ARIZONA REGION – Larry Petrucci grew up on East coast, in a small town on the shoreline of Connecticut, 90 miles east of New York city. He put himself through college by working in a body shop, doing everything from rust repair to painting. That's not much detail about his youth, but at least it's the right flavor.
Larry is definitely into things motorized, and has been for as long as he remembers. As a kid, he had "cases and cases" of Matchbox toys, assembled well over 300 plastic models, and helped his dad work on his project cars, which were usually old convertibles or pickup trucks. He built go-carts from scrap metal and old lawn mower engines. Modified mini-bikes and snowmobiles and motorcycles in search of more speed. You get the idea. The first car he really wanted was a Gremlin. You may not get that, which is okay because, like he says, "it was just a phase."
He bought his first Camaro when he was 14 and started drag racing (legally and quite possibly otherwise) when he was 16. He's owned several other first generation Camaro's, one of which was powered by a dual-carb big block. Also V8 Vegas, a 340 Dodge Dart, a 1966 Mustang convertible, and numerous others. But it isn't just muscle cars he likes. He's also owned 6-cylinder and 4-cylinder cars, 4-wheelers, 3-wheelers, dirt bikes. Over 120 different motorized vehicles at last count.
Larry started doing Gymkhanas at 18, in the first of the three Datsun 510's he's owned, which he calls "the first car I had that really handled well." A fun car, especially after he added the factory racing head, dual carbs, and the super-stiff factory racing suspension. He and his dad helped one of his uncles prepare stock cars and modifieds for the track. Encouraged to try his hand behind the wheel, Larry found himself upside down against a fence half way through his first race. No more wheel to wheel competitions for Larry! Nor working on a car for weeks just so it could be destroyed in a moment on the track.
When his parents moved to Arizona in 1981, Larry stayed in Connecticut, because he "had no desire to live near cactus or cattle." Also to work on cars and finish college. He visited during Christmas break in 1983 and, while floating in the swimming pool sipping margaritas in December, decided this would be a good place to be. After all, where else could you buy old cars with no rust? So, three days after doing the cap & gown thing in 1984, he packed up and drove to Arizona.
The prospects for no more snow or cold, no more winters wishing it was summer so he could enjoy automobiles, and no more summers hoping for dry weather kept him motivated on the long drive across the country. Those things and just simply enjoying the 1967 Camaro RS/SS he'd spent two years restoring from the ground up. Sadly, that car was totaled by a red-light runner two months later, in Tempe.
Once in Arizona, Larry's work schedule limited his options for autosports. Mainly he drag raced at Firebird on the Wednesday or Friday nights he was in town. He didn't get into autocrossing here until 2002, and that was almost by accident. His better half Debbi wanted to try it, he tagged along, and got hooked. He finds autocrossing to be the friendliest of the several autosports he's experienced, and is repeatedly surprised how his competitors will help him improve his driving so that he can provide better competition for them.
Larry won NV1 during his first series (Spring 2002) and then, like many of us, found stiffer competition when he graduated into other classes. Nonetheless, he placed first in SM Open in Fall 2003 and first in ESP Open in Sprting 2005. He has other trophies, including several second places. He's competed at several National Tour events, and at the Nationals in Topeka twice. Most of this autocrossing has been in his current ride, a white 1995 Pontiac Formula.
Larry has assisted with Tech for several years, and recently became our Chief of Tech. Not surprising for someone so deeply interested in things mechanical.
Larry's professional career began by doing worldwide field service work, installing and maintaining automated electro-mechanical semiconductor manufacturing equipment both nationally and internationally. The slow-down in the semiconductor industry after 9/11 led to a job change. He now works in a calibration lab at Medtronic Microelectronics in Tempe.