Next time you find yourself on a race track, look out for number 83.
Nick Graziano, a junior journalism major and creative writing minor, has been racing cars for seven years. Starting off with a go-kart type of car called an open-wheel microd, he has since moved to racing a dirt Modified Lite car (called simply Mod Lite).
Graziano spends a significant amount of time at the race track, yet still manages to stay on track with his studies and other activities, including recently being appointed as the Assistant Arts and Entertainment Editor at The Oswegonian, Oswego’s student-run newspaper.
Graziano also excels on the track. He won the 2008 track championship, and was the 2008 Driver of the Year. He was also the 2009 Rookie of the Year in Mod Lite racing and Most Improved Driver in 2010.
“It definitely keeps you busy. We had about 40 races or so this year spanning from April to October, so there were a few double weekends of racing, along with all the preparation during the week,” he says. “Then if you wreck the week is pretty much gone, with trying to fix the car all week to get it ready for the next race.”
Graziano enjoys this sport, despite the amount of time it consumes, and plans on racing for as long as he can, “whether I make it to the big leagues or not.”
“We own and pay for everything with the Mod Lite ourselves, so if I wanted to keep moving up it would probably be racing for someone that has the money or if we hit the lottery or get a big sponsor to sponsor us,” he says.
Graziano would like to ultimately end up working with NASCAR, or another racing company.
“If that doesn’t play out then either a motor sports or automotive journalist, covering the races or working for something like Motor Trend test driving cars and writing about them,” he says.
Racing, he adds, is a great thing because he believes it has made him a better person.
“It teaches you professionalism, patience, and how to handle yourself in certain situations, along with just meeting many new friends on and off the race track,” he says.
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Oswego chapter.