Leonid Roderick

Leonid Roderick (born April 18, 1977 in Highland Park, Illinois) is an American race car driver. He is best known for winning the Master Cup four times, leaving him second only to Benny Dwyer and Arthur Thomas on the all-time championships list. His diplomatic nature amongst his competitors earned him the nickname Governor Rod up until 2009. His other nicknames include Hot Rod and, early in his career, Meteorite (after the Leonid Meteor Shower). Roderick's 57 career wins have placed him 5th on the all-time win list.

GRL
Roderick's first major-level racing was in the single-make GRL as a hobby racer, not intending to make a career out of driving. However, he quickly ran towards the front. From 1995 to 1998, Roderick won 18 races (in 38 races), setting a GRL record, and also set a record for GRL championships after taking three in a row from 1996 to 1998. He is also the only person to win GRL titles in succession, and his successes earned him a spot on the TM Master Cup Series grid in 1998 with FLASH Racing.

Before 2007
Roderick's rookie campaign was unremarkable until the Karjala Grand Prix, where he qualified 9th and went on to dominate the race, becoming the first rookie (not counting the inaugural race at Karjala, which was not a championship race) to win the race. Yuliya Nosova, Arto Kekkonen, and Mathias Taube have since repeated Roderick's feat of a 'rookie' victory, however only Roderick and Nosova have won the Karjala Grand Prix in their first attempt. Taube and Kekkonen were running for TM Master Cup Series Rookie of the Year, but both participated in the previous year's race.

In 1998, Benny Dwyer said that Roderick was; "If he makes the right career choices, he is going to be the best Master Cup driver ever, period". Despite this, Roderick and Dwyer tangled at times, but both had a great deal of mutual respect for each other and were capable of racing hard but cleanly.

Roderick captured back-to-back TM Master Cup Series championships in 1999 and 2000, winning over half the races (14) in 1999 despite a crew chief change midway through the season. 2000 went similarly for Roderick, winning many races, but mechanical problems meant that Roderick's 2000 season was much less consistent. Entering the 2000 Round of Decatur 11 points behind Glenn Kulscar and 8 behind Steve Marshall, Roderick's aggressive strategy and blinding pace meant that he lapped most of the field to win the race.

Roderick's 2001 title hopes were dashed due to the unreliability of the Inglesby, but he still won more races than anyone else that season. 2002 and 2003 produced similar results.

2012
Roderick started the season slowly, as both Roderick and new teammate Michael Sykes suffered from Inglesby unreliability and unavoidable dramas on-track. Despite this, Roderick bounced back to win the 2012 Karjala Grand Prix from row 10 on the grid, one-upping the feat Alexis Rainsford set the previous season after she won from 18th. FLASH Racing continued their strong form in the 2012 Round of Russia, however Roderick was the first retirement due to mechanical problems while Sykes won the race.

After the 2012 MCMA war began, Roderick confirmed that he was exploring other options for the 2013 season, with Power Steering Incorporated and Volpi Racing Team being his most intriguing options. Roderick admitted he was a bit wary of joining PSI since the team was already very much established behind Kurt Plissken but said he was still interested in the PSI offer since he felt it would be a challenge to bring PSI back to the front of the grid.

After the MCMA teams boycotted the 2012 Round of Michigan, Roderick confirmed he would leave FLASH Racing after spending his entire TM Master Cup series career at the team (excluding his debut race).

Other Racing Activities
Along with his father Barry, Roderick owns Roderick Motorsports Ltd., a frontrunning TM Lights operation. His team won the TM Lights championship with Scott Hamilton driving. His cars usually carry #4. Presently, Roderick employs American Nathan Ferguson and Canadian second-generation driver Martin Boltano, Jr., both of whom have won races this season. Ferguson is the only repeat winner in the 2012 campaign, while Boltano, Jr. won from last at Peoria.

Personal
Roderick has been married to his wife Katie for 8 years, and has two children. His children, Matthew and Melissa, 6, are fraternal twins.

He is also an avid follower of military history and a fan of strategy games.

Trivia

 * Roderick's cars, excluding his debut at Daytona in 1997, have always carried #4.
 * Since 2000, Roderick's cars have typically been orange. A notable exception to this was at the 2007 Round of Rockingham.
 * His wife, Katie, is his spotter and manager.
 * Roderick is the last driver to defend a TM Master Cup Series championship successfully.