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 TM Master Cup driver's championship six times, tied with Benny Dwyer and Arthur Thomas for the most of all time. 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 61 career wins (as of 2014) place him in the top 5 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 of 27) in 1999 despite a crew chief change midway through the season. 2000 went similarly for Roderick, winning 7 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 went similarly for Roderick, failing to finish 5 of the first 9 races due to mechanical failures. However, he surged back late in the year, and only missed out on the 2002 championship because of a controversial penalty given to him after the semifinal race in Texas. He led the series in wins for the fourth year in a row with 6.

2003 was a tougher year for Roderick, as the 2003 Inglesby had notoriously bad aerodynamics. Despite winning at Milwaukee and Quincy, it was a difficult season for Roderick's standards, as he spent the early part of the year outside the top ten in points. In order to remedy this, FLASH Racing opted to run a 2002 model at Michigan International Speedway, and Roderick nearly won the race.

...

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). Roderick visited both Power Steering Incorporated and VRT during the week of the 2012 Round of Indianapolis, but he made no indication as to which team he had signed for in 2013, or if he had made a decision yet. After winning in Victoria, Roderick announced that he will drive for Volpi in 2013. He will carry #4, regardless of whether or not he wins the championship in 2012.

Other Racing Activities
Along with his father Barry, Roderick owns Roderick Motorsports Ltd., a frontrunning TM Lights operation with origins in the midwestern late model scene. His team won the TM Lights championship with his protege, Scott Hamilton, as the driver, despite not winning a race during the season.

Presently, Roderick Motorsports Ltd. employs two rookies; Mexican Héctor Serrano and American Richard Scott, both of whom have won races this season. He previously has employed drivers such as Nathan Ferguson and Martin Boltano, Jr. Ferguson was a repeat winner in the 2012 campaign, while Boltano, Jr. won from last at Peoria. His team won the 2013 TM Lights title with Axel Andersson.

He is not as involved with the day-to-day operations of the team as his father is, but he occasionally acts as a driver coach on weekends whenever necessary. Roderick is always in attendance to watch his team compete unless TM Master Cup series commitments require he be elsewhere.

Personal
Roderick has been married to his wife Katie for 9 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, where he carried a black and white car.


 * His wife, Katie, is his spotter and manager.