Robert James Moroso (September 26, 1968 – September 30, 1990) was an American NASCAR racing driver who was champion of the NASCAR Busch Series (now O'Reilly Auto Parts Series) in 1989, and was posthumously awarded the 1990 NASCAR Winston Cup (now NASCAR Cup Series) Rookie of the Year award. A promising young driver, he and another driver were killed when Moroso was driving under the influence at excessive speeds on roads near his hometown of Terrell, North Carolina.

Born in Greenwich, Connecticut, he was the son of Dick Moroso, founder of Moroso Performance, suppliers of aftermarket automotive parts, and former owner of Moroso Motorsports Park in Jupiter, Florida.

Early life Moroso grew up in Madison, Connecticut, with two other siblings, Rick and Susan. His father was Richard D. "Dick" Moroso, who served as owner and sponsor for much of the younger Moroso's racing career.

After graduating from high school, Moroso enrolled in courses at Central Piedmont Community College in Charlotte, North Carolina, though he failed to complete them. He also attended the Buck Baker Racing School at Rockingham Speedway.

Racing career Busch Series Moroso made his debut in the Busch Series at Orange County Speedway in North Carolina in 1986, two days after his eighteenth birthday. Driving the No. 23 Old Milwaukee Chevrolet, he qualified an impressive sixth, but finished 21st after suspension issues. He made his second start of the season in Rick Hendrick's No. 15 Chevrolet at Rockingham Speedway, finishing eighteenth. Moroso began running full-time in 1987, driving the No. 25 Oldsmobile owned by his father and sponsored by Moroso Performance. Moroso ran 25 of 27 races that season, with eight top tens and a fifteenth place points finish. 1988 was a breakout season for Moroso. He won his first career race in July 1988 at Myrtle Beach Speedway, at the age of nineteen, after out-dueling defending series champion Larry Pearson. He would score his second win of the season at Charlotte, and finished second in the final Busch series points to Tommy Ellis.

In 1989, Moroso was vying with veteran driver Tommy Houston for the championship in the final race of the year, at Martinsville Speedway. Houston's engine failed during the race, while Moroso finished third and won the title by 55 points over Houston. At the time Moroso was the youngest champion in the history of NASCAR at only 21 years of age. Moroso won a total of six races from 1988 to 1989, including three consecutive at Charlotte Motor Speedway, and was voted the most popular driver on the circuit.

Winston Cup Series

Moroso made his debut in Winston Cup in 1988 at Charlotte in the No. 47 Peak Antifreeze Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports, finishing fourteenth. He would race one more time in 1988 and ran two races in 1989 as a warm up for the following season. Moroso declared he was running for Rookie of the Year in the 1990 season, driving the No. 20 Crown Central Petroleum Oldsmobile for his father. The highlight of the season was a ninth-place finish in the Pepsi Firecracker 400 at Daytona. Other than that, Moroso posted no wins, no top-fives, and only one top-ten and DNF'd in fifteen races.

Death On September 30, 1990, four days after his 22nd birthday, Moroso was killed in an automobile crash on North Carolina Highway 150 near Mooresville, North Carolina, only hours after finishing 21st in the Holly Farms 400 at North Wilkesboro Speedway. Traveling at an estimated , Moroso lost control of his vehicle in a curve with a posted speed limit, skidding over 200 feet before being struck in the driver's side door by an oncoming car in the opposite lane. The resulting collision killed both Moroso and Tammy Williams, a 27-year-old nursing assistant, wife and mother who was driving in the opposite lane. The passenger in Moroso's vehicle, girlfriend Debbie Bryant, as well as a passenger in Williams' vehicle both survived with injuries.

Investigations revealed that he had been driving under the influence of alcohol. Moroso had been seen drinking several beers at a Cornelius, North Carolina, lounge prior to the crash, and his blood alcohol level was found to be 0.22, over twice the then legal level of 0.10. He also had been convicted of speeding four times between 1987 and 1989, and had been involved in two prior highway crashes which included a rollover. Judges could have revoked his license at least twice but the charges were reduced.

Moroso earned enough points after completing just 25 of 29 races that he was awarded the Raybestos NASCAR Rookie of the Year Award in 1990, the only driver to ever receive the award posthumously.

Motorsports career results NASCAR (key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Winston Cup Series NASCAR Winston Cup Series results Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 Pts Ref 1988 Hendrick Motorsports 47 Chevy DAY RCH CAR ATL DAR BRI NWS MAR TAL CLT DOV RSD POC MCH DAY POC TAL GLN MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV MAR CLT14 54th 191 Moroso Racing 22 Olds NWS31 CAR PHO ATL 1989 DAY CAR ATL RCH DAR BRI NWS MAR TAL CLT DOV SON POC MCH DAY POC TAL GLN MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV28 MAR CLT NWS CAR PHO ATL34 63rd 140 1990 20 DAY38 RCH15 CAR30 ATL33 DAR26 BRI30 NWS32 MAR13 TAL37 CLT26 DOV29 SON42 POC36 MCH16 DAY9 POC32 TAL12 GLN13 MCH26 BRI30 DAR13 RCH28 DOV28 MAR21 NWS21 CLT CAR PHO ATL 30th 2184

Daytona 500 Year Team Manufacturer Start Finish 1990 Moroso Racing Oldsmobile 36 38

Busch Series NASCAR Busch Series results Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 Pts Ref 1986 23 Olds DAY CAR HCY MAR BRI DAR SBO LGY JFC DOV CLT SBO HCY ROU IRP SBO RAL OXF SBO HCY LGY ROU BRI DAR RCH DOV MAR ROU21 CLT 59th 209 Hendrick Motorsports 15 Olds CAR18 MAR 1987 Moroso Racing 25 Olds DAY15 HCY MAR28 DAR16 BRI30 LGY19 SBO8 CLT28 DOV IRP5 ROU8 JFC15 OXF5 SBO13 HCY16 RAL21 LGY13 ROU13 BRI7 JFC22 DAR36 RCH11 DOV9 MAR6 CLT7 CAR12 MAR24 15th 2949 1988 DAY9 HCY10 CAR22 MAR3 DAR6 BRI4 LNG13 NZH2* SBO7 NSV16 CLT4 DOV12 ROU4 LAN18 LVL20 MYB1 OXF40 SBO13* HCY9 LNG6 IRP33 ROU3 BRI27 DAR8 RCH3 DOV34 MAR10 CLT1 CAR11 MAR2 2nd 3986 1989 DAY3* CAR1 MAR23 HCY3 DAR9 BRI6 NZH22 SBO4 LAN2 NSV18 CLT1 DOV17 ROU20 LVL9 VOL1* MYB7* SBO5 HCY28 DUB13 IRP14 ROU16 BRI22 DAR12 RCH4 DOV23 MAR2 CLT1 CAR12 MAR3 1st 4001

Busch North Series +NASCAR Busch North Series resultsYearTeamNo.Make1234567891011121314151617181920212223NBNCPtsRef1987n/an/an/a OXFn/an/a

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