This NASCAR driver didn’t quit his day job.
36-year-old Patrick Staropoli is one of the more interesting figures in all of sports. Why? Because not only is Staropoli the driver of the No. 48 Big Machine Racing Chevrolet in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series… he’s also an eye surgeon. That’s right. There’s a NASCAR driver out there with a PhD, and his name is Patrick Staropoli.
He even puts “Dr. Patrick Staropoli” on his name rail, since he’s a retina specialist and surgeon (and doesn’t want any of his racing colleagues to forget that):
In an era of sports where we don’t do nicknames as much anymore, the sport of NASCAR needs to really embrace Patrick Staropoli as “The Doctor.”
The eye surgeon recently spoke to KMBC 9 News and explained what it’s like to work as a doctor by day and race in NASCAR’s second national division (behind the Cup Series) by night. As you might imagine, his patients have just as many questions about racing as they do their eye sight:
“You go into the clinic and you’re talking to a patient, and half the visit you’re talking about their eye and what you’re going to do to help them out and the other half they want to know how the race went.”
Can you really blame them? Imagine your eye doctor or physician also being a professional race car driver. You can’t really brush over that… and it sounds like Staropoli welcomes any and all questions. Oh, and he also graduated from Harvard, as if he needed any more fun facts about himself.
Patrick Staropoli has been racing from a very young age. He always knew he wanted to be a race car driver, but there was also a part of him that wanted to become a doctor. So instead of choosing one, Staropoli did both. He gave up racing for a while to become an eye surgeon and focus on his career, but in 2025, he officially returned to NASCAR, and he’s been juggling both professions ever since.
That leads to some interesting interactions with fans:
“The autograph session, I had a lot of people ask me what kind of doctor I am and if I think they could swing by for an eye exam. We try to use the racing platform to raise awareness for things that are important to us in the medical field.”
Using your NASCAR career to shine a light on your career as a doctor… that’s some big-brained stuff from the driver of the No. 48 car.
It’s truly an incredible thing that Staropoli is able to pull off. The only other situation that’s close is actor Frankie Muniz, who most recently doubled-up and raced in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series while also filming the reboot of the beloved Malcolm in the Middle sitcom. But still… Muniz is no eye surgeon.
Last week, Patrick Staropoli finished 14th in the Kansas Lottery 300. His next race, the Ag-Pro 300, is scheduled to take place at Talladega Superspeedway in Alabama. If you tune in to the race… just keep an eye out for the car with “Dr. Patrick Staropoli” on it.
