Joseph "Joe" Buzzetta (born December 30, 1936 in New York City) is an American entrepreneur and former racing driver.
Joe Buzzetta was the classic "second man" in sports car racing in the 1960s. He was often the teammate of star drivers and is often forgotten when mentioning successes. Buzzetta began his career in US street sports in the late 1950s, where tuned sports cars were driven. In 1961 he made his debut at the 12 Hours of Sebring in an Austin Healey Sprite. With partner Glenn Carlson, he finished the race in 15th place overall. His best placement in Sebring - after finishing fourth overall in 1966 in the Porsche 906 as a partner of Hans Herrmann and Gerhard Mitter - was third in 1969 in the Porsche 908 with Rolf Stommelenand Kurt Ahrens. Buzzetta had long been a works driver at Porsche.
Subject ID: 54306
MoreJoseph "Joe" Buzzetta (born December 30, 1936 in New York City) is an American entrepreneur and former racing driver.
Joe Buzzetta was the classic "second man" in sports car racing in the 1960s. He was often the teammate of star drivers and is often forgotten when mentioning successes. Buzzetta began his career in US street sports in the late 1950s, where tuned sports cars were driven. In 1961 he made his debut at the 12 Hours of Sebring in an Austin Healey Sprite. With partner Glenn Carlson, he finished the race in 15th place overall. His best placement in Sebring - after finishing fourth overall in 1966 in the Porsche 906 as a partner of Hans Herrmann and Gerhard Mitter - was third in 1969 in the Porsche 908 with Rolf Stommelenand Kurt Ahrens. Buzzetta had long been a works driver at Porsche.
In 1962 and 1963 he won his class in a privately owned Porsche 718 RSK in the national racing series of the Sports Car Club of America, in which Roger Penske and Bob Holbert also took part. By winning the 500 km race in Bridgehampton of the World Sports Car Championship alongside Bill Wuesthoff, Buzzetta qualified for higher tasks. In 1965 and 1966, for example, he received a contract as a Porsche works driver, but only drove the US sports car races in Sebring and Daytona. Otherwise he initially took an Elva Mk.7with a Porsche engine, later with a Porsche 906 in the highest sports car championship of the SCCA. In 1967 and 1968 he also drove in Europe. His greatest success was the overall victory in the 1000 km race at the Nürburgring in 1967 with Udo Schütz in a Porsche 910. In 1968 there was still fourth place at the Nürburgring, this time with Jochen Neerpasch as a partner.
Buzzetta was less successful at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, where he retired at two starts with a technical defect.
He then left professional motorsport, but remained loyal to motorsport with some participation in historic races. Today, Buzzetta heads the Competition Automotive Group, a chain of car dealerships of various brands in New York.
Subject ID: 54306
Subject ID: 54306