Tom Delgado

"I never wanted to be such a polarizing figure. I just wanted to win a few races & make some money so that my family would never have to worry about their future."

- Tom Delgado

Tom Delgado (born August 20, 1974 in Brooklyn, New York) is a semi-retired American race car driver. Delgado is one of only a handful of drivers to have won in both the TM Master Cup Series & the ARLA Elite Series. His nickname around the garage is The American Devil. He is the owner of Tom Delgado Racing.

Before Racing
Before entering motorsport, Delgado was a professional boxer. He amassed a record of 48-18-2 with 46 knockouts. He was known for being a ruthless man inside the ring, often continuing to wail on his opponents even after the referee stepped in to stop a fight. He retired from the ring in 2005 after a failed attempt to become the heavyweight champion of the world.

2012 - The Year From Hell
Delgado missed the first three races of the 2012 TM Master Cup season after suffering a heart attack in January. After a cavalcade of mixed results, Delgado retired after failing to qualify for the Round of Indianapolis. He then made an appearance at the Zing Energy 300, and finished 3rd. Delgado also competed in the Rockford 200 B-main but failed to win. There were rumors that he would do Star Team Nemoto a favor and run his #37 in Decatur pole qualifying, but medical clearance was harder to come by with Master Cup officials, and as such he was not cleared to compete.

Delgado then entered the Daytona GP in the #77 car. He was running near the front before a crash which partially tore his ACL (Anterior Cruciate Ligament). He was off the pace, trying to feather the car home after the wreck until he got involved in another accident, which ended the night for him. He was taken to a nearby hospital, where things took a turn for the worst. Delgado suffered a second heart attack due to a blood clot which traveled up his legs and settled into his heart, which required emergency surgery. Delgado was released and allowed to return home to New York on December 22nd, three days before Christmas. A few days later, he and Ashley Tucker were married in a private ceremony at Delgado's home in Brooklyn, as he was not able to travel due to his injuries. They were to be married in Puerto Rico, but Delgado's chaotic end to 2012 scuttled that.

2013 - ASCC Interest?
Tom Delgado will begin rehab for his partially torn ACL in January. Due to the fragile nature of his knee, he is expected to take extra time to rehab from his injury, potentially up to 3 months. When 100%, Delgado says that he will check with his doctors and see if he can get medical clearance to run one more race before hanging up the helmet for good. "I've got unfinished business in the state of New York. I need to win on my turf, even if it ends up killing me" Delgado said in a radio interview about his inability to win a race in his home state.

In March of 2013, Delgado confirmed that he had received several offers from ASCC teams for the 2013 season. He is expected to make his decision in early April. In an interview, Delgado said that he is only interested in running for a team that can promise him a good shot at a championship.

Personal Life
Delgado is a very private person, except when he's on Twitter. Among racing dignitaries, Delgado's Twitter account (RealTomDelgado) is the 4th most followed, behind only reigning TM Master Cup champion Adrien Devereux and former champions Alexis Rainsford & Leonid Roderick. He lives in Brooklyn, New York with his wife Ashley and his 15-year old daughter Stephanie. His daughter is not interested in following her father's footsteps into motorsport, she instead wants to become a businesswoman.