhausen Racing	PHX	LBH	INDY	MIL	POR	CLE	TOR	MEA	MIS	POC	MDO	ROA	NZR	LS	MIA 11						33rd	2
1989	Bettenhausen Racing	PHX	LBH	INDY	MIL	DET DNQ	POR	CLE	MEA	TOR	MIS	POC	MDO DNQ	ROA	NZR	LS						NC	-
1991	Dale Coyne Racing	SRF Ret	LBH Ret	PHX	INDY	MIL	DET Ret	POR	CLE	MEA	TOR	MIS	DEN	VAN	MDO	ROA	NZR Ret	LS				37th	0
1992	Dale Coyne Racing	SRF	PHX Ret	LBH	INDY	DET	POR	MIL	NHM 14	TOR	MIS	CLE	ROA	VAN		NZR Ret	LS 17					42nd	0
	Walker Motorsport														MDO DNS
1993	Dale Coyne Racing	SRF	PHX	LBH	INDY	MIL	DET DNQ	POR	CLE	TOR	MIS	NHM	ROA	VAN	MDO	NZR	LS					NC	-
1994	Dick Simon Racing	SRF	PHX	LBH	INDY Ret	MIL	DET	POR	CLE	TOR	MIS	MDO	NHM	VAN	ROA	NZR	LS					53rd	0
1995	Pagan Racing	MIA Ret	SRF	PHX	LBH	NZR	INDY	MIL	DET	POR	ROA	TOR	CLE	MIS	MDO	NHM	VAN	LS				41st	0
1996	Project Indy	MIA	RIO	SRF	LBH Ret	NZR	500	MIL	DET	POR	CLE	TOR	MIS	MDO	ROA	VAN	LS					38th	0
1997	Project Indy	MIA Ret	SRF	LBH Wth	NZR DNQ	RIO	GAT	MIL	DET	POR	CLE					VAN Ret	LS 20					25th	6
	Payton/Coyne Racing											TOR Ret	MIS 7	MDO	ROA			FON 16
1998	Payton/Coyne Racing	MIA Ret	MOT	LBH	NZR Ret	RIO	GAT Ret	MIL DNQ	DET Ret	POR 18	CLE Ret	TOR	MIS Ret	MDO	ROA	VAN Ret	LS Ret	HOU Ret	SRF DNS	FON Ret		33rd	0
1999	Payton/Coyne Racing	MIA 16	MOT	LBH	NZR Wth	RIO	GAT Ret	MIL 22	POR	CLE	ROA	TOR Ret	MIS 11	DET	MDO	CHI 15	VAN	LS	HOU	SRF	FON 15	30th	2

Indy Racing League

Year	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Rank	Points
1996-1997	Beck Motorsports	NHM	LVS	WDW	PHX	INDY 15	TXS	PPIR	CHR	NH2	LV2	45th	20

Indianapolis 500

Year	Chassis	Engine	Start	Finish	Team
1994	Lola T93/00	Ford XB	15	26	Dick Simon Racing
1997	Dallara	Infiniti	28	15	Beck Motorsports

References

1. Reed, Terry. Indy: The Race and Ritual of the Indianapolis 500

External links

• Biography of Dennis Vitolo