Photo by Mark J. Rebilas

By Cole Cusumano

Watching the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, it’s becoming impossible to ignore that unique Italian name atop the scoring pylon for what seems like every race. And if it feels like Giovanni Ruggiero burst onto the scene out of nowhere, it’s because he essentially has.

Profiling as one of the most prominent yet enigmatic talents in stock car racing’s developmental ranks, it’s about time people get acquainted with “Gio.”

We are currently living in what could be considered an Italian renaissance across sports, and motorsports is no exception.

Andrea “Kimi” Antonelli currently leads the Formula 1 standings, winning the last three races and dedicating his most recent victory to men’s tennis World No. 1 Jannik Sinner and the late racing legend from Italy, Alex Zanardi. Even in the NASCAR Cup Series, Joey Logano, who is of Italian descent, has the most championships (three) among active full-time drivers.

At just 19 years old, Ruggiero is already blazing his own trail as a first-generation racer with the potential to become the next paisano prodigy. After one full-time season in the Truck Series with TRICON Garage, the driver of the No. 17 already secured his first win, two poles and holds the reigning title of “Rookie of the Year.”

If you didn’t know who Ruggiero was and saw him outside of his firesuit, you would never peg the ripped teen rocking a tracksuit, crosses and a cornicello as a racer. But once the helmet goes on, there’s no denying the raw talent the Massachusetts native possesses.

With familial roots being traced back to the Calabria region of Italy in the city of Cosenza, Ruggiero wears his heart and heritage on his sleeve.

If you ask any of his TRICON teammates the most striking quality about him (besides his signature Naxos cologne), they would say “Gio” is quite the prankster — or wise guy.

Two of his favorite films are “Goodfellas” and “Casino.” The commonality between those classics is Academy Award winner Joe Pesci (his favorite actor), who he somewhat emulates with his witty and light-hearted commentary, yet mature demeanor.

Ruggiero’s character and love for Italian-American culture also really shined through on Instagram, when he posted a reel recreating the opening title of “The Sopranos.”

“ I think Gio’s done a really good job adapting to the trucks and his consistency this year has obviously been impressive with him contending for top fives every week,” TRICON driver coach and 2011 Daytona 500 champion Trevor Bayne said. “But his personality – there’s not many like Gio. NASCAR talks a lot about needing unique personalities and he’s one of those guys.

“He’s probably one of the most focused and hardworking guys in the sport. He goes above and beyond to be good at what he does. But then on the other side, he’s silly. He messes with people. So it’s just an interesting combination.”

While people closest to Ruggiero might say he likes to have a little too much fun, the reality is he takes immense pride in his work ethic, courtesy of his father Joe.

“I think what really motivates me is just my love for the sport and my love for speed, as well as just wanting to be a winner and trying to win everything I can,” Ruggiero said. “I feel like, no matter what I’m going to do in my life, I want to succeed. I put a lot of time into what I’m doing, and I’m continuing to do that. It’s awesome to see the hard work starting to really pay off. I just need to keep it going and bring home some wins this year.”

Ruggiero may have the aura of a Martin Scorsese character, but the journey of his young racing career plays more like “Rocky.” And that’s not because he can most commonly be found working out.

Although Ruggiero’s immediate success in NASCAR’s developmental ranks may have many under the impression racing has been part of his life from a young age, the fact of the matter is he got a very late start on his motorsports career for someone who finds himself contending for wins on a weekly basis.

One fateful night in Massachusetts, Ruggiero took a trip to his local track, Seekonk Speedway, for the first time with his mother and uncle. The spur of the moment outing that started as just getting out to do something different over the weekend, wound up being an experience that would change a 10-year-old’s life forever.

Inside the track, there were Bandolero cars on display to promote a new series and get aspiring racers involved. Upon getting an up close and personal look at the vehicle and taking in a night of racing, Ruggiero knew he wanted to pursue a career as a stock car driver.

Ruggiero later asked his mom at the track if they could buy a race car. Considering he was a 10-year-old without any racing experience – or any knowledge of racing prior to that night for that matter – and no one in their family had a background in motorsports, he was shut down immediately.

Then, like any child would, Ruggiero got home, gave his father a pamphlet he got from the track and asked if he could start racing. Not long after that, they bought a car, and Joe has been Gio’s biggest supporter ever since.

Ruggiero began his racing career at 11 years old and asserted himself as a legitimate prospect right out the gates, frequently outpacing those who had more than five years of experience on him. At 15 years old, Ruggiero took his dream of becoming a full-time racer to the next level, growing up very quickly and relocating to North Carolina without his parents or even a driver’s license.

Being very family oriented, the initial transition was tough on Ruggiero, and it hasn’t gotten any easier since. He still misses his mother’s cooking and Sunday dinners with his loved ones, as well as a nice plate of gnocchi with chicken parmesan (which is hard to come by in Mooresville, N.C.).

Driving late models at the time, he made the move with one of his best friends and spotter Brandon Wilkinson, living with him until he was able to afford his own place at 17.

