Patrick Staropoli
American racing driver (born 1989)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Patrick Charles Staropoli (born November 10, 1989) is an American retina surgeon and professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series, driving the No. 48 Chevrolet Camaro SS for Big Machine Racing, and part-time in the ARCA Menards Series, driving the No. 51 Chevrolet SS for Rick Ware Racing. He also previously competed in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.
November 10, 1989
Plantation, Florida, U.S.
| Patrick Staropoli | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Staropoli at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in 2026 | |||||||
| Born | Patrick Charles Staropoli November 10, 1989 Plantation, Florida, U.S. | ||||||
| NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series career | |||||||
| 21 races run over 2 years | |||||||
| Car no., team | No. 48 (Big Machine Racing) | ||||||
| 2025 position | 43rd | ||||||
| Best finish | 43rd (2025) | ||||||
| First race | 2025 US Marine Corps 250 (Martinsville) | ||||||
| Last race | 2026 MillerTech Battery 250 (Pocono) | ||||||
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| NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series career | |||||||
| 5 races run over 2 years | |||||||
| 2025 position | 98th | ||||||
| Best finish | 77th (2016) | ||||||
| First race | 2016 Ford EcoBoost 300 (Homestead) | ||||||
| Last race | 2025 Slim Jim 200 (Martinsville) | ||||||
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| ARCA Menards Series career | |||||||
| 8 races run over 3 years | |||||||
| ARCA no., team | No. 51 (Rick Ware Racing) | ||||||
| Best finish | 20th (2025) | ||||||
| First race | 2015 Lucas Oil 200 (Daytona) | ||||||
| Last race | 2026 General Tire 100 at The Glen (Watkins Glen) | ||||||
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| ARCA Menards Series East career | |||||||
| 7 races run over 3 years | |||||||
| Best finish | 28th (2014) | ||||||
| First race | 2014 New Smyrna 150 presented by JEGS (New Smyrna) | ||||||
| Last race | 2025 Bush's Beans 200 (Bristol) | ||||||
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| ARCA Menards Series West career | |||||||
| 5 races run over 3 years | |||||||
| Best finish | 29th (2014) | ||||||
| First race | 2013 Toyota/NAPA Auto Parts 150 (Spokane) | ||||||
| Last race | 2025 General Tire 150 (Phoenix) | ||||||
| First win | 2014 NAPA Auto Parts 150 (Irwindale) | ||||||
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| Statistics up to date as of June 13, 2026. | |||||||
Born and raised in Plantation, Florida, Staropoli started competing in go-karts at the age of 13. Initially wanting to be a motorsports engineer, he switched interests to the medical field while studying at Harvard University. He continued to pursue both fields in auto racing and medicine after graduation, specializing in ophthalmology at the University of Miami. While at Miami, he continued to make periodical starts in NASCAR, including starts in the NASCAR Truck Series. After obtaining his master's degree, Staropoli continued to race periodically in late models in various series for eight years. In 2025, Staropoli returned to NASCAR after a nine-year absence.
Early life and family background
Staropoli was born on November 10, 1989, in the town of Plantation, Florida, where he was raised.[1] He is the son of Nick Staropoli Jr. and Arlene Staropoli.[2] Staropoli was born alongside a sister named Devon.[3] He was educated at Plantation High School where he graduated in 2008 as the valedictorian of his class.[4][5] While attending Plantation High School, he was involved in numerous extracurriculars and activities. He was the vice president of the school's National Honor Society branch, competed in rocket competitions, and volunteered as a spokesman for an anti-drugs organization.[4][6][7]
After high school, Staropoli attended Harvard University, initially majoring in engineering in hopes of becoming a team engineer in NASCAR or Formula One.[4][8] However, he switched majors during his sophomore year, switching to neurobiology after attending a neurobiology panel.[8] He stated in a 2015 interview that the increased broadness of potential jobs in neurobiology appealed to him, causing him to switch.[8] While at Harvard, he joined a club focused on conducting eye checks for disadvantaged communities.[8][9] Staropoli graduated from Harvard in 2012 with suma cum laude honors.[10]
Racing career
