Joe Castello, who mans the announce booth at every NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series stop on the 20-race tour is more than a mouthpiece. He’s both the host of WFO Radio and a racer who came to love straight-line racing through the passion of his father, Louis. The Floridian family lost Louis in August of 2024 and celebrated his life in early January during the 25th annual Darrell Gwynn Full Throttle “Show of Shows” in Pompano Beach, Florida.
The loss of his dad didn’t stop his son Joe from working on Project Pontiac, the rebuild of a Pontiac TransAm race car once campaigned by Louis Castello. Project Pontiac began in March of 2022 and, in fact, the loss of his dad likely throttled the restoration of this machine so that it could hit the track before Joe Castello’s 2025 NHRA racing season began in earnest.
The rebuild of this one-owner 1978 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am – a car that actually took Joe Castello to kindergarten – was no walk in the park; the engine block was cracked, well beyond repair and the prospect of investing in the rebuild was bleak. Joe Castello’s objective, in addition to paying respect to his father and recalling the times he’d watch Louis race the Pontiac, was to show others that it was possible to resurrect even the most disastrous project cars. And keep the 30-year-old paint intact!
Joe Castello worked with a consortium of suppliers, both individuals and companies to make Project Pontiac a reality in Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series competition He showed the completed engine at the 2024 PRI Show in Indianapolis last December, at the FOGGIT booth. Support from FOGGIT’s Gary Stinnett and Steve Williams, along with Fuel Factory, were major catalysts in the car’s two-year rehabilitation and rebuild. Stinnett, Castello said, “Is an amazing person to learn from. This experience,” he stressed, “will help my announcing.”
The goal, after beginning the project in March of 2022, was to race Project Pontiac at the Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series season starting event at Orlando Speed World Dragway outside Orlando almost three years later. Following the close of NHRA’s Mission Foods Drag Racing Series 2024 season, Castello put his head down and worked day and night to be suited up for action the final weekend of February. By the time race time rolled around, he was ready with his 10.90 indexed Pontiac, which has a minimum weight of 2,800 pounds. Castello’s Trans Am weighs 3,300 pounds.
To say he was successful isn’t the gist of the matter. With everything in place, Joe Castello took his Super Street Project Pontiac to the first quarterfinals it had seen in ages, falling by only .002 seconds. “That weekend was a dream weekend,” Castello stated after his first race in the Firebird. “I know my dad was riding with me all weekend. The car performed perfectly right off the trailer. I was blown away and I could not have been happier. I can’t wait to get to the Baby Gators,” he said.
With around 55 cars at Gainesville Raceway the first weekend of March, Castello had work to do to make the field, which he did. Although he didn’t make it out of the first round, again succumbing by .002-sec (inches at best), he said he had a great time and can’t wait to take the Pontiac out again. But this week, it’s back to his “day job” talking about the Mission Foods Drag Racing Series and helping fans enjoy the start of the NHRA season. Project Pontiac will have to take a back seat to Castello’s primary job. He’s thinking about racing at the Charlotte national event but most likely on Rockingham’s dragstrip in October.
“Honestly,” Castello explained, “I was worn out in Gainesville (at the Baby Gators). Just getting to the races was a tremendous effort.” But that’s what it takes in racing. Lots of effort, plenty of expense and the assistance of the finest parts purveyors.
The list of contributors to Project Pontiac is a Who’s Who of industry experts:
- Edelbrock showcased their aluminum Pontiac heads
- Straub Technologies completed the machine work with the latest technology from Rottler Manufacturing
- Billy Goldbold, the camshaft guru, confirmed the selected grind of the Comp camshaft
- Keith Wilson and Wilson Manifolds worked magic on the intake manifold
- John Gaydosh – a real Pontiac expert – offered his tried-and-true CNC porting job
- Harry Heads, Sioux City, Iowa, added their hand porting expertise that increased flow an additional 26 CFM
- Keith Jones fit Project Pontiac with Total Seal rings
- Summit Racing Equipment provided parts necessary to get the car on-track
“The people who helped are too numerous to name, but a highlight moment was a call I received one morning while installing brakes on my daily car. John Callis was on the phone offering to assist with Morel Lifters,” Castello recalled. “I freaked out! John, who is a wonderful person, was the Pontiac Racing manager during the 1980s when I was a 12-year-old fan in the stands with my father. Now he’s calling me to help with Project Pontiac!”