Albert John (Al) Loquasto (Jr.) (June 21, 1940 – July 31, 1991), was an

Italian-American Italian Americans ( it, italoamericani or ''italo-americani'', ) are Americans who have full or partial Italian ancestry. The largest concentrations of Italian Americans are in the urban Northeast and industrial Midwestern metropolitan areas, w ...

racecar driver. Born in

Easton, Pennsylvania Easton is a city in, and the county seat of, Northampton County, Pennsylvania, United States. The city's population was 28,127 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Easton is located at the confluence of the Lehigh River, a river tha ...

, Loquasto died in a plane crash in

Fogelsville, Pennsylvania Fogelsville is a village in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania. It is a suburb of Allentown, in Upper Macungie Township, and is part of the Lehigh Valley, which has a population of 861,899 and was the 68th most populous metropolitan area in the U.S. a ...

. He drove in the USAC and

CART A cart or dray (Australia and New Zealand) is a vehicle designed for transport, using two wheels and normally pulled by one or a pair of draught animals. A handcart is pulled or pushed by one or more people. It is different from the flatbed tr ...

Championship Car American open-wheel car racing, also known as Indy car racing, is a category of professional automobile racing in the United States. As of 2022, the top-level American open-wheel racing championship is sanctioned by IndyCar. Competitive events ...

series, racing in the 1969–1980 and 1982–1983 seasons, with 61 combined career starts, including the 1976 and 1977

Indianapolis 500 The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly called the Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indi ...

. He finished in the top ten 11 times, with his best finish in 7th position in 1975 at Ontario. Loquasto raced on a tight budget, fielding his own cars which were often several years old. He qualified for his first Indy 500 after receiving technical assistance from Clint Brawner. He also drove six

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and hi ...

races from 1981 to 1982. Prior to his open-wheel career, Loquasto was a five-time national

hillclimbing Hillclimbing, also known as hill climbing, speed hillclimbing, or speed hill climbing, is a branch of motorsport in which drivers compete against the clock to complete an uphill course. It is one of the oldest forms of motorsport, since the fir ...

champion. Loquasto's chief occupation was as the owner of APCO, Inc., an automotive warranty company, and he was a veteran of the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

. Loquasto was a fourth-degree member of the

Knights of Columbus The Knights of Columbus (K of C) is a global Catholic fraternal service order founded by Michael J. McGivney on March 29, 1882. Membership is limited to practicing Catholic men. It is led by Patrick E. Kelly, the order's 14th Supreme Knight. ...

. Al Loquasto was the first cousin of Sicilian-American scenic designer and costume designer

Santo Loquasto Santo Richard Loquasto (born July 26, 1944) is an American production designer, scenic designer, and costume designer for stage, film, and dance. His work has included the films ''Big'', ''Radio Days'', '' Cafe Society'', ''Blue Jasmine'', ''Desp ...

, and a distant cousin of Sicilian-American author

Angelo F. Coniglio Angelo F. Coniglio (born August 21, 1936) is an American civil engineer, educator, genealogist and author. He was in the first graduating class (BSCE,1961) of the School of Civil Engineering established by Robert L. Ketter at the University of B ...

. All are descendants of Libertino lo Guasto,Original documents for Libertino lo Guasto
/ref> a

foundling Foundling may refer to: * An abandoned child, see child abandonment * Foundling hospital, an institution where abandoned children were cared for ** Foundling Hospital, Dublin, founded 1704 ** Foundling Hospital, Cork, founded 1737 ** Foundling H ...

born in

Serradifalco Serradifalco ( Sicilian: ''Serradifarcu'') is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Caltanissetta, Sicily, Italy. History Serradifalco (from ''Serra del Falcone'', "Mountain of the Falcon") was founded in the Kingdom of Sicily, in a feudal ...

, Sicily in 1796. Al Loquasto's survivors include his spouse Sandra Loquasto and son A.J. (III) Loquasto.

Motorsports career results

NASCAR

(

key Key or The Key may refer to: Common meanings * Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm * Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock * Key (map ...

) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. ''Italics'' – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Winston Cup Series

Indianapolis 500

References

External links

Loquasto's ancestry at rootsweb.com
* 1940 births 1991 deaths Accidental deaths in Pennsylvania American racing drivers Indianapolis 500 drivers American people of Italian descent {{US-autoracing-bio-stub IndyCar Series team owners Racing drivers from Pennsylvania American sportspeople of Italian descent IndyCar Series people NASCAR drivers Champ Car drivers Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1991 Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in the United States Team Penske drivers