BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – For more than 100 years, the Indiana University Kelley School of Business has created career momentum for thousands of students. But this May, a junior studying finance and accounting, will experience it faster than any Kelley student who has come before him.

The Kelley School is supporting Joey Brienza, a Kelley direct admit and Hutton Honors College student and a race car driver who competes in the USF Pro 2000 Series, a premier open-wheel racing series in the ladder to INDYCAR. On May 9, he will drive his IU Kelley sponsored car at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in the Tatuus Grand Prix of Indianapolis.

Kelley is sponsoring Brienza and his Exclusive Autosport team through the remainder of his season in the USF Pro 2000 Series, which also includes an event at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park the same weekend as this year’s Indianapolis 500 and races at Road America, the Milwaukee Mile, the streets of Markham (Canada), Portland International Speedway and Mid-Ohio.

“It is something special when you put the IU Trident on, when you’re wearing it,” Brienza said of the IU Kelley branded race suit he’ll wear while competing in races this summer. “Especially now, with not only the academic success that Kelley brings, but also with our athletic programs, we are a university based on success.

“When I see the Trident go on my car, knowing the school has this pedigree pushes me, because I don’t want to be the guy with IU and Kelley on his race suit who finishes 20th. I wear it with great pride and want to represent it well,” he added.

Many of today’s top race car drivers have first competed in the USF Pro 2000 Presented by Continental Tire – previously known as Indy Pro 2000. It is the third official step on the USF Pro Championships ladder and two rungs down from North America's premier open-wheel auto racing series, the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, where Brienza hopes to compete in a couple of years.

Originally from Golden, Colo., Brienza played nearly every sport before discovering racing through an indoor karting visit with his father. That experience led to a junior racing program, then years of development across regional and national ranks. After he turned 13, he spent a year living and racing in Italy and continued his racing career while balancing school after returning to the U.S. He began driving cars full-time after he turned 17.

“I’ve spent 11 years of my life doing this and the goals’ within striking distance,” he said. “It’s cool, but I’ve got to keep working toward it.”

Only a handful of race car drivers have been able to balance higher education with a high- level racing career. Brienza acknowledges that he chose the harder route – pursuing a degree at a top 10 business school while also competing professionally all over the country.

“I’ve faced a lot of scrutiny going to college from people in the racing paddock. They don’t think it’s possible to do two things at once,” he said. “People always try to put limits on you and especially when you have two demanding passions …My advice is to smile at them and know it can be done.”

It’s all about managing your time well, having your priorities and enjoying the ride along the way, knowing that it’s possible, he said. Just because it is difficult doesn’t mean that it can’t be done.

"Joey reflects what we strive to develop in every Kelley student: the discipline to prepare relentlessly, the judgment to make consequential decisions in real time, and the composure to execute under pressure,” said Pat Hopkins, dean of the Kelley School and the James R. Hodge Chair of Excellence.

“The racetrack makes those qualities visible in a way few classrooms can,” Hopkins added. “But every Kelley student is being asked to perform at that level, and our job is to ensure they are ready on day one of their careers and well beyond."

While the proximity to his race team in Indianapolis was a factor in his college choice, Brienza said he chose Kelley over other schools because of its program quality and the real-world application skills it provides, and he feels even better about his college decision today.

Racing is as much a business as it is a sport, Brienza said studying finance and marketing have taught him about managing his earnings. But more importantly, he’s also learned how to explain to others why their investment – whether it’s in a stock or bond fund or in a car and its driver – are worth it.

“At the end of the day, you’ve got to provide value,” he said. “Studying business has really taught me that you’ve got to do that in many different ways.”

Like being around competitive drivers he trains with and races against, Brienza said that his highly talented student peers at Kelley also motivate him to be better. “Racing is nothing, compared to here,” he said, adding, “The structure and mindset I’ve built at Kelley directly impacts how I perform on the track.”

Brienza also appreciates the support and encouragement he’s received from faculty members. He singled out two in particular, Joseph Fitter, senior lecturer of finance and director of the MBA Strategic Finance Academy in Kelley, and Robert Lantis, a senior lecturer in the IU Department of Economics.

“Joey was a dedicated student who balanced outside activities with the academic rigor of Kelley successfully,” Fitter said. “I appreciated his positive can-do attitude in the classroom and it’s apparent that he applied the same methodology on the racetrack and beyond.

“I always try to bring real world application to the topics that I teach, and Joey is a good example of where that relevance can take every student when properly applied,” Fitter added.

Lantis taught Fundamentals of Economics for Business during Brienza’s freshman year, beginning a relationship that has continued after the course was over. He and his wife are racing fans who have attended many of Brienza’s events. Also, Brienza has visited the elementary school where Lantis’ wife is the principal several times.

“He found out my wife was a principal and offered to come in and talk to the kids,” Lantis said. “She has a fourth-grade class that does a whole unit about the Indy 500. He comes in, talks to them wearing his fire suit and he brings his helmet. The kids just think it’s the coolest thing.

“The unselfishness to come and take more time out of his day to really give back to the community is something that I think is extremely rare, especially for a college student,” he added. “Aside from the fact that he has this other crazy thing that he does, which is race cars, he’s still a great ambassador and example of what a Kelley School of Business student should be.”

Brienza said he’s been able to enjoy the typical university experience. He is a member of Theta Chi fraternity and the student club for golf and gets out on the IU Pfau golf course whenever he can. In addition to racing, he’s had internships at private wealth management firms in Denver after his freshman and sophomore years and this summer he will interning in Chicago for a venture capital firm.

In addition to embracing IU’s traditions, Brienza also values being part of the state’s auto racing heritage, citing all the motorsports teams based in Indiana.

“They say that in 49 states, it’s just basketball, but this is Indiana. It’s the same with racing – racing’s hub is in Indiana,” he said. “It’s the home of motorsports in America. It’s hard to make the case to be anywhere else.”