Michael Ritch (born February 24, 1973) is an American

stock car racing Stock car racing is a form of Auto racing, automobile racing run on oval track racing, oval tracks and road courses. It originally used Production vehicle, production-model cars, hence the name "stock car", but is now run using cars specifical ...

driver who competed in 47 races across

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. It is considered to be one of the top ranked motorsports organizations in ...

's top three series between 1992 and 2002. He also competed in 165 Rev-Oil Pro Cup Series races between 1998 and 2009, winning 15 races and the 2007 Southern Division Championship. Ritch currently competes on the

SMART Modified Tour The Southern Modified Auto Racing Teams (SMART) Tour is a Modified stock car racing series racing in the Southeastern region of The United States. The series began in 1989, NASCAR took over the series in 2005. During its time as a NASCAR sancti ...

Early career

Ritch began his racing career when he was 9 years old when he raced BMX bikes. He would eventually move to

late model Late Model stock car racing, also known as late model racing and late models, refers to a type of auto racing that involves purpose-built cars simultaneously racing against each other primarily on oval tracks. This type of racing was early-on ...

race cars. At age 19, he won both the track championship at

Ace Speedway Ace Speedway is a oval stock car racing track in Altamahaw, North Carolina. The track was constructed by Roy Maddren and opened in 1956 as a dirt oval. In 1984, the track was expanded to a dirt oval. In 1990, under the ownership of Fred and J ...

in Elon,

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

and the regional Mid-Atlantic Championship in 1992, winning 14 of his 44 starts.

NASCAR career

Winston Cup Series

Ritch made his only career

Winston Cup The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the NASCAR, National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR), the most prestigious stock car racing series in the United States. The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, ...

start at

Dover International Speedway Dover Motor Speedway (formerly known as the Dover International Speedway from 2002 to 2021 and as the Dover Downs International Speedway from 1969 to 2001) is a oval track in Dover, Delaware. The venue has hosted major events since its inaugu ...

in 1995. He would finish 34th in the 40-car field, falling out of the race just before the halfway mark after an engine failure..

Busch Series

Ritch made sporadic

Busch Series The NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) is a stock car racing series organized by NASCAR. It is promoted as NASCAR's second-tier circuit to the organization's top level Cup Series. NXS events are frequently held as a support race on the day prior to a ...

starts between 1992 and 1999, often on short tracks in

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

and

The Carolinas The Carolinas, also known simply as Carolina, are the U.S. states of North Carolina and South Carolina considered collectively. They are bordered by Virginia to the north, Tennessee to the west, and Georgia to the southwest. The Atlantic Ocean ...

. During this time he made 18 starts with a best finish of 9th coming at

Orange County Speedway Orange County Speedway is a asphalt oval in Orange County, North Carolina, near Rougemont. It first opened in 1966 as a and a dirt oval (Trico Speedway), which operated until 1967 and 1973, respectively. The facility was reopened and paved i ...

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

. In 2000, Ritch got an opportunity to run a full schedule, driving the No. 55

Ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...

for Davis & Weight Motorsports. The season was a disappointment as Ritch failed to qualify 11 times in 32 attempts, had only one lead lap finish, and finished 33rd in the standings. He also finished in the top 20 only five times that season, with a best finish of 13th at Talladega, and also led five laps at Gateway. His best showing that season came at

South Boston Speedway South Boston Speedway, or "SoBo", is a short track located just outside South Boston, Virginia. SoBo is located approximately east of another area familiar to most NASCAR fans, Martinsville. It is owned by Mattco, Inc., the Mattioli family tr ...

when he was fastest in practice and qualified 3rd for the race, but finished 25th after a rear gear problem late in the race. After the season, Ritch was released and never attempted another Busch Series race after that.

Craftsman Truck Series

After being released from his Busch Series ride, Ritch drove a limited schedule in the

Craftsman Truck Series The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series is a pickup truck racing series owned and operated by the NASCAR, National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR), and is the only series in NASCAR to race production pickup truck-based stock car racing, s ...

for

Ware Racing Enterprises Rick Ware Racing (RWR) is an American motorsports team which currently competes in the NASCAR Cup Series, American Flat Track, and NHRA. History The organizational roots of RWR date back to Ware & Sons Racing with Rick and his father John Ware c ...

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

. He made seven starts for the team in a 2-year period, with a best finish of 16th coming at Gateway in 2001.

USAR Pro Cup Series

Ritch competed in the USAR Pro Cup Series both before and after his tenure in NASCAR, between 1998 and 2009. In that period he made 165 starts with 15 wins (including seven in 1998), 9 poles, and winning the series' Southern Division Championship in 2007. He followed up his championship campaign with a runner-up finish the year after, before switching teams and only running a partial schedule in 2009. He made his final series start at

Concord Speedway Concord Speedway was a motorsports facility located in the town of Midland, North Carolina, southeast of Concord, North Carolina. The complex featured a -mile asphalt tri-oval and a -mile asphalt oval. The complex was built in 1982 by Henry Fur ...

on September 5, 2009.

Motorsports career results

NASCAR

( key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. ''Italics'' – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Winston Cup Series

Busch Series

Craftsman Truck Series

SMART Modified Tour

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ritch, Michael Living people 1973 births Racing drivers from High Point, North Carolina NASCAR drivers CARS Tour drivers SMART Modified Tour drivers