Nilton 'Niltinho' Rossoni (Curitiba, April 21, 1981) is a former Brazilian racing driver who won the 2000 Barber Dodge Pro Series championship.
Racing career
After winning karting championships in the Paraná and São Paulo regions, Rossoni graduated into single-seaters in 1997, where he raced in the Formula Chevrolet Brazil, a support series to the highly popular Stock Car Brasil. He won the rookie of the year title in his inaugural season. Near the end of the racing season, he made his debut in the Barber Dodge Pro Series. He qualified twelfth out of 27 but had to retire after one lap due to a clutch failure. He returned the following year, winning races at Road America and Homestead-Miami Speedway finishing sixth in the standings. The 1999 season was a season in which Rossoni failed to finish six times. At Homestead-Miami Speedway, Rossoni won pole-position but had to retire due to a mechanical issue. He got his revenge in the 2000 season of the Barber Dodge Pro Series. Rossoni won six out of twelve races. Before the final round, only Jon Fogarty had a mathematical chance to win the championship. Rossoni won his title in style by winning the final round of the season. After his success, he graduated into the Indy Lights. But as the economic crisis hit Brazil, his longtime sponsor Fox Distribuidora de Petróleo (owned by the Rossoni family) almost went bankrupt. Rossoni could only compete one race, at Fundidora park supporting the Tecate/Telmex Grand Prix of Monterrey. His weekend started well as he qualified in second place. Rossoni had a poor start of the race as he was passed by Townsend Bell and passed the finish line in seventh place after the first lap. Rossoni failed to finish as he wrecked his car after four laps. After his nightmare 2001 season, Rossoni decided to return to the Barber Dodge Pro Series in 2002 for two races. After two fourth place finishes, he retired from professional racing.
Motorsports results
American Open-Wheel racing results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position, races in italics indicate fastest race lap)
Barber Dodge Pro Series Year 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Rank Points 1997STPSEBSAVLRPMOHWGIMINMOHROALSRENLS26 NC - 1998SEB22LRP21DET2WGI21CLE5GRAMOHROA 1LS1ATLHMS1LS236th83 1999SEB2NAZ7LRP21POR2CLE1ROA6DET20MOH20GRA15LS18HMS18WGI16th94 2000SEB1MIA1NAZ16LRP13DET6CLE1MOH2ROA1VAN4LS1RAT3HMS11st175 2002 SEB4 LRP4 LAG POR TOR CLE VAN MOH ROA MTL19th25
Indy Lights Year Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Rank Points Ref 2001 Conquest RacingMTY12LBHTXSMILPORKANTORMOHSTLATLLSFON16th1
References