The crew at Motown Motorsports can all
trace their involvement in racing to three notable Speed
Shops in the Detroit Area, the legendary “Gratiot Auto
Supply”, the equally notable “Midwest Auto Parts”, and the
infamous “Redford Speed Shop.”
Gratiot Auto Supply was started and founded by Bill Toia,
an uncle by marriage of “Phast Philly Giacona” of the
Motown Mafia team. Philly grew up around racing and
performance parts with his long time friend
and relative Angelo Giampetroni. Angelo Giampetroni was a
longtime and loyal employee who started at Gratiot Auto
while in his teens. Mr. Toia promoted him up the ranks and
eventually made him co-owner turning the reigns over to him.
Angelo was and is a great guy and excellent businessman, but
let's not forget Bill who started it all!
Gratiot, as everyone called it in the 70’s was the place to
get your speed parts on the east side of Detroit and for a
very large part of the entire country. The “Gratiot” name
was the icon of drag racing, it was a way cool place for any
car guy to work or come to.... they were usually
packed…..steady flow of people all day until 5:00 p.m. Then,
they would usually get slammed; Every counter guy had
customers 3 to 5 deep, they had a Ford, Chevy, Mopar and
Street Rod/ Hot Rod guy at every store ( I don't know if
that was by design, or just happened that way) on Saturday
mornings, they would be waiting at the door for Gratiot to
unlock it, then pandemonium all day!
You would never know when people like Larry Shinota, Frank
Mack, Wayne Gapp and Jack Roush, Don Carlton, John & George
Delorian – The list is endless – would just stroll in the
door. "Gratiot" was the nucleus of all things Hot Rod in the
Detroit Metro area for a lot of years. Phil Giacona, Denny
Hummel and Bullet Bob Pacitto, all grew up on the Gratiot
side of town, have long been friends, and are close friends
to this day with Angelo Giampetroni, the former owner of
Gratiot Auto Supply.
Phast Philly Giacona can still be found on the East Side of
Detroit in the shadow of the original “Gratiot.” Let me
forewarn you all when the yellow 1969 Hemi Roadrunner pulls
up next to you on Gratiot Avenue, it will not only be loaded
for bear, but with the likes of Phast Philly behind the
wheel. Both Phil and the car are lightening quick and
reminiscent of the North Woodward Timing Association days,
when all you had to do was pull out onto the street in the
greater Detroit area to get a good street race, and Philly
is one of the best.
That brings us to “Bullet” Bob Pacitto, one of the most
experienced members of Motown Motorsports and the Motown
Mafia crew. The “Bullet” has got so much drag racing
history, it is scary. Bob worked at one time for Logghe
Stamping Company, building some of the fastest, and most
notable slingshot dragsters, funny cars and altereds in
racing. Bob shoed for the Logghe brothers, Connie Kalitta
and Poncho Rendon, having driven everything from slingshots
to funny cars and crewing for the likes of Shirley Muldowney
in his free time. The “Bullet” is going to make his
reappearance at the wheel of the “Lawman" N/FC funny car.
Bob has the experience sitting behind a top fuel engine in a
slingshot and will be the shoe again. If there was ever a
perfect fit, it has to be Bullet Bob in the "Lawman" N/FC.
Wally Bolt, often mistaken for the legendary Wally Booth, is
a long time street racer and drag racer from the Redford
area of Detroit. Learning from an early age from his father
and uncle Chuck, Wally was street racing against the likes
of the “Hemi powered” Silver Bullet and the Black Bird of
Wangers’ Pontiac. Most notable was Wally’s “Wing Nut” car, a
nickname he got from flipping engines out in the 70 Camaro
on a nightly basis. The parts for these multiple engine
combinations usually came from Redford Speed Shop, where,
depending on where you stood in the store, you could be in
Redford or Detroit. Wally spent a lot of time in the old
Redford Speed Shop, and with his friendship with Bill Kulp,
waxed many a Detroit street racer. With Wally you never knew
what size and how many inches you had to run against with
him. An extraordinary painter, and long time racer, Wally is
truly a jack of all trades, and, unlike the “Master of
None”, Wally is a master and perfectionist of everything he
does.
Then there is the real perfectionist of the team and the one
person who greases the wheels to make it all come together
smoothly, Nancy “Hotrod Hundley” Bolt. Nancy not only has
been a long time performance enthusiast herself, gaining her
nickname in high school from her hopped up 1970 Chevelle,
but continues her zeal for the ultra quick quarter mile with
the rest of the Motown Mafia team. Nancy’s organizational
skills are invaluable to making all the support functions
come together and making sure the team has what they need
when they need it. No slouch behind the wheel of a hotrod
herself, and always ready for the challenge of a good street
race, many a person has learned the hard way she can handle
a hotrod as well as anyone. Nancy makes sure it is done,
done on time and done right, every time.