Rocky Moran 1950-2024

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emailBy Marshall Pruett | September 25, 2024 2:02 PM ET

He drove for Dan Gurney. He drove for A.J. Foyt. He nearly won his first IndyCar race. He helped All American Racers and Toyota win their first Rolex 24 At Daytona. And he was loved throughout the sport.

Rocky Moran died last weekend after an extended battle with cancer, and with his passing, a fountain of warmth and positivity has been lost. Prodigious talent, as well.

“I’m sorry to hear that about Rocky,” A.J. Foyt told RACER. “He drove for me in a couple of 500s and ran good. When I got hurt at Charlotte, I asked him to drive my car at Laguna Seca. He was a solid driver and just a super guy.”

At 6-foot-3, the Southern Californian towered over most people, but his steady outpouring of kindness and supportive words put folks at ease. Along with his wife Kayla, the Morans made an impact at the many teams where he drove, as bringing baked goods to share with the crew was just one of the ways they made friends and family in the paddock.

Making his amateur debut in 1971, Moran raced extensively on the West Coast and in a range of open-wheelers and sports cars before stepping up to bigger nationwide series like Trans Am, Can-Am, and IMSA throughout the rest of the decade.

Having grown up near Dan Gurney’s All American Racers shop in Santa Ana, Calif., Moran idolized the “Big Eagle” and dreamt of driving for his hero. He’d get his big break in 1981 when Gurney nominated Moran to wheel the famed No. 48 “Pepsi Challenger” Eagle-Chevrolet at the Watkins Glen CART IndyCar Series race.

Qualifying a remarkable seventh within the 24-car field, Moran charged to first and led 21 laps, controlling the race until a problematic final pit stop left him without enough fuel to make it to the finish line. Despite the setback and disappointment at losing a clear shot at winning on his IndyCar debut, Moran was credited with sixth in the No. 48 entry as Rick Mears scored the victory.

After his near miss in his IndyCar debut with AAR, Moran had to make do with less-competitive equipment at Gohr Racing, where he drove a Buick-powered March. Motorsport Images

A few years spent mostly away from the cockpit was resolved in 1985 when Moran got his second chance in IndyCar with the storied Leader Card Racing team where he placed an encouraging 15th at his home race in Long Beach. And with AAR’s move into IMSA with Toyota in the GTO class in 1986, Moran received the honor of a lifetime when he was hired by Gurney as a factory driver within the program.

Dovetailing with his duties in the Toyota Celica, Moran partook in eight IndyCar races with the modest Gohr Racing outfit and returned in 1987 to place 13th at Long Beach and miss out on his first attempt to qualify for the Indianapolis 500 with Salt Walther’s diminutive team.