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DRIVER INFORMATION
Driver name:	Pat Summa
Owner of:	THRASHER
Residence:	New Milford, CT
Birthplace:	Portchester, NY
Date of birth:	September 8, 1963
Years competing:	16
Children:	2, Bianca and Michael
DRIVER HISTORY
Pat Summa’s first “monster” truck was purchased as a work truck for Summa’s lawn service, a company he still owns and operates today. The truck was used in the late 1980s for work and for play. Summa used the truck at local mud bogs and he was asked to do USHRA events near his home at the arenas in Hartford and New Haven, Connecticut. “I met Mike Vaters (of Black Stallion) at those shows. He was selling some axles and tires and wheels. I bought all his old stuff and never looked back,” Summa said. He debuted his first truck, Above & Beyond, shortly thereafter. 1991 was his rookie season, and Pat won a USHRA event in the Toronto Skydome. The Above & Beyond truck continued to make a name for itself up and down the east coast through the mid 1990s, when Summa introduced his newest creation in front of a home state crowd at the New Haven Coliseum – the “Thrasher”. Thrasher debuted with a Toyota T-100 body, making it the only Toyota-bodied truck on the USHRA tour. The truck went to the landmark US Truck Fest event at the Lowe’s Motor Speedway in Charlotte in its debut year, taking fifth place out of 19 entries. The original Thrasher was sold and Pat debuted a brand new race chassis – complete with rear motor and center seat. This is the truck that Summa drives at USHRA events across the country today. It’s no coincidence that the guy who got him into the business – Mike Vaters – is the driver he gets the most satisfaction out of competing against. His favorite place to race is in the Arena at Harbor Yard in Bridgeport, Connecticut, where friends and family annually watch him perform. “I love the adrenaline rush of flying the truck through the air,” Summa said. “I do enjoy racing, but the freestyle part of the event really gets me going!” At home, Summa operates Summa’s lawn service and performs landscaping and snow removal services near his home in Connecticut.