Indianapolis lost one of its major motor sports entities Wednesday when Riley Technologies and its subsidiaries announced plans to move to stock car country in September. Since 1990, the company has built Indy cars, championship-winning sports cars and U.S. Auto Club cars in a facility located a block south of Indianapolis Motor Speedway. It has 35 employees, most of whom are expected to move to a new 40,000 square foot facility in Mooresville, NC. Bill Riley, president of Riley Motorsports, said the move is based on a surge in the company’s NASCAR business. Mooresville is home to a large percentage of the Nextel Cup, Busch and Craftsman Truck Series teams and suppliers. “We want to strengthen our ties to NASCAR,” said Riley, who leads the company with his father, Bob. “We’re excited for what lies ahead.” Riley Technologies, over which Bob Riley presides, has a road-course testing project with Robert Yates Racing, a NASCAR team. Being in the Charlotte area should afford the company more opportunities in stock car racing, Bill Riley said. Riley Motorsports won the Grand American Daytona Prototype championship last year with drivers Wayne Taylor and Max Angelelli. It will continue to work with two Grand Am teams based in Indianapolis (Ganassi and Fernandez). Meanwhile, Bill Riley said a change in the landscape of open-wheel racing has meant less business for the company. “With the IRL and Champ Car becoming more spec series, none of the teams really need our services,” he said. “I grew up in Detroit going to the Indianapolis 500 with my dad, so it does kind of hurt (to leave).”(Indianapolis Star)(3-16-2006)