Early racing career
According to Staropoli, he was inspired since his childhood to go into racing, having attended races since he was six months old, with both his father and grandfather being past racers.[3] When he was 13 years old, Staropoli started racing go-karts in Naples, Florida.[1][11] After a year, he moved into the Pure Stocks division, an entry stock car racing division.[1] He eventually moved into the Super Late Models division for his family's race team after achieving straight As throughout his grade school years.[1][3]
2013–2024: Early NASCAR career
In 2013, Staropoli was invited to compete in the PEAK Stock Car Dream Challenge, a reality television show organized by NASCAR racing team Michael Waltrip Racing and its owner Michael Waltrip.[12] Out of 10 finalists, Staropoli won the competition, earning a part-time ride in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series for Bill McAnally Racing.[3] He made his debut for the team in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West at Spokane, finishing in fifth. The following year, Staropoli signed on for a five-race deal for Bill McAnally to race in both the East and West divisions.[13] In March of that year, he earned his first victory in the West Series, winning at Irwindale.[14] Staropoli earned one more top five in the 2014 West Series season,[15] and earned three top-tens in the East Series, with a best finish of sixth at Bristol.[16][17]
Starting in 2015, Staropoli faced a conflict between his medical school work at the University of Miami and his auto racing career. After a sponsorship deal failed to materialize in the winter of 2015, he took a brief hiatus from NASCAR to focus on medical school[18] after making his debut in the ARCA Racing Series at Daytona in February for Empire Racing.[19] He returned to racing that year in September for Bill McAnally,[20] retiring in both of his races at Richmond and Dover.[21] In 2016, Staropoli made his NASCAR debut in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series at Homestead–Miami, finishing in 31st in a partnership entry between Young's Motorsports and SS-Green Light Racing.[22][23] From 2017 to 2024, Staropoli stepped out of NASCAR to focus on his medical career, occasionally racing in late model and modified divisions in his free time.[24]
2025–2026: Return to NASCAR
Staropoli raced part-time in multiple series in 2025 and made several debuts in NASCAR-sanctioned series, including the ARCA Racing Series, the NASCAR Truck Series, and the NASCAR Xfinity Series for various racing teams.[25][26][27] He made his season debut in the ARCA Racing Series at Phoenix on March 7 for Venturini Motorsports, where he finished in eighth after recovering from a spin.[28][29] Three weeks later, Staropoli made his first start in the Truck Series in over nine seasons at Martinsville, finishing in 20th in a Cook Racing Technologies entry.[30] The day after his Martinsville start in the Truck Series, he made his debut in the Xfinity Series at Martinsville in an entry for Sam Hunt Racing, finishing in 16th.[31]
Staropoli moved up full-time to the NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series (formerly the Xfinity Series) for 2026, signing with Big Machine Racing on December 23, 2025.[32]
Non-racing ventures and personal life
Outside of racing, Staropoli pursues a career in ophthalmology,[1][33] currently working as a retina surgeon at the Retina Consultants of Texas.[34] After graduating from Harvard in 2012, he attended the Miller School of Medicine at the University of Miami, graduating in 2017 with a MD.[35] According to Staropoli, he was inspired to enter the medicine field after witnessing a near-fatal racing accident that his father was involved in 2001 at Hialeah Speedway.[16] In 2024, Staropoli launched Driving to Fight Blindness, an awareness campaign focused on retinal diseases.[36] Speaking about his careers, he stated in an interview with WSVN, "I find that I think I’m a better race car driver because I’m a doctor. And the other way around: being a racecar driver makes me a better physician. I think the skills definitely translate."[37]
In 2010, Staropoli was diagnosed with coeliac disease.[5] Staropoli's favorite driver is Jeff Gordon, stating in the Sun Sentinel, "I'm the biggest Jeff Gordon fan... having people tell me my whole life that one day I would end up getting to race [in the Cup Series]. You half believed it, half dreamed it."[38]
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.)
