Rainey began his career racing in the
A.M.A. Grand National Championship, a series that encompassed four distinct
dirt track disciplines plus road races. Following his success in the Novice 250cc roadrace class,
Kawasaki hired him to compete in the 1982
AMA Superbike Championship as a teammate to the then defending National Champion
Eddie Lawson. In the
1989 campaign, Rainey finished second overall behind Eddie Lawson, winning three races and placing on the podium in every race that he finished. Rainey refused to give up racing despite his disability and raced a hand-controlled
Superkart in the World SuperKart series based in
Northern California. Rainey lived in
Monterey, California in a house that is not far from
WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. The nearby circuit named a corner in his honor, Rainey Curve, which is a medium-speed, acute left-hander that follows the famous Corkscrew. Rainey was inducted into the
AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 1999. He was inducted into the
International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2007. In 2003, he was one of the subjects of the motorcycle racing
documentary film,
Faster. After several seasons of poor decisions by Daytona Motorsports Group, the organization that operated AMA-sanctioned road racing beginning in 2009, a dispute with Dorna/Infront in 2013 regarding AMA Superbike coverage on shared FIM weekends led to a lack of media coverage for that year's Superbike round at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, as well as the
Harley-Davidson XR1200 round at
Indianapolis Motor Speedway in both 2013 and 2014, the AMA transferred the commercial rights to AMA-sanctioned road racing to Rainey and his business partners at the end of 2014. The
MotoAmerica era of AMA-sanctioned road racing began in 2015. Rainey lives in Monterey, California, with his wife Shae. They have one son, Rex, who graduated from
Pepperdine University and works at
CBS Television Distribution with the
Entertainment Tonight and
The Insider accounts. Rainey rode his 1992 YZR500 at the 2022
Goodwood Festival of Speed. Yamaha specially modified the bike by moving the rear brake and gear shift controls to the handlebars. ==Awards==