Thanks for watching, everyone! I just wanted to clarify something. The Pete Pistone that we mention was arrested at 6:19 is NOT the same Pete Pistone who is on SiriusXM. They were cousins. But I don't want to give off the impression that it was the radio guy who was involved in the dealings.
mario’s great nephew here, thank you for covering this, it means a lot to us. It’s kinda hard to find information on him for multiple reasons which i won’t get into and for some reason he doesn’t even have a wikipedia page. But we really appreciate this
I knew a man (now deceased) who knew him from when he had a hanger at Spartanburg airport . He saw bale quantity of pot back then said they had police escorts . He also that dick brooks was some how involved directly or indirectly in the operation via a grass airstrip on brooks property in woodruff SC. Keep in mind that has always been rumored that dick brooks and Vic Bailey Sr (both new car dealership owners) played a large roll in the drug trade in South Carolina . He didn’t say anything about them in relation to his disappearance and at the time I didn’t know who he was talking about “Rossi” but in retrospect he knew a lot about the case and it must have been a known thing (his drug operation) here In Spartanburg.
"I find I'm so excited I can barely sit or hold a thought in my head. It's the excitement only a freeman can feel. A freeman at the start of a long journey whose conclusion is uncertain. I hope I can make it across the border. I hope I can see the Pacific. I hope it is blue as it is in my Dreams. I hope I can see my friend and shake his hand. I hope...."
SovietOnion can’t be, according to Sterling Martin Wright kept asking basic racing questions that anyone who spent as much time as Mario did should have known.
I met Bill Rossi (Mario's son) in 2005 when I purchased a '70 Dodge Charger race car project from him that he and his father had purchased together in the early 80's from Georgia. The Charger was to be a re-creation of one of his stock cars that Mario had built back in the day. At the time, Bill had told me that his father had gotten ill and had never completed the project. I assumed Mario had passed away sometime shortly after the purchase of the project. Not sure if this helps anyone, but thought I'd put my 2 cents worth in. Emery in Maine
Bill had a hand in restoring Bobby Allison's Rossi Daytona which was unveiled a few years ago and restoration has been completed. There are multiple articles and videos of the event. Bill has continued to state publicly that his father disappeared in 1983. Bill's sister has gone out of her way to find her father and keeps in contact with Bill on a regular basis. Not sure why he would tell you something different.
Perhaps because I was a stranger and he figured that was all I needed to know? If it was my father, I wouldn't tell a stranger that my dad disappeared off the face of the planet - I'd probably do the same thing, and just tell a stranger that he had become ill....I don't know....I do remember him telling me about the restoration that was being done on the Daytona. At the time I tried to buy the Petty blue Busch Grand National Daytona that he had there. It was in poor condition, but plenty worthwhile to restore. I haven't spoken to Bill for many years, but I travel up and down the east coast quite a bit and have thought about stopping in to see him on a few of my trips.
Some very deadly cheating too. Too thin wall tubing on cages. Roll cages used as fuel tanks. Restrictor plates drilled to allow more air. Just a few of so many cheats.
I think that would be interesting as well. Hell they got a whole museum based on it, its got to be interesting enough to make a show about. I remember when the NASCAR cheating Museum was opening Darrell Waltrip held up a big 50s style chrome bumper but it was plastic. The thing looked real too!! I read a three-part book on Smokey yunick one time, the stuff that man did was simply ingenious
Brock Beard should’ve done a foggy stroll on a dark, back lit set wearing a trench coat, while menacingly delivering his final lines, ah-la Robert stack lol
Don't know if it as mentioned in the comments, but the 305 cubic inch engine was NOT a Hemi as the video states. It was a Chrysler small block with roots in the Trans-Am series (Sam Posey - Challenger & Swede Savage - Barracuda), but was built by Keith Black. There are articles, and more importantly, PHOTOS, on the net proving this.
