Caruso carving out his own legacy

WATERFORD — New London-Waterford Speedbowl fans might not know that much about Keith Caruso, but there’s a good chance they are familiar with the Caruso name.

Keith’s grandfather was the legendary Mario “Fats” Caruso, a 2000 inductee in the New England Auto Racing Hall of Fame. His uncle, the late Dave Caruso, was considered to be one of New England’s top fender-car drivers.

That isn’t just one tough act to follow, it’s two.

“Those are tough shoes to fill,” Caruso said. “It’s not easy following in the footsteps of my grandfather and uncle. But we’re just trying to do our own thing.”

Caruso has done a great job of accomplishing that. He visited New London Waterford Speedbowl for the first time on June 9 and grabbed a podium finish, taking down third place. That’s an impressive accomplishment for the Millbury, Mass. driver, considering it was his first race on the track.

“I always wanted to run at Waterford,” Caruso said. “”It’s the type of track I like, one with two grooves. That was one of the selling points.”

Here’s another one of the selling points. Caruso expects to be competitive every time out.

“I have the right guys behind me and I know I have a car that’s capable of winning,” Caruso said. “Wherever we go. I know we can be competitive. I wondered how I would adapt to a new track, and I really liked it.”

“I just want people to know that when we show up at a track, they have some competition. I want to be a threat wherever we go.”

Caruso started his career in quarter-midgets at the Little T, but he set racing aside for a while. Then he was offered a ride in the New England V-6 series that competes at tracks such as Star Speedway, Claremont Speedway, Seekonk Speedway and Hudson Speedway.

“We won six championships,” Caruso said. “We had a great run.”

Caruso then moved to the Granite State Pro Stock series, where he finished ninth in the point standings in his first season.

“But that series killed us money wise,” Caruso said. “We just didn’t have the funds to compete with the big boys in the division. So in our second year, we were more selective in what we did. We didn’t run all the races.”

Then Caruso went to Stafford Motor Speedway to compete in the SK Light division.

“That was our biggest challenge,” Caruso said. “But luck just wasn’t on our side. “

His last race at Stafford was last July, but he wrecked his car in a heat race. The car was idle until Saturday, when the resurrected Caruso car finished third at the Speedbowl.

“Our plan is to run at Waterford for the rest of the season, as long as our sponsorship carries us,” Caruso said. “We think we can be a threat every week, and chase some wins, no doubt.”

He will be in action Saturday when the SK Lights will be in action for a 25-lap feature.

Caruso’s sponsorship includes Lux Auto Plus from Auburn Mass., Duraflex Race Car Bodies, RSP Welding, TA Engines, Jerico Transmissions and Greg’s Auto Body.

His crew consists of Greg, Mark, Chuck, Kayla, Butchie, Graham, and Cam.

“I also want to thank my wife for all of her support,” Caruso said.

That support paid off when he landed on the podium in his first-ever Waterford race.

“It was definitely awesome and it was a good feeling, especially since this was the first time we’ve raced since last July,” Caruso said. “To finish third is pretty good, but I’m not going to be happy until I get a win.”

Winning races, however, is what members of the Caruso family are known for.

Press release from the New London-Waterford Speedbowl

For more information, contact Mike Serluca at MikeS@speedbowlct.com