Courtesy of Indianapolis Motor Speedway Communications
INDIANAPOLIS _ Rocky Moran, a veteran of three Indianapolis 500 starts and one of the most respected sports car racers of his generation, died last weekend at age 74 after a battle with cancer. Mr. Moran’s death was announced on Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024.
After failing to qualify with Salt Walther’s small team in 1987, Southern California native Moran made three consecutive Indy 500 starts from 1988-90, with a best finish of 14th in 1989 while driving the No. 33 Skoal Classic March/Cosworth owned by open-wheel legend A.J. Foyt Jr. Moran made his Indy 500 debut in 1988 in a Foyt-owned car, finishing 16th in the No. 48 Skoal/Trench Shoring March/Cosworth as the second-highest placing rookie in the traditional 33-car field.
His final start at Indianapolis Motor Speedway came in 1990 with Gohr Racing. Moran earned the 33rd and final spot in the field in an older car and was credited with 25th in the No. 56 Glidden Paints Lola/Buick, as the car’s stock-block V6 engine expired after he completed 88 of 200 laps. It was Rocky’s final INDYCAR start.
Moran made unsuccessful attempts to qualify for “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” in 1992 and 1993 with Menard Racing and Team Losi, respectively.
The popular, versatile Moran never raced a full season in INDYCAR competition, but his talent attracted rides from prominent team-owners besides Foyt.
Moran drove for fellow-Californian Dan Gurney’s All-American Racers in his INDYCAR debut in 1981 at the Watkins Glen International road-course in Upstate New York. He qualified a strong seventh in the No. 48 Pepsi Challenger Eagle/Chevrolet, drove to first and led 21 laps. A storybook victory in his first series start was denied, however, when the team failed to put enough fuel in the car during his final pit stop to make it to the finish. Moran was credited with sixth-place in a race won by Rick Mears.
Moran started his amateur racing career in the early 1970s on the West Coast in open-wheel and sports cars before advancing to national sports car series such as Trans Am, Can-Am and IMSA later in the decade.
Gurney did not forget Moran’s impressive INDYCAR debut with AAR in 1981, hiring him for the team’s factory sports car program in the IMSA GTO class in 1986. Gurney also hired Moran to team with Willy T. Ribbs in an earlier version of a Toyota Prototype in IMSA competition in 1991, the pair earning a podium finish at Portland (Ore.) International Raceway.
The pinnacle of Moran’s sports car racing career came in 1993 when he teamed with P.J. Jones and Mark Dismore to win the prestigious Rolex 24 at Daytona, a year after they had finished fourth on the Daytona International Speedway “roval.” It was the first Rolex 24 victory for AAR and Toyota.
Moran is survived by his wife, Kayla; daughter, Kelly; sons Rocky Jr. and Cody and seven grandchildren. Rocky Moran Jr. made starts in stock cars, sports cars and the INDY NXT by Firestone developmental series. His INDYCAR debut in 2015 on the Streets of Long Beach in a Dale Coyne Racing car was cut short before the race by a broken thumb suffered in a crash.
