Michael Valiante
Michael Valiante is a true racer and a proven winner. His impressive racing accomplishments speak for themselves.
Starting out in junior karting, Michael’s obvious talent was developed and fine-tuned. As he moved up through the karting world, the results speak for themselves:
North American Champion in Formula A
Canadian Grand Nationals Champion in Formula A
IKF Gold-Cup Champion in Formula A
Elf Constructors Champion in Formula A
US Grand Nationals Champion in Reed & Rotary Light for three consecutive years
ELF Series scholarship winner in Le Mans, France competing against twenty top karters from North America
Constructors Cup Champion in Formula C
Finished 6th in the World Championships as privateer entry
Number 1 Shifter Kart Driver in North America (1998) as ranked by Shifter Kart Magazine
These karting successes led him to a full-season scholarship in the Skip Barber National Series, where he was both Rookie of the Year and Series Champion.
This spectacular performance resulted in Michael winning the Rio Big Scholarship, a fully-sponsored season in the 1999 Barber Dodge Pro Series (BDPS) worth US$175,000. In Michael’s first year in BDPS, he scored seven top-10 and four top-5 finishes and was co-Rookie of the Year. In 2000, his second season, Michael earned the pole position and finished second in the first race at Sebring International Raceway; he won from the pole position at Road Atlanta and finished sixth overall in the Barber Dodge Pro Series Championship that year.
In the 2001 CART Toyota Atlantic Championship, in his first limited season as a driver for Lynx Racing, Michael kept the lead in the points for the rookie driver during four races although he only raced in two events. He finished fourth in the Long Beach Grand Prix and an impressive second during the high-profile Montréal Formula One Grand Prix weekend. Michael stormed through the rest of the season with a sixth in Toronto, fourth in Trois-Rivières and second in Vancouver, finishing eight in the Championship with participation in only five races against a talented international field.
In 2002, Michael ran the full CART Toyota Atlantic schedule with the Lynx Racing team, placing second in the championship, with a total of three victories and four podium finishes. Michael was also the championship points leader on two separate occasions during the 12 race season.
In 2003, Michael once again ran the full 12-race CART Toyota Atlantic schedule with the Lynx Racing team, this year placing third in the championship, with a total of three victories and six podium finishes. Michael was also supposed to make his CART series debut after being selected to drive for Walker Racing Champ Car team at Fontana. Unfortunately, due to severe fire conditions in the area, the race was cancelled.
In 2004, Michael got his CART chance again with the Walker Racing. This time he competed in the Mexico City season finale where he qualified 12th and finished 14th in his first ever Champ Car event.
In 2005, Michael tested for the Finlay Motorsports Grand-Am team. He was selected to drive for the team in the 24-Hours of Daytona and soon after invited back to compete in the Ferrari and Maserati 400 in Fontana, California. Michael made an impressive sprint debut where he charged through the field and led the majority of the race including setting the fastest lap.
In 2006, Michael competed full time in the Grand American series with Finlay Motorsports and led a total of 20 laps, captured 6 top fives and ten top tens with rookie co-driver Rob Finlay. He also was awarded the most positions improved on multiple occasions.
In 2007, as co-driver of the No. 19 Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates entry, Valiante recorded a career-best second-place finish at Iowa Speedway and six top-10 finishes in 13 events with Robert Finlay. Michael also tested and competed for Chip Ganassi Racing in the Nascar Busch Series in Montreal Canada filling in for Juan Pablo Montoya. Valiante led one of the practice sessions and dropped out of the race while running 7th due to a broken drive shaft.
For 2008, Valiante will join SunTrust Racing and his teammate will be Max Angelleli.
Michael continues to spend as much time as his busy schedule allows coaching and managing his family’s very successful kart racing team, Italian Motors.
