COLORADO SPRINGS BROTHERS CHALLENGE PIKES PEAK
Colorado Springs, CO – For more than a century, drivers have been drawn to Pikes Peak to test their skills and their racecars against every challenge the mountain offers. Husbands and wives, fathers and sons, fathers and daughters, three and four generations from the same family, and brothers. From the earliest days when the Unser brothers, Joe, Jerry and Louis established their legacy to the present day where brothers, Rodney and Earl O’Maley of Colorado Springs are chasing their dreams at O’Maley Racing.

Rodney O’Maley
Rodney O’Maley entered the Open Wheel/Mini Sprint division in 2005 at 16 years old, following in the footsteps of his late father, David O’Maley. The senior O’Maley raced a Chevy Monte Carlo in the Stock Car division in 1994, and a quad in 1997. Like father, like son, Rodney’s 2005 finish time of 14:49.89 was within 10 seconds of his father’s 1997 run, 14:40.23.
In 2011, Rodney (pictured above) returned to Pikes Peak where he competed in various iterations of the O’Maley Special until 2017.
Taking a year to improve and build his new 2018 O’Maley Special, Rodney entered the 2019 event with high hopes.
After a successful week of practice and qualifying, Rodney was faced with an additional challenge to race on slick, wet pavement the mountain is accustomed to seeing in the afternoon on race day. He managed to navigate the 12.42 mile course and crossed the finish line until the very last 50 feet took him by surprise ending in a collision with a race barrier.
He has continued to test, modify and adapt the car annually and those efforts paid off in 2023 when he set a personal best time of 10:42.070.

Earl O’Maley
Earl’s entry as a driver came in 2021 in the 2015 O’Maley Special Spec E II, a car formerly raced on the mountain by Rodney. He has raced for two years on the mountain, finishing 6th in the Open Wheel division both times. Behind the wheel of his 2015 O’Maley Special Spec IV, Earl will make his third attempt on the mountain in June. Earl is pictured below making his way to the top in 2023.
Brotherly Bonds
A special synergy exists between these two. They have built and raced cars together on Pikes Peak and throughout the Colorado Hill Climb Association series for many years. They have built and prepped cars for other racers and, in the spirit of competition on Pikes Peak agree, “We would rather beat them on the track than beat them because they are still on the trailer! One thing about Pikes Peak is that it’s like a huge family, and if someone needs help and we can…we will!”
The pair has been fortunate to have a remarkable mother, mentor and strong race supporter in Christine O’Maley. She not only champions the efforts of both of her sons, but has volunteered as a PPIHC official course observer, for more than a decade.
When asked who is the better driver, the brothers’ reply reveals a lot about the bond between these two, “If you ask us separately, we will always say the other one.”
GET TO KNOW RODNEY O’MALEY
Fun Facts:
“When I was building a pinewood derby car at the age of 12, I picked #65 and since then I’ve used it whenever I can.”
“My absolute favorite meal is Chicken Marsala from Carrabba’s.”
“Love Denver Bronco football so I try to go to at least one game every year when I can.”
Who has been your PPIHC hero? “Paul Dallenbach who I’ve always admired because he started by racing open wheel cars, too. I love all forms of racing, but I have a bias for open wheel cars. Also, because of his determination to always come back and compete even if he had a bad year the year before. That’s helped me overcome the disappointment that Pikes Peak has brought to me over the years. Plus, throughout the year he has been a huge help whenever I’ve had a question or needed help with anything, not only on Pikes Peak but also in Colorado Hill Climb Association events!”
Best advice you received about racing on Pikes Peak: “‘You can’t win unless you finish!’ Both of my third place finishes came after making some mistakes that should have ruined my race run, but I just put my head down and kept pushing.”
Advice for rookie drivers on the mountain? “Learn, learn, learn the road. A few places can look the same and will ruin your day if you get them wrong.”
Favorite section: “Bottomless Pit and I have a love/hate relationship. In 2019, it was the first year of upgrading to a car with more than 700 hp, and in one of the first practice runs in the top section going into Bottomless Pit, I achieved a speed of 135 mph which, at that time, was the fastest I’d been on the mountain. Since then, I’ve been chasing that speed. I don’t know if it’s nerves or car setup, but I’ve been trying to achieve that every year since. Hoping it will happen in 2024!”
If you could race any car up Pikes Peak, what would it be? “I would like to drive an AWD car like the Peugeot that Sébastien Loeb drove, just to feel what it’s like to have the extra traction when you exit the corners.”
RODNEY O’MALEY’S PERSONAL BEST 2023 RUN
GET TO KNOW EARL O’MALEY
Fun Facts:
“I enjoy researching things to learn new skills.”
“Love taking my dogs to scent class every week.”
“Favorite food…chicken tenders are the BEST!”
Who has been your PPIHC hero? “I have two. First, Ted Foltz. Whenever I’d see him, which at times was weekly because our family business did yard work for him, he would always talk to me about racing, and life, and how much fun he had racing on Pikes Peak. The conversations we had fueled my desire to race on that mountain. I only wish I could tell him about the last few years of racing I’ve had on Pikes Peak.”
“Second, Gary Lee Kanawyer. Watching him race as I grew up, I admired his smoothness and finesse with the steering brake! He has always inspired me to practice and achieve his level of precision and grace behind the wheel.”
Best advice Rodney gave you? “After many years of watching the mountain give and take from Rodney on race day…good runs, bad runs and some bad luck, the main thing Rodney always said is, ‘Even though the mountain can be very intimidating, the rewarding feeling you get from beating the mountain and finishing is oh, so sweet!'”
Favorite section: “The section from the right corner of Sump to the left corner of Tin Barn. Because Sump is a decreasing radius making it a very hard corner to master the braking, because you can’t really brake in a straight line.”
Most challenging section: “The section above Boulder Park to the top because of the bumps and how they are ever-changing…not only from year to year, but from day to day.”
EARL O’MALEY 2023 FULL RACE DAY RUN
Photos by: PPIHC Archives, Larry Chen Photo, Luis Garcia, Leif Bergerson, Jason Zindroski.
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Contact:
Lisa Haight
Communications Manager / Historian
lisa@ppihc.org
(719) 685-4400
www.ppihc.org