From Proposal to Parenthood: A Racing Family’s Journey Comes Full Circle

Gender reveals are usually reserved for backyards and parks. For NASA members Manfredi and Antea Alliata, it played out at the track, joined by friends who have become their extended family.

The couple has always been spontaneous, and after learning they are having a baby girl, the husband and wife wanted to share the joyous news with their NASA Texas family.

“We found out about the baby and about 10 days later we were going to race, so we said, ‘Let’s do it there,’” Antea said.

Having never planned a gender reveal at the track, they had to find a way to make the announcement that fit the setting. Fireworks were off the table, leaving open track-friendly options such as flags and smoke, with the couple choosing the latter.

For the gender reveal at MSR Houston, the Alliatas waited until the track went cold for the day. It was a blustery early February evening with the sun setting as the couple drove out to the Start/Finish line in Manfredi’s Spec Miata. Manfredi and Antea discharged fire extinguishers out the windows, releasing a pink cloud to let everyone know they were having a girl due in early August.

“Everything worked beautifully the first time, as if we had rehearsed for weeks and weeks, which we didn’t,” said Antea, who married Manfredi in July 2025.

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Sharing the pregnancy announcement with the NASA family was only natural as the racing community has become a big part of their lives. Manfredi also proposed marriage to Antea with the help of his NASA Texas family.

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NASA Texas Spec Miata racer Manfredi Alliata proposed marriage to Antea at the track, with help from his fellow racers.

Manfredi grew up in Venice, Italy, which, ironically, doesn’t have cars. He started with NASA doing HPDE in Houston before moving to New York to pursue his Master of Business Administration. Antea and Manfredi started dating in New York and they moved to Houston in July 2024.

“Taking the car to the track at first was something exciting, something to make me a better driver and to learn in a safer environment what a car is capable of,” said Manfredi, who started in the HPDE program. “I wanted more of a learning experience than just the thrill of going fast.”

Manfredi converted his Mazda Miata into a Spec Miata at the end of 2021, earning his competition license in January 2022 at MSR Houston. The following weekend, he was racing at Circuit of the Americas in Austin.

“Go big or go home, Texas style,” Manfredi said.

Texas-Size Competition

Manfredi went big when he decided to run the Spec Miata series in NASA Texas, one of the deepest and most competitive in the country, and making the podium is a win.

Manfredi regularly finishes on the podium, and in 2025 took 12^th place in Spec Miata, even with a limited schedule. The young drivers racing in Spec Miata are especially talented, he said.

“It gets harder and harder to finish ahead of them,” Manfredi said. “You have to wait for the very few mistakes that they make and capitalize on those.”

Manfredi said his biggest on-track improvements came when he hired Bob Stretch’s Wheels America Racing for track support. The group is supportive, sharing video and data to help drivers improve.

“I tried to take care of everything myself, but then I realized that it takes a lot of time to have a competitive car,” Manfredi said.

Stretch said when racers join Wheels America Racing, the drivers take a collaborative approach sharing and comparing data. “Manfredi thinks it’s because we did something special with his car,” Stretch said. “But that’s not really it. It’s the data.”

Wheels America Racing has the Spec Miata well maintained, so when Manfredi arrives at the track he can focus on racing that weekend.

“We like to say we don’t have any magic, but we just make sure everything is done correctly,” Stretch said.

Manfredi has an AiM system and reviews the data without over-obsessing. “I look at where my biggest opportunities are and then I just try to focus on one or two turns or braking zones and forget about the rest,” he said.

Driven to Give Back

Manfredi instructs as a way to give back to the sport, earning a certification through the Motorsport Safety Foundation. He regularly instructs at tracks around his home in Houston.

When working with students, Manfredi wants to know what they are trying to achieve and help them reach their objectives. It takes a lot of psychology and energy to instruct, so that’s why Manfredi generally keeps his coaching and racing separate.

“You get tired after instructing because you have to be very aware and you have to pay attention to a lot of things,” he said. “You have to make sure that the other person is safe, so it requires a lot of energy.”

Even with a baby on the way, Manfredi plans to keep instructing even after his daughter is born.

“I would stop the day that I stopped being a good instructor,” Manfredi said. “If I realize that I’m getting to the track to instruct and my head is somewhere else, that’s when I’ll have to stop.”

Future Racer?Manfredi and Antea aren’t slowing down once the baby is born. In fact, they plan for her to be part of the track experience from the beginning. NASA Texas is one of many family-friendly regions.

“Speaking from experience, all my children were raised at the racetrack,” Stretch said. “It’s a really good environment for kids because everybody’s looking out for them, it’s safe and goal-oriented. They can see what their parents or other adults are doing, competing. It doesn’t seem like much but it’s actually quite important.”

When Manfredi and Antea go to the track, they stay in an enclosed trailer on an air mattress. They’ll have to find a little extra room in the trailer come fall. Maybe she’ll be a future racer when she starts walking.

“I love waking up to the sounds of the cars getting started on the track,” Antea said. “I’m sure the baby will love that too.”