O'Reilly Auto Parts Series
| NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts 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 | 32 | 33 | NOAPSC | Pts | Ref |
| 2025 | Sam Hunt Racing | 24 | Toyota | DAY | ATL | COA | PHO | LVS | HOM | MAR 16 |
DAR | BRI | CAR | TAL | TEX | CLT | NSH | MXC | POC | ATL 35 |
CSC | SON | DOV | IND | IOW | GLN | DAY | PIR | GTW | BRI | KAN 22 |
ROV | LVS | TAL | MAR 17 |
PHO | 43rd | 58 | [31] |
| 2026 | Big Machine Racing | 48 | Chevy | DAY 18 |
ATL 13 |
COA 20 |
PHO 26 |
LVS 21 |
DAR 29 |
MAR 16 |
CAR 34 |
BRI 27 |
KAN 14 |
TAL 37 |
TEX 17 |
GLN 38 |
DOV 21 |
CLT 18 |
NSH 25 |
POC 25 |
COR |
SON | CHI | ATL | IND | IOW | DAY | DAR | GTW | BRI | LVS | CLT | PHO | TAL | MAR | HOM | -* | -* | [39] |
Craftsman Truck Series
| NASCAR Craftsman Truck 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 | NCTC | Pts | Ref | |||||||||||||||
| 2016 | Young's Motorsports | 07 | Chevy | DAY | ATL | MAR | KAN | DOV | CLT | TEX | IOW | GTW | KEN | ELD | POC | BRI | MCH | MSP | CHI | NHA | LVS | TAL | MAR | TEX | PHO | HOM 31 |
77th | 2 | [40] | |||||||||||||||||
| 2025 | Cook Racing Technologies | 84 | Toyota | DAY | ATL | LVS | HOM | MAR 20 |
BRI 29 |
CAR | TEX | KAN | NWS | CLT | NSH | MCH | POC | LRP | IRP | GLN | RCH 23 |
DAR | BRI | NHA | ROV | TAL | MAR 15 |
PHO | 98th | 01 | [30] | |||||||||||||||
* Season still in progress
1 Ineligible for series points
ARCA Menards Series
(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)
| ARCA Menards 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 | AMSC | Pts | Ref | ||||||||||||||||||
| 2015 | Empire Racing | 82 | Ford | DAY 21 |
MOB | NSH | SLM | TAL | TOL | NJE | POC | MCH | CHI | WIN | IOW | IRP | POC | BLN | ISF | DSF | SLM | KEN | KAN | 114th | 125 | [19] | ||||||||||||||||||
| 2025 | Venturini Motorsports | 25 | Toyota | DAY | PHO 8 |
CLT 8 |
MCH | BLN | ELK | LRP | DOV | IRP | IOW | GLN | ISF | MAD | DSF | BRI 10 |
SLM | 20th | 194 | [28] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 15 | TAL 11 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cook Racing Technologies | 17 | Toyota | KAN 22 |
KAN 11 |
TOL | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2026 | Rick Ware Racing | 51 | Chevy | DAY | PHO | KAN | TAL | GLN 22 |
TOL | MCH | POC | BER | ELK | CHI | LRP | IRP | IOW | ISF | MAD | DSF | SLM | BRI | KAN | -* | -* | [41] | ||||||||||||||||||
ARCA Menards Series East
| ARCA Menards Series East results | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Team | No. | Make | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | AMSEC | Pts | Ref | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2014 | Bill McAnally Racing | 99 | Toyota | NSM 11 |
DAY 8 |
BRI 6 |
GRE | RCH | IOW | BGS | FIF | LGY | NHA | COL | IOW | GLN | VIR | GRE | DOV | 28th | 107 | [17] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2015 | NSM | GRE | BRI | IOW | BGS | LGY | COL | NHA | IOW | GLN | MOT | VIR | RCH 35 |
DOV 24 |
52nd | 29 | [21] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2025 | Venturini Motorsports | 25 | Toyota | FIF | CAR 4 |
NSV | FRS | DOV | IRP | IOW | BRI 10 |
33rd | 74 | [42] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
ARCA Menards Series West
| ARCA Menards Series West results | ||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Team | No. | Make | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | AMSWC | Pts | Ref | |
| 2013 | Bill McAnally Racing | 99 | Toyota | PHO | S99 | BIR | IOW | L44 | SON | CNS | IOW | EVG | SPO 5 |
MMP | SMP | AAS 6 |
KCR | PHO | 35th | 77 | [43] | |
| 2014 | PHO | IRW 1 |
S99 | IOW 3 |
KCR | SON | SLS | CNS | IOW | EVG | KCR | MMP | AAS | PHO | 29th | 88 | [15] | |||||
| 2025 | Venturini Motorsports | 25 | Toyota | KER | PHO 8 |
TUC | CNS | KER | SON | TRI | PIR | AAS | MAD | LVS | PHO | 48th | 36 | [44] | ||||