OMG. I had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Rossi at a garage he and Darrell Walltrip used prior to the Daytona 500. I was covering the race ,as a photographer, for Cavalcade of Racing. I was a 20 year young man trying to make it in sports photography. Mr. Rossi was working on the #88 Gatorade Chevy. He shook my hand, introduced himself to me and acted as if It was a real pleasure meeting me instead of how thrilled I was to meet one of the greatest men to turn a wrench in NASCAR racing. I will never forget the impression he left on me.
I can almost guarantee Mario Rossi, LW Wright and possibly DB Cooper are having a drink and having a bigger laugh watching this on some island in the Caribbean or Latin America in their 70's and 80's with young sun kissed girls all around watching your youtube videos @nascarman History! Another awesome video thanks. I remember the Mario Rossi name, but I never ever thought to myself, what happened to him?
I knew a man who was a welder and avid skydiver who said that Mario had a hanger at the Spartanburg airport and that it wasn’t uncommon to them unloading bales of pot back then and that they had bribed the sheriff back then sometimes getting an escort . The man that told me this died in 2012 but when I tell you his word was as good as gold I mean it . He knew people , flew planes , raced motorcycles, shot guns competitively and was a no nonsense man . When he told me this back then I wasn’t familiar with this story only being in my late teens but looking back in retrospect he knew a lot about this situation- he told me the Spartanburg skydiving club had a club house from which his hanger was visible
It is a shock that the Mario Rossi Story hasn't been told more. It has to be a role in not having New York New Jersey Racing today, and worse, kept Donnie Allison from Full Season Racing, which he is bitter to this day and as much as the Indianapolis 500 Misses.
I watched this because I thought it was about the father of someone I thought I was in a car club I was in. As I was watching, I'm thinking, what about Indy? Didn't this guys father win Indy three times on his own, and once as a relief driver? Then I noticed, looking at the people and the era they were talking about, the ages wouldn't match up. Then it finally hit me. Wrong name. It was Mauri Rose's son I was in a car club with. I thought I was witness to a full blown mystery! Not quite. But there still two son's of famous Indy drivers. Mauri Jr. and Eddie Sachs III. Eddie, the Indy driver was actually Edward Jr. Edward Sr. evidently didn't like nick names, so they were collectively known as Edward, Eddie, and Eddie Jr.
I was working with Mario's son Bill at Westinghouse Nuclear in Spartanburg, SC when Mario went missing. We are still friends and stay in touch. I remember him telling me about it.
USA Today's For the Win podcast "The Sneak" is doing a full podcast true crime series on Mario Rossi's disappearance, they worked with his family to find out what really happened.
@@robbyburnsI saw this comment the other day watching this video for about the 10th time and listened to the whole podcast today What do you think happened to Mario?
Even weirder there is not much info on him. I looked on Wikipedia and i saw no page for him which is odd considering the things he accomplished. And on the fandom there was no information on his disappearance. Maybe i’m wrong but it looked like someone wanted to limit the information about him
One glaring mistake - the motor in the #22 car at Daytona was not a "305 Hemi". It was a regular small block Chrysler engine by Keith Black based on the engines used in the Trans Am series
He might've passed on by now; but pretty sure he wouldn't have been taken out by the smugglers. His skills were too valuable; they probably put him to work on their boat engines. Faking someone's death was much easier back then; as was forging new identity documents.
Iirc Mario Rossi also did an attempt in Yatabe Test Track speed run with a Detomaso Pantera which i didn't remember who owned it at the time... (could be TRUST or HKS...)
He did not own the Pantera in question, the car was owned by Gary Mitsunaga (who was not affiliated with HKS or TRUST), who built the car as the ultimate street machine in 1981, designed for racing on the Tomei Expressway. He did not drive the car during the Yatabe run, with successful racing driver Kunimitsu Takahashi performing that job. Mario Rossi helped source and build the 7.4-litre LS7 big-block (bored to 7.7-litres) that would go into the back of it, for a pretty large amount of money. The car itself, though, has a bit of a legend that could rival Mario's.
If we don't find out soon, we may never find out. He'd be age 88 and if not already passed, may pass very soon. The government totally knows something. I find it hard to believe that they can't track down anyone they want to.
