Rex Riley

**Rex Riley** (born 12 January 2002) is a Canadian professional racing driver, best known for her time in the North American Championship Racing Series. She currently races for Fortune Racing in the AT&T Champ Car World Series, debuting in the 2023 season.

## Early years

Rex Riley was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba to RD Mechanical co-owner Trevor Riley and University of Manitoba professor Dr. Kelsey Manchester-Riley. At 16, Riley spent her weekends at her dad's automotive shop, helping out with simple automotive maintenance jobs like oil and tire changes. Her father gave Riley a 1991 Nissan Silvia for her 18th birthday, which she began to modify and race. On July 9th, 2018, Riley was arrested for excessive speeding, wreckless driving and street racing. Her vehicle was impounded by Winnipeg police, and Riley was forced to pay a fine of $1200. The news coverage of the arrest caught the eye of Rachel Woycick, a driver for North American Championship Racing Series motorsports team Fortune Racing. Woycick and Fortune Racing team owner Maxine Fortune traveled to Winnipeg to meet with Riley and offer her a contract to race in a second NACRS car for the team, which she accepted. She used the signing bonus to pay for the fine and her car's impound fee.

## Early career

In her first season as a Fortune Racing driver in NACRS, she received the Rookie of the Year Award and helped the team win its first team championship by 30 points. In her second season she was suspended for two races, deducted 50 championship points and ordered to pay a $15,000 fine for a physical confrontation she had with another competitor. She was able to improve on her previous results in the series and overcome the penalties she received to once again help Fortune Racing win the team championship, this time by only 3 points, and finish 4th in the driver's championship. In 2021, Fortune Racing extended their contract with Riley to a 5-year deal.

## Champ Car career

### 2023 season

Riley started as a test driver for Fortune Racing for the 2023 AT&T Champ Car World Series season, assisting the team as it debuted in the series, while teammate Rachel Woycick took the role as the team's primary driver. Due to scheduling conflicts, Woycick was unable to debut the team at the first round of CCWS, giving Riley the honors at Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit. After a strategic blunder by the team, she fell a lap down in the last half of the race and finished in 17th. Maxine Fortune was impressed with Riley's ability to adapt to the circumstances under short notice. In an interview with SetStraight Magazine, Fortune said, "[Riley's] ability to familiarize herself with the car and bring it home undamaged is truly remarkable. She was confident the whole weekend, and didn't let the team's mistake get to her. She will be a valuable asset to our team if we can support her adequately."

## Personal Life

Rex Riley used her income from her first two NACRS seasons to pay for upgrades to her father's shop, which now offers autobody repair and modifications. She is also an artist, a skill she used to help her father design the shop's first show car designed in-house. The car won multiple awards at car shows across Canada. In 2022 she stated in an interview that she is an asexual lesbian and started dating a woman in Winnipeg. In a later interview she mentioned they had broken up as a result of her commitment to motorsports.