He Teamed with Mark Dismore and PJ Jones to Win in the All America Racers Eagle Mk III-Toyota
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – IMSA, the sport of auto racing and the world at large lost one of the “good guys” over the weekend when Rocky Moran passed away at age 74 after a battle with cancer. At 6-foot-3, Moran was a gentle giant of a man, unfailingly amiable, upbeat and generous with his time. Equally, he was a talented race driver who played a key role in All American Racers successful IMSA programs, partnering with Mark Dismore and PJ Jones to win the 1993 Rolex 24 At Daytona.
A native Californian, Moran began competing in amateur races in the early 1970s before graduating to occasional Trans-Am, Formula 5000 and Can-Am rides, finishing sixth in the 1981 Can-Am championship on the strength of a trio of top-three finishes. His performances caught the eye of AAR’s Dan Gurney, who installed Moran in his Eagle-Chevrolet at the Watkins Glen IndyCar race that summer, whereupon Moran repaid his childhood hero by leading the race ahead convincingly before the Eagle ran out of fuel owing to a fuel rig malfunction on his final pit stop. Moran went on to make more than 30 IndyCar starts including three Indianapolis 500s, where his best finish was 14th in 1989.
However, it was in IMSA where Moran enjoyed the most success. After joining the AAR lineup in 1986, he co-drove the AAR Celica to a GTO class win with Dennis Aase at Road America and later joined with Willy T. Ribbs to put the Eagle HF-90 GTP on the podium at Portland. After finishing 13th in the ’91 GTP driver points, he teamed with Dismore and Jones for that celebrated Rolex 24 win in the fearsome Eagle Mk III-Toyota, arguably the epitome of IMSA’s first-generation of GTP cars. In his final outing with AAR, Moran co-drove the Eagle Mk III to third place in the Twelve Hours of Sebring with Jones.
Popular among teammates, competitors and fans, Moran later focused on supporting the racing career of his son Rocky Moran Jr., who won races in the Toyota Atlantic Championship and made eight starts in GRAND-AM and American Le Mans Series competition during his career. The Morans later opened and operated the Moran Raceway kart track in Beaumont, California. Moran is survived by his wife Kayla, sons Rocky Jr. and Cody, daughter Kelly and seven grandchildren.
(Photos: LAT)