Just Drive the Damn Car!

A memory of Joe Giusti

Written and Submitted by: John Price

I began hanging around Stockton 99 Speedway when I was about 14 in 1962. I had heard of Joe Giusti and his exploits over the years, but I didn’t get to know Joe until many years later.

It was one of those hot, still summer nights in the 70’s at the speedway. I’d been hanging around with Henry Brown, the Harrisons, Bob Marlow, Dennis Hicks, and Mike Andreeta. Joe was the mentor, the old man, handing out nuggets of advice to young, aggressive drivers like Andreeta and Hicks. I was a crewman on Hick’s car. I believe it was the Harrison brothers who’s Stockton modified was an orange #50. The Harrisons weren’t doing very well with it, usually finishing in the back of the semi-main or going home even earlier. Joe was telling them to “just drive the damn car” and quit worrying that this or that wasn’t right. To make a long story short, Joe ended up driving the car that night.

It’s been 30+ years now, so I don’t remember all the details, but what I do remember was Joe somehow drove that car to a win. The car was handling so badly that everyone was holding his breath at every turn. Joe would take it in deeper than anyone could stand to watch, with the left front in the dirt, then push up to brush the wall coming out of every turn. Somehow he took the lead and hung on to the finish to win the race. On that night I decided he had more guts and skill than any other driver I’d ever seen.

As the years went by I got to know Joe better. He was a class act, a gentleman when it was called for, but capable of being as tough as he needed to be. I remember getting the announcer at 99 to announce his 70th birthday, which irritated him…, so typical. He's sorely missed.