Joey Brienza, a junior finance and accounting major at Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business, is competing in the USF Pro 2000 Series with Kelley’s sponsorship this season. Courtesy photo / Copyright the Trustees of Indiana University.
Indiana University’s trident has been carried by some of the biggest powerhouses in college sports.
In basketball, the Hoosiers have five NCAA championships, including the last undefeated men’s national champion in 1976. The trident has been stitched onto the jerseys of one of college soccer’s most decorated programs, with eight national titles and more NCAA Tournament wins than any other school. And, most recently, it has been part of a history-making football turnaround under coach Curt Cignetti, winning the national championship in 2025.
This summer the IU trident was emblazoned on an open-wheel race car.
Joey Brienza, a junior finance and accounting major at IU’s Kelley School of Business, raced in the Tatuus Grand Prix on May 9 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway with the trident on his car, helmet and racing suit. Kelley has sponsored Brienza and his Exclusive Autosport team through the rest of the USF Pro 2000 Series, a developmental circuit on the ladder to IndyCar – host of the Indianapolis 500.
“It is something special when you put the IU Trident on, when you’re wearing it. Especially now, with not only the academic success that Kelley brings, but also with our athletic programs, we are a university based on success,” Brienza says in a Kelley blog post.
“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.”
Joey Brienza drives his No. 91 Kelley School of Business-sponsored car in the USF Pro 2000 Series, a developmental circuit on the ladder to IndyCar. Photo by Josh Anderson of the IU Kelley School of Business / Copyright the Trustees of Indiana University.
THE BUSINESS OF RACING
What does a Kelley business degree have to do with climbing the ladder of one of the most iconic series in race car driving?
Quite a lot, actually.
For one, Brienza had to pitch himself and his team to land Kelley’s sponsorship. That meant making a business case for why the school should put its name on his car.
Racing is a business built on sponsorships, relationships and return on investment, Brienza says. Studying finance and marketing has taught him how to manage his earnings while building and selling his own brand.
Joey Brienza, USF Pro 2000
“At the end of the day, you’ve got to provide value. Studying business has really taught me that you’ve got to do that in many different ways,” says Brienza, who has interned with private wealth management firms in Denver and is interning this summer with a venture capital firm in Chicago.
Kelley has also forced Brienza to practice soft skills under pressure, an absolute requirement on the racetrack. Just as the drivers he races against push him to go faster and sharper, the ambition and talent of his classmates motivate him in the classroom. Brienza, a direct admit to Kelley, is also a Hutton Honors College student and on the Dean’s List with a 3.9 GPA.
“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. 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.”
A RACING RESUME BUILT EARLY
Brienza, originally from Golden, Colorado, got his start racing go-karts at age 10 after a visit to an indoor karting track with his father. He was winning races in the Colorado Rockies series within the year. He went on to compete internationally in races in Germany, France and Italy before moving up to cars by age 17.
In 2021, his first season in car racing, Brienza finished third in the FRP F1600 Championship Series with four wins, two poles and 13 podium finishes. In 2023, he finished fifth in USF Juniors with one win, five podium finishes, three pole positions and one fastest race lap. In 2024, he finished fifth in USF2000 with four podium finishes, one pole position, and the Hyperco Rookie of the Year Award.
Last year, he finished 11th in his rookie USF Pro 2000 season with nine top-10 finishes. This season, under Kelley’s sponsorship and carrying the IU trident, he’ll race at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park, Road America, the Milwaukee Mile, Portland International Raceway, Mid-Ohio and other stops.
His long-term goals are just as ambitious: reach IndyCar, win the Indy 500 and perhaps one day make it to Formula 1.
“I’ve spent 11 years of my life doing this and the goal’s within striking distance,” he says.
Joey Brienza, a junior finance and accounting major at Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business, prepares to race in his IU Kelley-branded suit and helmet. Photo by Josh Anderson of the IU Kelley School of Business / Copyright the Trustees of Indiana University.
WHY A KELLEY DEGREE IS NOT A DETOUR
Brienza is just as committed to earning his business degree from Kelley, a top 10 undergraduate business school, according to U.S. News & World Report’s latest ranking. That means a schedule packed to the rafters between classes in Bloomington and race prep in Indianapolis. On any given day, he’s juggling race simulator sessions, group projects, workouts, homework, and travel to tracks across the country.
“I treat exams like race day,” he told Kelley in this blog post. “Same preparation, same mindset, same focus.”
Most drivers at his level forgo college to devote their full focus to the sport. Many are skeptical that he can do both. He aims to prove that he can.
“People always try to put limits on you and especially when you have two demanding passions,” Brienza says. “My advice is to smile at them and know it can be done.”
His parents have stressed the importance of education, especially in a sport where careers can change quickly due to injury, funding or circumstances outside a driver’s control.
A business degree offers a second path.
“Kelley is preparing me both for racing and life after racing,” he says. “The structure and mindset I’ve built at Kelley directly impact how I perform on the track.”
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