Maybe u can get ahold of the guy that owns the 112 dirt modified. They had that car at Orange County speed way in Middletown New York last year at Eastern states weekend. Maybe they can help out
My bet if he not died peaceful natural death yet. He sure would not around where he was living. Too dangerous. Mid west? President of little tropical island USA controls? Who knows? Main engineer for govt. High pursuit autos / boats & planes in DC. He be great in that job. That just might be where he is. A quiet isolated area in backwoods of WV. working for govt. Specially after he pulled that LW Wright stunt on govt. For 1 more speed rush!!!.
@@raydan813 wow! I had no idea. I really appreciate your reply. I'm also sorry for your loss. I would think not knowing what happened would be agonizing. Thank you for filling us in.
Great video what a Pioneer in NASCAR I imagine he banished because he got too big and was too popular and was too famous for all his advancements in racing way ahead of his time one thing about calling it a spin out where he almost won was more like he was tapped and spun out that was pretty obvious to see they took him out.
Excellent video. Genius or v high IQ is often associated with extreme behavior and there is very little between genius and insanity...What does that have to do with Mario Rossi? Well...I'd take a bet Mario Rossi was a v intelligent man...
Video Suggestions: Richard Petty & the vinly roof in the 1968 Daytona 500 Mario Andretti winning the 1967 Daytona 500 NASCAR's first use of restrictior plates The 1991 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Season. A video about IndyCar driver Swede Savage.
Here is also a few video ideas: AJ Foyts last race (Hint:it was the first NASCAR race ever held at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in 1996) The last time a Oldsmobile was in a NASCAR Winston Cup Series race Mark Donhue & the 1973 Winston Western 500 The 1975 Southern 500 IndyCars at Silverstone Jim Clark as a NASCAR driver.
@@ostpies But Richard Petty did run his #43 Plymouth Road Runner with a vinyl roof in the 1968 Daytona 500.he finished 7th 2 laps back of winner Cale Yarbouough.
Don't kid yourself. It's all about getting the tax man paid. If you make a lot of money they want their cut. No matter how you made it. They want theirs.
Today NASCAR is boring tried to make it like other sports it should be about fastest car not best looking driver bunch of idiots as usual calling the shots. That's my opinion
I can see why he might got into that business in a accidently way. I am sure he got great money for building fast engines that was used. More my guess than selling NASCAR engines plus no rule books to hold him back. Then maybe got in over his head. Not trying make excuses for him but was a more of the time period & main stream social outlook of that time period. He needed the money #1. Has anybody went jail for building engine & it was used afterwards for something illegal? Where it lead to after that only he would known. Times different back in them days. I remember just starting in the work force. We had safety meeting every Monday with 50 to 70 guys standing around. I look around 80% including some supervisors have white rings around there nose. We just didn't know dangers & after effects of them drugs back in them days only it was said make you feel good. Not uncommon for Drs, Lawyers & Even Judge's be known to party on Cocaine on there time off. It's more new great drug out there deal. I was lucky I was more the beer drinker type I couldn't smoke pot made me paranoid. Only later in my area did people start having major trouble with it. It was call recreational drugs back then. But that is a great mystery happen to some say 1 of the very best mechanic wizards that was in maybe same league of maybe Smoky or Jr. Johnson ranking in his time period. He never really got the praise in racing community later the guy really deserved. He did on his own save many drivers lives with his hard work & inventing ideas.
The wing created downforce, but where you have surface area there's a lot of drag. Richard was right,,, The two Vertical Stabilizers where it. But Pete Hamilton would know best 🏆 🏁 #40 ~~~~~~~~
Or he did the vanishing act on his own. Easier to do back then. The plane 'crash' supports this. WP might just crash the plane to add credibility. Rossi and/or associates, just couldn't waste the plane...sold it.
Harvey got himself busted. Posing for a Cover Photo of a Racing Magazine. 5 differnt racecars, ( 1 a go cart ). All painted and # the same. With MO visible means of support or sponsorship. I didn't think Gary got caught w/anything. Thought it was because he knew all the others that were busted? Conspiracy was the charge.