HC50:  Carlo, everyone knows Baby Blue, but not many know the man behind the machine.  Please, tell us a little about yourself?

Carlo Catalanotto: I am 31 years old, married to a beautiful wife, Jama, who actually supports my racing disease.  I have one son, Nino, who has brought new meaning to my life.  He has made me realize there is more to life then just drag racing.  I have driven just about every kind of doorslammer you can think of Pro Mod, Pro Street, Outlaw Street, Street Outlaw, Outlaw 10.5 and a bunch of gambler races. Nothing is as fun as Super Street Outlaw.

HC50:  How did you get your start in drag racing?

Carlo Catalanotto: Growing up, my three older brothers all had fast Chevy musclecars and all they did was street race all the time.  The garage at our house looked like a speed shop with all the racing parts, motors and tranny's all over the place.  It was only natural for me to be hooked on racing even from a very young age.  My first experience driving was behind the wheel of a project that me and my dad had put together when I was fourteen.  It was a 70 Duster with a pretty radical 340 that ran high eleven's.  My dad told me that when I got my license we would start going to the track and I would eventually get to drive the car.  That was way too long for me to wait.  So everyday after school I would sneak the car out and make passes down this old back road before dad would get home.

HC50:  What has been your biggest/most memorable accomplishment?

Carlo Catalanotto:  That is an easy one, definitely winning the FFW Street Outlaw world championship driving Bobby Dublan's Big White in 1997.
 

HC50:  What's the story behind Baby Blue? Will it run this season in any events?

Carlo Catalanotto:  Baby Blue is finally almost done and yes it will make a few select races this year.  I have teamed up with long time friend George Gallegos to build what started out as just a mild street car for him to play with, into one of the nicest Super Street Outlaw cars in the field.  That has slowed down progress on Blue tremendously because of the amount of time required to keep these cars going.

HC50:  We've heard Baby Blue has been redone. Can you tell us more? What are your expectations?

Carlo Catalanotto:  Baby Blue has been completely redone from front to back.  The only thing left on the car that has not been changed are the front wheels.  All new front suspension and aftercooler from Jason at P/A.  All new custom ladderbar rear suspension and chrome moly funny car cage from Jason Wood at Wizard Race Cars.  A 417 inch Windsor with Brodix Neal heads, Built by Darrin Dakota (Cam Motion) will replace the tried and true 347.  A new Pro Mod glide from Harvey & Tom at Performance Automatic.  The car will basically look the same on the outside with the exception of it sitting a lot lower and a much longer set of wheelie bars.  I plan to test the wheels off of the car before I bring it to any races.  If I cannot get the car to run sevens every pass it will stay home until it does.  I do not want to just be another outlaw car going rounds I want the car to be Dominant.

HC50:  How much unofficial money has the Camaro won you?

Carlo Catalanotto:  Sorry guys, No comment.  Have you ever heard the phrase -- I refuse to answer on the grounds that it may incriminate me?
 

HC50:  Given the fact that Baby Blue is an outlaw car, what do you think of the FFW ruling allowing tubs and big tires?

Carlo Catalanotto:  Well, now you have touched on a sore subject with me.  FFW has ruined their Street Outlaw class, to me it does not even exist in their series.  The excuse was that they were allowing the bigger tires for safety reasons (Bull****).  If that were true then that should have been the only change.  They just wanted to lay claim to having the fastest Street Outlaw cars even if it did stick it to the racers.  Same way with the Pro cars let them be lighter so we can say our Pro cars are faster then the NMRA, so what if some of the guys can't get the cars that light screw them.  I have seen George Klass on bulletin boards telling top 5 loyal racers including the defending champion Joe Robinson if they were not happy with the rules then don't come back with an uncompetitive car, now is that is the right thing to tell your defending champion who has been racing with them from just about the beginning.  Have you ever seen a real Super Street Outlaw car in a serious accident?  Me neither.  Ask the drivers if they think the cars are unsafe not the idiot promoters who haven't driven a car like these in their lives.  I guess the 4-links, Clutchless transmissions, 106 mm turbos, and unlimited cubic inches are gonna make those cars real safe at 200 MPH with W-tires.  Give me a break and stop insulting our intelligence.  I believe that there was need for a "W" tire class, but don't break it off in the racers who have been racing Street Outlaw for years massaging the combo to be competitive on the little tire.

