Danny Rotondo
I don't know when my love for Corvettes started. Some people remember the exact moment though I can only remember the decade. It was the mid 70's, when I was between the ages of 8 and 10. My father was always into cars and racing. As a kid, we used to watch the Indy cars race on Saturday afternoons on ABC's Wide World of sports. When he'd come home from work he would bring me Corvette matchbox cars or models for me to build. So as far as I can remember, cars were part of my life and the Corvette was the first sports car I ever wanted. It was my dream car. The one thing I always wanted. I collected corvette posters and magazine articles. I remember one time in the early 80's I was at a Feast (the Italian version of a fair) where there were games you could win prizes at. It cost my dad 20 bucks to win me a t-shirt that read "KISS MY ASS WITH FIBERGLASS". I did not know what fiberglass was, but it had a picture of a Vette and it said "KISS MY ASS", so I had to have it.
The years flew by and my dream car was just that, a dream. I held Vettes in such high regard that I never believed I could own one. I also believed it was impossible for me to play guitar in a band, get married and forget about buying a house. There was no way I would be able to do all that! Somehow with persistence, some hard work and a little luck, I was able to pull it all off. Six months after my Eclipse was totaled (I lived in Brooklyn all my life with no incidents, six months in Jersey I get rear ended by a Bronco and my car was junked), I told my wife, Dawn, "I'm getting a Vette!" "And with what money?!" was her response. I told her, "I don't care where the money comes from; I'm getting a Vette, even if I have to sell you". She didn't think that was funny at all. Thank God for her though, she was the one that found the way for me to buy it. I believe behind every good man there is a great woman, especially when she buys you a Vette.
Went I started shopping for my Vette, I really wanted an 82 or a 72. To me those are Corvettes. They were the ones I grew up with. To me, the C3 is shaped like a sexy, shapely woman, and the C4 is like Popeye's Olive Oil. I test drove an 82 and to make a long story short I was very disappointed. I was devastated, but my wife insisted I go and test the C4's. When I pulled up to Classix Corvettes and saw all the C4's lined up I lost my mind. I ran in and asked for the keys to almost all of them. I was like a cigar smoker let loose in a Cuban cigar shop; I didn't know which to smoke first. I got in the 1993 Aqua LT1 Automatic, with its leather interior, CD player and 300 horses and said "lets take this for a test drive". As soon as I got off the lot, my palms got sweaty, my heart was beating faster and while the salesman was talking all I heard was, Blah, Blah, Blah. I told him, "You don't have to convince me, I'll take it!" That was Saturday Feb 2, 2002 on the 5th I showed up with a certified check and took it home.
Growing up I also remember hearing commercials on the radio for Old Bridge Township Raceway Park, Englishtown, NJ. Living in Brooklyn, Englishtown was like another country, so even if I wanted to go, I wasn't going to go all the way to Jersey. So here I am now ten minutes away from the racetrack in Marlboro, with a Corvette in the garage. I still think sometimes I'm just dreaming. The first thing I did after buying the Vette, was join the Corvette Forum, it has been a valuable source of information. From there I found the Corvette Challenge. On opening day of 2002 I hoped in my Vette and went to watch the competition. My first thought was, there is no way I am going to do that to my Vette! These guys are nuts, beating up there cars like that, modifying them, how dare they! After the season ended and winter started, I had plenty of time to think about things. I thought of my Eclipse. It was 10 years old with less then 90,000 miles on it when it was killed. I take good care of my cars, do not "abuse" them and keep the mileage low so when I sell, I will get better value. When the insurance gave me two grand for my car they didn't care the condition or mileage. That's when I realized, "Why keep my Vette as a garage queen?" I bought it to enjoy it, not just stare at it. I also learned that life is short; there is no time to be shy, insecure and afraid to take chances and to do things that you would enjoy.
| 2003 ECS Corvette Challenge
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| Danny Rotondo in the 1993 Aqua LT1 AutomaticCorvette in the far lane
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During the winter months, and spending time on the forum, I decided to join the Corvette Challenge. I asked tons of questions, from "how-to" to "will this break my car?" Everyone was very knowledgeable and very eager to help the new guy. Opening day 2003 was amazing!! I got there 8:00 AM and sat in fear as the place started filling up with all those Vettes. When I finally got to the pits and people recognized my car by its bright Aqua color. It was a great feeling having everyone I met online on the forum come over and introduce him or her. It relived a lot of the stress I was feeling. I must have met 20 people in like 4 minutes; it's all a big blur. Who will stay imprinted in my brain the most is John Panuzzo, "WOW!" He taught me everything I needed to know in 12.32 seconds. He is like a big ball of energy. The first advice he gave me was turn off the ASR. My first reaction time was .564. However, I fish tailed all over the place. The next run I turned it back on and went back to over .650 reaction time. The first round of eliminations, I blew the light and lost. I went into the stands and sat with Dawn. She said. "Your car is slow and you don't smoke your tires." I told her that I'm completely stock. She said, "You need to modify it!" I tell you she is an angel. I'm really looking forward to all the Challenges. I don't care if I win or lose I love being around a bunch of good people and all of those great Vettes.
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