Santo Rapisarda

It’s one of the saddest stories in motorsport. Santo Rapisarda, the godfather of top fuel drag racing in Australia, lost his son to a high speed crash.

It was 1990 when multiple champion Santo retired, so 23-year-old Louie could take his seat. Louie became the youngest ever member of drag racing’s exclusive five-second club, but at Willowbank in July that year the engine blew and Louie did not survive.

Santo could have stopped. Instead, at a family meeting, the decision was made to go on in memory of Louie.

Today, Rapisarda Racing is the country’s most prominent and successful Top Fuel team. Santo has positively influenced the careers of our very best racers. A successful businessman, he has funded and underwritten the sport he loves.

He is the heart and soul of the pits – accessible to the most impecunious club racer as well as the elite.

It’s been a long and inspiring journey for the 16-year-old immigrant from Sicily who began drag racing Holdens, bought a rail from the United States he called Trackburner, and today claims more than a dozen national titles, more than any other competitor of the modern era.

At most events, Santo fields two top fuel dragsters. It’s not cheap. A single sub-four second pass over the thousand foot strip costs around $5000. But it’s the family’s passion.

Santo’s two sons Santo Jnr and Santino, both born after Louie’s death, each crew chief a car. They’re deeply invested but by family decree, they are not allowed to drive.

Welcome Santo Rapisarda to the Australian Motorsport Hall of Fame, in memory of Louie.