Winning is what Leo Pastore likes most about Karting! The experienced he gains, the high level of competition and the great friends made are what he finds to be the best parts of this sport.

Leo got his start in Karting at eleven years old after his father Al bought a kart from his good friend Giovanni D'avola and began racing at McHenry, Illinois' GMC Raceway with River Valley Kart Club. After winning his 'first ever' race Leo persevered and won the US820 Jr. championship his rookie season. After running in the US820 class briefly, he proceeded to work his way through different classes from Yamaha Jr. Can-Coyote, Jr. Restricted Briggs-Coyote, Suzuki 80cc-Trackmagic, Honda 80cc-Top Kart to TM 125cc Rotary Formula C-Birel and Yamaha 125cc-Haase to mention a few.

Hailing from Addison, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, Leo and his parents Al and Teresa come from a rich Italian heritage. His father Comasio Alvaro "Al" Pastore is the chief mechanic of the team and owner of Northwest Transmissions in suburban Chicago. Attending Addison Trail High School and working as a cashier at a local supermarket keep him busy during the week but Leo finds time on the weekends to help his father at his shop while still leaving time for church. With such a busy life, Leo was also fortunate to have pit help from Dominic Moceri II, Dominic Moceri III, Oscar Navarro and Anthony Pisano throughout the past season. Even with great help, accidents still occur as Leo found out one day at Road America. After bragging how reliable his motor was, Leo proceeded to refuel with non-mixed gas and stuck the motor at over 100mph on the front straightaway! Embarrassed at first, he found the bright side in his error by rebuilding that same motor and running the rest of the weekend with it. With the 2001 season over, Leo and his father are preparing to start testing for 2002. When the weather is right, Leo will probably be found at Norway Speedway keeping his kart and himself in tune for next year's racing.

1999 was a great season for Leo as he won nine races and both the Saturday and Sunday Championship Enduro Series 80cc Sit-Up Gearbox championships! 2001 was also memorable with five wins and the Sunday championship in the CES Unlimted class and a second in Saturday's CES Unlimited points battle.

His favorite driver in Karting is pro shifter pilot Bobby Wilson. Leo said, "I knew him and raced in the same series (Championship Enduro Series) with him when he was a nobody. He showed me how easy it was to reach fame in karting by having one good race, getting a small ride, doing well enough to get a bigger ride and go on to win some even bigger races an be called the best!" Leo also looks up to Jean Alesi of Formula 1 fame because he is still a very good driver and race well when he has a car that works well. Leo also learned patience from Alesi and his own experiences in Karting and believes it to be an important trait on a racetrack. He also offers this advice to other karters, "Don't take too much advice from others you don't know! Remember, they are out to beat you!"