Anthony Bertozzi is the winningest sportsman driver to ever suit up in IHRA competition. Bertozzi has 16 career World Championships spanning four classes and has over 60 national event victories. His first ever championship came in Top Dragster in 1993 and he has been dominating the sportsman world ever since. His most successful stretch came from 1996 through 2001 where he won six consecutive Super Stock titles.

In 2009 Bertozzi left the racing world on edge as he remained unqualified for the Tournament of Champions until the last possible event, winning the Presidents Cup Nationals at Maryland International Raceway in September. With that win Bertozzi qualified for the Tournament of Champions in Super Stock and will have an opportunity to make it 17 championships when the tournament gets underway. 

NAME: Anthony Bertozzi

DOB: May 13, 1966

HOMETOWN: Ashland, VA

CLASS: Top Dragster, Super Stock, Stock

DIVISION: Patriots

CAREER: 16 World Championships (SS, MOD, TD, STK)

2009: Won President’s Cup Nationals in SS; Finished 10th in Patriots Division in SS; Finished 7th in Patriots Division in STK

Anthony Bertozzi

GET TO KNOW ANTHONY BERTOZZI:

You’ve been on a deserted island for 2 years. What’s the first CD you want to hear after returning?
Probably Kenny Chesney. I’ve been to a couple of his concerts, and I really like his music. He’s good, and he’s got a lot of songs I like. He’d probably be the first one I’d pop in.

Can you remember the first concert you ever attended?
I can’t remember. I have the worst memory. I was a rock and roll guy for years. I used to go see bands like Skid Row and Bon Jovi. When I first started racing I played music in my pit area, and everyone used to look at me like I was crazy, because I was blasting rock and roll music all the time.

What hooked you on country?
I don’t know. I guess I got a little older and mellowed out a little bit and then started listening to it. I like all kinds of music. But if I had to choose one concert, I’d go see Kenny Chesney.

Are you much of a cook?
Oh yeah.

Let’s say you’re having some folks over. What’s on the menu?
Probably steaks on the grill. I cook on the grill a lot and I cook at the race track every weekend. I cook a lot of different things. I’m Italian, so I cook a lot of Italian food. But I’d say we would have steaks on the grill with some onions and potatoes in a skillet, and maybe something green, either some lima beans or something healthy. And some garlic bread.

Do we have some adult beverages to go along with this meal?
Oh, hell yeah. You have to have plenty of cold Bud Lights and Grey Goose martinis. But I have to say Bud Light’s pretty good when I’m cooking down on the beach.

Sounds like we need to show up.
(Laughs) Yeah, you’d have a good time - you better believe that!

Talk about your favorite hometown restaurant.
No question. If I had to pick a hometown restaurant in the United States or anywhere I’ve ever been there’s a little Italian place in downtown Richmond called Mama Zu. I’ve been all over the world and it’s just one of the best. Every time the races come to town, I take buddies, friends that will drive up from North Carolina or down from D.C. They’ll drive 2 or 3 hours just to meet me there during the weekend for dinner. The guy who runs it can just cook. Everything he fixes is unbelievable. He uses a ton of garlic. He’s straight out of Italy, and it’s just the most authentic Italian food you’ll ever eat. It’s been there probably fifteen years. It’s a little dive, and if you walked in the door you’d almost want to turn around and walk out. It probably seats forty people at the most. There’s always a wait, and if you go Friday or Saturday night you can wait a couple of hours. They have a great following and the place is always packed. They also have a lot of rules. For example, if you have a reservation for 6 or more they all have to be there within ten minutes of the reservation or they cancel it. If the food wasn’t so good, he could probably piss some people off. You always go back.

You’re being interviewed right now. Can you think of someone you would like to interview?
I haven’t really thought about it. If I did, I’d probably have to say someone like John Force. I’d like to hear about how he came from pretty much nothing. I’d like to hear how he works his sponsors like he does. He came up as a truck driver and he’s been really successful. He seems to keep the same sponsors because he does well. He’s good for the sport. I’ve wondered, “How does he get in with Castrol? Does he roll up in there and sit down in the president’s office? How does he work with his associate sponsors?” I know it’s a tough side of the business, and the way the economy is now, it definitely would help any race team to have a spokesman like him. I don’t know how he does it. He’s well-spoken on TV and everyone loves him.

Anthony Bertozzi

Talk about a store you’d love to be locked up in overnight.
Umm…that’s a good question. I’m a racer, so I’d have to say JEGS.

Fill in the blank. In high school, you were the person most likely to ____?
I’d probably have to say drag race. I had a car I raced on the weekends that ran like, a 10.50. I also drove it all week to school, and on the weekends I’d take the mufflers and the street tires off, put slicks on it, and go to the racetrack. I’d race it Saturday and Sunday and then jack it back up, put the street tires and the mufflers back on it, and drive it to school.

Then, you were the least likely to ___?
Probably get a corporate job. I wasn’t going to be one of those suit-and-tie guys. I work 12 hours a day at the job I have now, but I don’t stay in the office. I come in, get the guys going, and run around to jobs. I’m on my own schedule. I’d be the person least likely to work for somebody.

Who is a person that cracks you up?
I’ve got a buddy named Scott Overman. He’s just one of those quick-witted guys, and everything that comes out of his mouth is funny. He owns a gym and I go there and work out a few days a week. He’s super quick-witted, and in any situation, he just comes up with stuff that’s as funny as hell.

How long have you been working out?
I used to work out years ago and I stopped. Then my buddy Scott talked me into meeting him at the gym he owned, so I’ve been working out now for a year and a month. I work out for about an hour-and-a half three days a week when I’m not racing. We do weights for different body parts each day and then cardio for about 45 minutes. I’m just trying to tone up because I’m not getting any younger. I’m 42, but I’m not trying to be Mr. America or get big muscles. I’m just trying to feel good.

Someone just handed you a million dollars. You can’t spend it on yourself or racing. What will you buy?
If I can’t spend it on myself, I’d give it to my wife so she could buy a house for herself in Florida, one that I could use. (Laughs)

Florida, huh?
I just love it when we go racing there. We’ve been there 3 weekends in a row. At the end of the year we race in bracket races and we’re there 2 solid weeks. Every year I’m there at the right time, in November, February, and March, and if it weren’t for the family business I’d at least have a house there. When we go for the two weeks around Thanksgiving, I’d like to have a place to stay there from Thanksgiving through Christmas…probably until April. I love the weather. The grass is green, the sky is blue, and everything looks alive.

If you were offered $100,000 to sing one song in front of 10,000 people, would you do it?
(No hesitation) Yeah.

What song would you sing?
For 100 grand? Any damn song they wanted me to sing.