During that period, Ruggiero racked up various accolades including Show Me The Money Pro Late Model Series champion in 2022, and a pair of titles in 2023 in the Southern Super Series and CRA Super Series. One of his favorite moments in his young racing career came that same year with a win in the prestigious Winchester 400 at Winchester (Ind.) Speedway, where he was able to celebrate with his father.

With years of competing at a high level and winning races under his belt, Ruggiero had acquired aspirations of one day being part of the Toyota Racing Development program. He quickly took notice of how they invested in their young talent and supplied the resources for them to have a long and successful future in motorsports.

While Ruggiero was competing in the ASA STARS National Tour, late model crew chief and driver development leader Bond Suss was the one who took notice of his talents and reached out on behalf of TRD to snatch the up-and-coming driver.

“ I knew at that time that was really what I wanted to do,” Ruggiero said. “Before I was a Toyota driver, I knew they had the best program, they gave the most support to their drivers and had the best facilities and whatnot. I knew I wanted to be a part of that. So really, for me, my goal in racing up until that point was to try to get with Toyota as an OEM.  Once I knew I had that opportunity in front of me, I was really excited for it.”

Two years into his tenure with Toyota, Ruggiero competed for Billy Venturini across various divisions of the ARCA Menards Series platform, racking up 17 top fives across 23 starts. In his only full-time campaign running ARCA East, he won at Five Flags (Fla.) Speedway to open the season and finished third in the standings.

In 2025, Ruggiero got promoted to the Truck Series and made his presence known with a statement debut for TRICON, placing runner-up in the season-opener at Daytona (Fla.) Int’l Speedway. The Massachusetts-born driver went on to win his first race at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway and finished as the highest-ranked non-playoff contender in the standings, easily locking up rookie-of-the-year honors.

The driver of the No. 17 credits his ability to make an immediate impact in NASCAR to a pair of driver coaches: one being Bayne and the other being Blake Koch.

Bayne and Koch essentially prepare Toyota drivers for each race with planning to execute. They conduct weekly meetings where they’ll send out a packet for drivers to study everything from in-car cameras to SMT data, while also assisting in the simulator to help practice restarts and race craft.

Bayne is in constant contact with Ruggiero throughout the week, whether it be in the form of daily texts or multiple calls leading up to race day. From the beginning, Bayne has admired the young driver’s aggressive pursuit to be the best and his unparalleled focus in the shop and behind the wheel, which is why he feels he’s adapted so quickly.

“ I think he’s very focused and driven,” Bayne said. “You hear the word ‘focus,’ and you’re like, ‘Oh, yeah, everybody says that.’ But I mean it when I say it, that there’s nothing he won’t do to get better, and there’s nothing he won’t do to win.

“My role is to guide him into where to put that energy, because if you say, ‘Jump,’ he’s one of those guys that’s going to do it. But you have to be thoughtful in what you’re asking him what to do, because he’s going to go all in, you know?”

Now nearing the halfway point of his sophomore season, Ruggiero has looked like a legitimate championship contender, putting himself in position for victory virtually every weekend. Sitting fourth in the standings through eight starts, he once again began the year with a runner-up at Daytona and has another two podium finishes to his name.

Heading into the most recent race at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International, Ruggiero actually led the series in average finishing position. While leading the race with two to go, he got penalized for a restart violation, relegating him to a 15th-place finish.

To make matters worse, this was coming off a race at Texas Motor Speedway where he appeared well on his way to victory until a caution flew with two to go. In overtime, Ruggiero all but lost control of his No. 17 from the lead on the restart and plummeted to a 14th-place result.

Regardless of the outcomes of the last two races, Ruggiero has consistently put himself in position to win, and has proven to be one of the best full time drivers in the field for 2026.

“I think a lot of it now is just trying to put these races together and be consistent,” Ruggiero said. “I think myself as a driver and us as a team, we have the capability and the trucks to be running inside the top-five every single race, which is obviously the goal. I feel like when you do that, that’s when the wins come. We’re going for a championship this year and going for wins. I feel like we’ve started off the year with decent consistency. We just got to keep it up.”

Ultimately, in conjunction with his work ethic and determination, family and the values instilled by them are the driving forces behind Ruggiero success in racing — in spite of his late and improbable rise through the stock car ranks. It’s all about the never-ending pursuit to make the best of any situation, having the composure to carry on through the highs and lows, and an unwavering loyalty to those closest to him.

“I try to be really good to the people around me and I think that this No. 17 team that I have right now is a really good group of guys,” Ruggiero said. “I try to treat them like a family and take care of everybody. I just want to win together with this group. I would say that probably comes from my dad and the way he raised me. That’s definitely been my mentality since I started racing and even before that.”

With his sights currently set on a Truck Series title, Ruggiero’s future ambition lies in competing in Cup and becoming a household name. Given his no-quit attitude and outstanding race craft, why can’t “Gio” be the next racer of Italian descent to be immortalized in motorsports?

“Right now my goal is to start winning a bunch of Truck races and the championship,” Ruggiero said. “Long-term, I want to be a big name in the sport. That’s by competing on Sundays and winning races, which I think is very achievable.”