Rod Maloy

For the next 2 ½ years, Rod jumped up to the cadet division. Halfway through 1979, he moved up to the sportsman class and raced in that division through 1984.

For 1985 the sportsman division was eliminated, so Maloy converted his sportsman racer to a limited late model. He competed in limited lates through 1989 securing 15 victories. Among his thrills was having NASCAR drivers Davey Allison and Sterling Marlin pilot his car in exhibition races at the Busti oval in 1987 and 1988.

Fourteen years after first climbing behind the wheel of a race car. Rod was able to achieve his goal of racing in the top class in 1990. With valuable sponsorship dollars from Quality Markets, Maloy rolled out a #78 super late model. The highlight of his rookie season racing with the “big dogs” was a surprise win in a 40-lap race at Stateline on September 1, using an engine he had cobbled together from used parts the night before.

“Hot Rod” Maloy continued to race super late models at Stateline, Eriez, Raceway 7 and Little Valley Speedways until his retirement from the sport in 2012. The highlight among his 23 Stateline victories was a 100-lap feature win at Stateline in 1992. He earneded 8 checkered flags at Eriez and was a consistent threat to win on any given night no matter where he unloaded.

Consistency wins championships as evidenced by his 2001 and 2007 Stateline Super Late Model Championships and the 2001 and 2002 Stateline-Eriez Circuit Super Late Model Championships. He was chosen as Stateline Speedway’s Driver of the Year in 2001 and 2007.

Anyone involved in sports knows that there are “highs and lows.” Two notable lows for Rod were a devastating fire at his garage in 1999 that resulted in the loss of all his racing equipment. Another major low was a severe wreck at Little Valley Speedway that resulted in serious injuries and many months of recuperation. With grit and determination, Maloy bounced back both times to return to the sport he loved.

Often working with fewer resources and lesser equipment than many of his competitors, Rod Maloy took the skills and work ethic he learned as a boy to achieve stock car racing success and to prove the old adage: “It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the size of the fight in the dog.”