Nilton Rossoni

Nilton 'Niltinho' Rossoni (Curitiba, April 21, 1981) is a former Brazilian racing driver who won the 2000 Barber Dodge Pro Series championship.

Nilton Rossoni
Nationality	Brazilian
Born	(1981-04-21)April 21, 1981 Curitiba, Paraná
Retired	2002
Barber Dodge Pro Series
Years active	1997-2000, 2002
Starts	35
Wins	10
Poles	6
Fastest laps	7
Best finish	1st in 2000
Previous series
1997-2000 2001 2002	Barber Dodge Pro Series Indy Lights Barber Dodge Pro Series
Championship titles
2000	Barber Dodge Pro Series

Racing career

After winning karting championships in the Paraná and São Paulo regions the young driver graduated into single-seaters in 1997. The sixteen-year-old raced in the Formula Chevrolet Brazil, a support series to the highly popular Stock Car Brasil. He won the rookie of the year title in his inaugural season.[1] Near the end of the racing season the Brazilian made his debut in the Barber Dodge Pro Series. He qualified twelfth out of 27 but had to retire after one lap due to a clutch failure.[2] He returned the following year winning races at Road America and Homestead-Miami Speedway finishing sixth in the standings. The 1999 season was a season in which Rossoni failed to finish six times. At Homestead-Miami Speedway the Brazilian won pole-position but had to retire due to a mechanical issue.[3] The young driver got his revenge in the 2000 season of the Barber Dodge Pro Series. Rossoni won six out of twelve races. Before the final round only Jon Fogarty had a mathematical chance to win the championship. Rossoni won his title in style by winning the final round of the season.[4] After his success the Brazilian graduated into the Indy Lights. But as the economic crisis hit Brazil, his longtime sponsor Fox Distribuidora de Petróleo (owned by the Rossoni family) almost went bankrupt.[5] Rossoni could only compete one race, at Fundidora park supporting the Tecate/Telmex Grand Prix of Monterrey. His weekend started well as he qualified in second place. Rossoni had a poor start of the race as he was passed by Townsend Bell and passed the finish line in seventh place after the first lap. Rossoni failed to finish as he wrecked his car after four laps.[6] After his nightmare 2001 season Rossoni decided to return to the Barber Dodge Pro Series in 2002 for two races.[7] After two fourth place finishes he retired from professional racing.

Motorsports results

American Open-Wheel racing results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position, races in italics indicate fastest race lap)

Barber Dodge Pro Series

Year	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	Rank	Points
1997	STP	SEB	SAV	LRP	MDO	WGI	MIN	MDO	ROA	LS	REN	LS 26	NC	-
1998	SEB 22	LRP 21	DET	WGI 2	CLE 21	GRA	MDO	ROA 1	LS1	ATL	HMS 1	LS2 3	6th	83
1999	SEB 2	NAZ 7	LRP 21	POR 2	CLE 1	ROA 6	DET 20	MDO 20	GRA 15	LS 18	HMS 18	WGI 1	6th	94
2000	SEB 1	MIA 1	NAZ 16	LRP 13	DET 6	CLE 1	MDO 2	ROA 1	VAN 4	LS 1	RAT 3	HMS 1	1st	175
2002	SEB 4	LRP 4	LAG	POR	TOR	CLE	VAN	MDO	ROA	MTL			19th	25

Indy Lights

Year	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	Rank	Points
2001	Conquest Racing	MTY 12	LBH	TXS	MIL	POR	KAN	TOR	MDO	STL	ATL	LS	FON	16th	1

References

1. "Rossoni disputa duas corridas". ANotícia. Retrieved 31 March 2014.
2. "SBRS: Laguna Seca final qualifying". motorsport.com. Retrieved 31 March 2014.
3. "Homestead Results". Skip Barber Racing School. Archived from the original on January 15, 2000. Retrieved 31 March 2014.
4. "Rossoni the Champion". Skip Barber Racing School. Archived from the original on July 13, 2001. Retrieved 31 March 2014.
5. "Niltinho Rossoni: Quando a crueldade da vida impede que um talento do automobilismo se firme". Diario Motorsport. Retrieved 31 March 2014.
6. "Monterrey Sunday race report". motorsport.com. Retrieved 31 March 2014.
7. "Dois anos após, Rossoni volta a correr na F-Barber Dodge Pro". Speed On Line. Retrieved 31 March 2014.

Sporting positions
Preceded by Jeff Simmons	Barber Dodge Pro Series Champion 2000	Succeeded by Nicolas Rondet