Some of NASCAR’s greatest crew chiefs got their start in NASCAR during the golden era. But for one such established crew chief, history has not been so straightforward. Mario Rossi was not only present as a racer during NASCAR’s first Grand National race in 1958 but would go on to find his true calling in NASCAR as a crew chief in the 70s after a few lackluster outings. This is when he catapulted his career to success, guiding Grand National teams to thirteen race wins, with the likes of Bobby Allison and Fireball Roberts behind the wheel.

However, not much mention of him surfaces whenever we speak of some of the best crew chiefs from that era. Truthfully, Rossi was somewhat of a generational talent himself, especially since he rebuilt his first engine before turning ten years old. While he may have been associated with legends like Bobby Allison, his close relations with a few NASCAR racers landed him in trouble so deep that the history books have failed to mention him ever since!

How Bobby Allison’s former crew chief got involved with the wrong crowd

Mario Rossi got his start in NASCAR as a driver in its early stages in the late 50s and early 60s. While he didn’t find much success as a driver, being a mechanic and a crew chief far suited his skill set. Fast-forward to 1968, and the man who had loved engineering all his life would partner up with the legendary Bobby Allison for the first time. Adding to Allison’s ever-increasing glory, Rossi was able to take the leader of The Alabama Gang to four victory lane visits! However, their dynamic was different from most crew chiefs and racers.

Together with Bobby Allison’s team, Rossi’s team, Rossi Engineering, would partner up on bigger courses which had higher pay-outs as a mutually beneficial arrangement. While Allison would visit shorter tracks like Boston on his own and do just as well, the help from Rossi’s engineering team would be crucial for larger tracks such as Darlington Raceway and Daytona International Speedway. However, the iconic duo parted ways at the end of 1970 and the crew chief went on to join the ranks of team owner Billie Harvey and his driver, Gary Barlough. Contrary to how his relationship with Allison’s team was, Rossi’s newfound camaraderie with Harvey and Barlough was much more devious in nature.

By the time Rossi was crew chief for Barlough, he was on the brink of bankruptcy and had been eager to get up to speed once again. But this newfound relationship wouldn’t end quite like it did with Bobby Allison. It all began in 1982 when five drivers and over 70 people were indicted in a $300 million drug bust of a marijuana and cocaine smuggling operation. Amongst the ring leaders involved were Rossi’s new bosses, and this set ablaze theories about his connections with the drug bust.

You see, while Rossi was working for Barlough, he wasn’t just fixing up stock cars. Rossi would also find himself tinkering with boats that were supposedly being used in the smuggling operation. Assistant U.S. Attorney, Bruce Kritzer, shared in a statement at the time that stock cars were used as transportation devices for smuggling marijuana across the state line, making their way into Fort Lauderdale from the Bahamas.

Agents would also reveal that it was the mechanics’ skill behind a stock car engine, which was utilized in tuning the boat engines for smuggling purposes. Kritzer was quoted by UPI.com, saying, “These men are adroit at using their hands and because they knew how to fix race cars, they also knew how to fix the vessels that were used in the operation.”

Rossi’s family was largely kept away from the unfortunate happenings, but it was the daughter of the family who would later divulge some important details. While the crew chief’’s daughter hadn’t witnessed any dealings take place first-hand, she would reveal that she found weighing scales in Rossi’s Florida home, presumably used to measure the drugs being transported.

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While Bobby Allison’s former crew chief might have been involved in one of NASCAR’s most notorious crime stories, that’s not all. Only a few months after the drug bust, Rossi would mysteriously vanish, leaving behind many theories about his disappearance and its connection to the arrests.

Did Mario Rossi’s disappearance have ties to the drug bust?

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Since Rossi was working for Barlough and Harvey, he would have been directly involved with the drug trade, even though he was never officially convicted. According to popular opinion, his involvement with the illegal trade might be what led to his disappearance from Philadelphia Airport in 1983. And only days later, Rossi’s family would have a rude awakening. An unknown woman, introducing herself as Mario Rossi’s girlfriend Betty, informed the family over call that Rossi had perished in a plane crash over the Bahamas!

However, the FAA had no record of a plane crash during the mentioned time in that area. More interestingly, the plane that was suggested to have gone down with Rossi had exchanged hands three more times after his death. Not only did these facts spark many theories, some have stood the test of time.

Did Rossi turn his back on the drug deal once he got wind of the federal agents’ activity, which caused him to upset a few dangerous members of the operation? Or was he an outsider who happened to know too much?

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Whether it was winning races with Bobby Allison or working hard on his Engineering team, the man behind of of NASCAR’s greatest mysteries will always remain one of its icons. What do you think truly went down?