Rodney Morley (left)
Although Rodney I. Morley (BS ’91) has had a passion for car racing since he was a child, he was not able to compete until his late 30s. In 2004, after saving up money, he entered an amateur racing league, competing against 30 to 40 drivers per race and reaching speeds of 170 miles per hour.
At the beginning, Morley’s goal was simply to improve. Winning wasn’t a priority—after all, he was a rookie. But at the 2004 Sports Car Club of America National Championship Runoffs, he was in fifth place after eight (of 20) laps when his engine blew, ending his race.
Morley quickly realized that if he had been better prepared, he could have finished—and perhaps placed. With victory so close, he knew he had to change his attitude. It didn’t matter that he was a novice; he could win. “My approach to racing entirely changed. All the preparation was far more thorough, far more detailed, far more thought out. My belief in my abilities and our abilities as a team jumped. I knew winning was possible.”
At the competition the following week, Morley won and set the track record. He has since earned six checkered flags (first-place finishes) and set six track records. At the 2005 National Championship Runoffs, he finished second.
