Interview: Tony Parella

They say there is no greater zealot, than a recent convert. Though he came to the sport fairly recently in 2011, Corvette racer Tony Parella wasted no time in deeply immersing himself in the deep end of the sport.

After selling his highly successful telecommunications company, Parella turned around and purchased both the SVRA and HSR-West sanctioning bodies, with an eye toward creating the USA’s first truly national sanctioning body.

VR Editor Casey Annis recently sat down with Parella to learn more of his background, his plans for the future and why he thinks he will succeed in an arena where so many have failed.

Let’s take a step back for a moment, why don’t you tell me when and how you first got involved in historic racing.

Parella: My first exposure to vintage racing was through CVAR, which is a non-profit group that’s based out of Texas. I bought a 1958 Corvette, I was a big Corvette enthusiast. I bought a former 1958 racecar that had always been a racecar, and once I bought the car I realized what options there were to take the thing out and enjoy it, and stumbled into CVAR. So I went to Bondurant and got my preliminary license and then went through the licensing process with CVAR and then, along that journey, I also had a chance—I’m originally from upstate New York—to get exposed to SVRA by racing at a Watkins Glen event. By that time, I was hooked and the rest is history.