Photo courtesy of Roman Simonelli.

Above are pictures of Simonelli competing in derbies and his collection of custom cars. In the big picture, Simonelli is seen posing with his trophy after winning a competition.

Since age 15, Senior Roman Simonelli has been repairing and customizing cars alongside his stepfather. After finding a passion for autobody work, Simonelli has decided to dedicate his time and career to this passion. 

Simonelli comes from a line of family members who also enjoy and share a love for cars, ultimately fueling his interest. Currently, he attends WACTC for collision repairs. In this field, he reassembles, repairs and returns the damaged vehicles to the owner. Due to his partiality for cars, Simonelli has also decided to continue collision repairs outside WACTC and pursue a career before graduation. One day, he hopes to open his own collision repair business and continue his passion for cars. 

In addition to collision and autobody repairs, Simonelli also does custom work on the side as an extra job. He has owned nine project cars that he customizes in any free time he has. In addition to those, he has also customized two of his own cars. From paint to the nitty-gritty details, Simonelli finds joy in remodeling these cars and takes pride in his final results. 

“My favorite part of collision repairs and customization is being able to see all of my hard work come together in the end and then being able to show off what all I made,” says Simonelli. 

When not at work or school, Simonelli also participates in derbies and he designs the cars used in each one. In the span of a year, he normally partakes in about five to six competitions. Even though he does so many, Simonelli can reuse some of the cars he uses for each tournament. Normally when competing in the derby he is in, he places in the winner’s circle with the top competitors in the bracket. The drive that inspires him to do this is once again influenced by his stepdad who is one of the best racers in the area. 

With so many passions and hobbies, it is no surprise that cars are a vital part of Simonelli’s character. 

“Everything I do involves cars, no matter what it is,” comments Simonelli. 

Congratulations on all of the success, Roman! Good luck on the road ahead!