🏳️ Joseph Purpura

Joseph Purpura was a developing-level driver racing in NASA, a national multiclass championship that runs amateur through professional drivers in the same races. He drove a Thunder Roadster GTR, a purpose-built tube-frame roadster with a Hayabusa engine, for Thunder Roadster across four seasons from 2020 to 2023.[1]

Purpura made 26 starts across his four seasons in the series, finishing 17th in the final championship standings in 2023. He finished consistently mid-field among regular Thunder Roadster GTR entrants. He occasionally finished ahead of semi-professional and competitive amateur drivers, including a single-race beat over semi-professional Derrek Morehead, who had 99 NASA starts to Purpura's tally.[2]

Purpura raced regularly against competitive amateur James Wheeler and club-level Jason Oehler, both of whom were frequent opponents in the Thunder Roadster GTR class; he typically finished behind both. Thunder Roadster, the established team fielding his car, has won 47 races across its full roster and has employed 55 drivers, the strongest of whom is professional-level Jordan Anderson.