 

HC50:  Regarding Steve Grebeck's accident, do you think something should be done to slow down the Outlaw and Pro 5.0 cars as moving them to 1/8 mile?

Carlo Catalanotto:  I was heartbroken over Steve's accident and I believe that it was just that, an accident.  These cars are on the ragged edge, we know this before we strap in.  Do I think they should be slowed down?  No, If there is one thing I know for sure it is that these guys will keep going faster no matter what rules you put on them.  I only wish that the sanctioning body's would concern themselves more with our safety then how cheap they can get a certain facility to hold one of the races.  Everything should not be centered on the almighty dollar.  I think 1/8 mile racing is great, but it will not be the answer to the problems, drag racing is a quarter mile race.  I do have an issue with the Steve Grebeck incident that is bothering me.  The first being I was told that the Pro drivers did not want to go up for first round because of the hard winds that were present, but were told either show up to race or go home.  I was also told that after Steve's death that they wanted to finish the race.  I know I would not have been able to drive after that and I hope that none of that is true.  I would hate to have to live with myself after those calls.
 

HC50:  What's the state of Ford Drag racing, as you see it?

Carlo Catalanotto:  I think this is the hottest and fastest growing form of drag racing going on today.  I remember the first year I went to the P.R.I. show, you could hardly find a booth that had anything to do with Ford racing.  This year you could hardly find a row that didn't have something to do with it.  I do not know how much bigger this will get but I will be along for the ride.

 

HC50:  Do you think the power adder/weight break situation is fair? If not, what would you do to change things?

Carlo Catalanotto:  I think it is pretty fair between the Superchargers and the Turbo's.  I think the small block Nitrous guys have a small disadvantage.  I also think the big block Nitrous guys have a big advantage that is way too many cubic inches to allow those guys.  There will be a trend of those things in the near future if the rules stay the way they are.

HC50:  What power adder are you currently using?  Why?

Carlo Catalanotto: I run a supercharger.  I like the fact that you do not have to spool them up.  It is instant power. They are much easier on transmissions then a turbo's.  Nitrous hurt's too many parts on a small block Ford.

HC50:  Do you think there is enough room for two sanctioning bodies in Ford Racing? What do you think could be done to get the car counts up?

Carlo Catalanotto:  Yes, I believe there is plenty of room for the two of them. I think if they would come together and straighten out the rules situation so that cars could cross over between the two sanctioning bodies it would be beneficial to them both.

HC50:  Are there any sponsors or supporters you'd like to thank?

Carlo Catalanotto:  First, I would like to thank God for putting me in a position that I can do what I enjoy.  Second, I would like to thank my wife for supporting me and dealing with all the late nights without seeing me for days at a time. Third, I would like to thank my Dad for covering for me at work when I am off at the races.  Last but not least all of my crew, especially "Crew Chief" (Pat Layus),  Without Pat no racing would happen he is the heart and soul of our team. Gene Fuselier, "The Rock", Gene is the friend you can count on no matter what.  He might bitch a little but he always comes thru.  Steve Domangue, "Big Bone", the best helper that money can buy (I still need to know how you get fired on your day off?).  George Gallegos the man behind the madness.  George keeps it fun for us all.  Bobby Dublan the man who got me started in this Ford Racing and the only guy who can keep me calm when things go bad.  Jamie Meyers and Mike Galimi for all the support in the magazines and keeping me interested when I was ready to quit, thanks guys.

To my sponsors: Ricky at Vortech (I would really like that new blower soon please). Robbie at Magnaflow fuel systems. Harvey and Tom at Performance Automatic. Jeff Pierson at Airborne Coatings. Jason Smith at Performance Automotive. Mike Murillo for tuning advice.  Jason Wood at Wizard Race Cars.  Billy Carroll at Chassis Engineering. Terry Williams and Kip at Cam Motion. Virgil Erickson from Erickson Machine.  Darrin Dakota of Side by Side Racing Engines. Mark Fretz from Brodix.  Bob McDonald from Jesel.  Dale at Propower.  Steve Johnson at NOS, and Darren Breaud of B&B Race Cars.

 HC50:  Thanks for your time, Carlo, we appreciate it!