Carl Picelle sits in his car and tries to forget about everything but the strategy he has developed for over a week. Ready to race, he waits for the pace lap. ¶ He sees a green flag. The race has just begun. ¶ A few weekends a year, Picelle drives his red 1985 Porsche 944 around race car circuits. Every day, however, the owner of Franklin Square Deli drives his Jeep Wrangler “like a grandpa” around town, he says.
Picelle was a child when he became an avid spectator of sports car racing. During his first trip to the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, the roar, the smells and the excitement instantly captivated him. But observing drivers from the stands was not enough for him. Picelle, 51, became an amateur race car driver when he earned his competition license through The Porsche Club of America eight years ago.
“I think my approach to my restaurant business assisted me in the racing endeavor as well: preparedness, being thorough, look deeper into the future, find the best assistants (and) don’t give up.”
To jump start his racing career, Picelle bought a used Porsche and transformed it into what it is now: a highly modified race car that could never be driven on the streets again. Depending on the road racing circuit he is competing at, Picelle’s car can reach 135 miles per hour.
The man with a welcoming smile and big, brown eyes has climbed up on the podium more than 50 times, 26 of them at the top. However, Picelle finished winless last season.
To offset the high costs of racing, Picelle says he decided to operate his car as a business by selling advertisements on it for local companies. But during tough economic times - like any other business - Picelle’s racing team also struggles, and he has been forced to stay off the road for several races this season.
Since he was a child and built small model cars, Picelle has admired professional race car driver Mario Andretti because he says they both share similar stories.
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