Vince 'Vinnie' Della Cioppa

(This is exactly what was sent back to put on the site......Ed).

Vince started out with a fellow fuel guy on a rear engine car as a young and enthusiastic helper, and has progressed to where he is an older enthusiastic helper.... Seriously, Vince has completed his apprenticeship in this sport, working firstly with several early racers, then closely with Rod Bradshaw on another rear engine fuel car for several years, sometimes preparing the whole car from a chassis up...the night before the event.  Armed with a vast array of knowledge, when Rod decided to exit the sport, Vince was snapped up by the Winfield team, again spending many years working on and under nitro fuelled engines, and still learning as you do with these mechanical marvels.

After being on the road for what seemed like an eternity, Vince settled back to a homely life and was content to tinker with Tony Williams blown Chevy drag boat for a considerable time.

However, the allure of the Nitro has lured Vince back to the dark side, and he now shares his time between Tony's boat and the 'Widow.  It was a casual conversation that had Vince's ears lift up when we mentioned the word 'Nitro' and 'Hemi' and didn't take too long for us to convince him that front engine dragsters are the way to go...."As long as I don't have to drive" he is quoted as saying.

Since Vinnie has made his mark on the team, the whole program has gone from strength to strength.  It is not only in the shop that these cars get massaged, but there is a hell of a lot of work away from the shop that happens that nobody sees.  Vinnie puts the time in and you can now see the results.                                                                                                     

Steve Turner