Michael Ritch
# Michael Ritch

Michael Ritch (born February 24, 1973) is an American stock car racing driver who competed in 47 races across NASCAR'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.

## 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 race cars. At age 19, he won both the track championship at Ace Speedway in Elon, North Carolina 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 start at Dover International Speedway 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 starts between 1992 and 1999, often on short tracks in Virginia and The Carolinas. During this time he made 18 starts with a best finish of 9th coming at Orange County Speedway in 1994.

In 2000, Ritch got an opportunity to run a full schedule, driving the No. 55 Ford 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 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 for Ware Racing Enterprises in 2001. 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 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**

NASCAR Winston Cup Series results :

| Year | Team | No. | Make | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | NWCC | Pts | Ref |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1995 | Active Motorsports | 32 | Chevy | DAY | CAR | RCH | ATL | DAR | BRI | NWS | MAR | TAL | SON | CLT | DOV | POC | MCH | DAY | NHA | POC | TAL | IND | sGLN | MCH | BRI | DAR | RCH | DOV 34 | MAR | NWS | CLT | CAR | PHO | ATL | 117th | 61 | |

**Busch Series**

NASCAR Busch Series results :

| Year | Team | No. | Make | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | NBSC | Pts |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1992 | John Ritch | 02 | Olds | DAY | CAR | RCH | ATL | MAR | DAR | BRI | HCY | LAN | DUB | NZH | CLT | DOV | ROU | MYB | GLN | VOL | NHA | TAL | IRP | ROU | MCH | NHA | BRI | DAR | RCH 33 | DOV | CLT | MAR 18 | CAR 30 | HCY | | 70th | 246 |
| 1993 | John Ritch | 02 | Olds | DAY | CAR 17 | RCH 21 | DAR | BRI | HCY | ROU | MAR 18 | NZH | CLT | DOV | MYB | GLN | MLW | TAL | IRP | MCH | NHA | BRI | DAR | RCH 30 | DOV | ROU | CLT | MAR | | | | | | | | 51st | 479 |
| 1993 | John Ritch | 02 | Chevy | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | CAR 25 | HCY | ATL | | | | | | | 51st | 479 |
| 1994 | John Ritch | 02 | Chevy | DAY | CAR | RCH | ATL | MAR 11 | DAR | HCY | BRI | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | RCH 20 | DOV | CLT | | | | | | | 55th | 438 |
| 1994 | John Ritch | 02 | Olds | | | | | | | | | ROU 9 | NHA | NZH | CLT | DOV | MYB | GLN | MLW | SBO | TAL | HCY | IRP | MCH | BRI | DAR | | | | MAR 32 | CAR | | | | | | | 55th | 438 |
| 1995 | Ritch Racing | 2 | Chevy | DAY | CAR | RCH | ATL | NSH | DAR | BRI | HCY | NHA | NZH | CLT | DOV | MYB | GLN | MLW | TAL | SBO | IRP | MCH | BRI | DAR | RCH 27 | DOV | CLT | CAR | HOM | | | | | | | 95th | 82 |
| 1996 | Ken Wilson | 02 | Chevy | DAY DNQ | CAR $QL^†$ | RCH | ATL $QL^‡$ | NSV | DAR DNQ | BRI | HCY | NZH | CLT | DOV | SBO | MYB | GLN | MLW | NHA | TAL | IRP | MCH | BRI | DAR | | | | CAR DNQ | HOM 39 | | | | | | | 79th | 116 |
| 1996 | Ken Wilson | 02 | Pontiac | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | RCH 31 | DOV | CLT | | | | | | | | | | | | | 79th | 116 |
| 1997 | John Ritch | 58 | Chevy | DAY | CAR | RCH | ATL | LVS | DAR | HCY | TEX | BRI | NSV | TAL | NHA | NZH | CLT DNQ | DOV | SBO | GLN | MLW | MYB | GTY | IRP | MCH | BRI | DAR | RCH 41 | DOV | CLT | CAL | CAR | HOM DNQ | | | 117th | 40 |
| 1998 | John Ritch | 58 | Chevy | DAY | CAR DNQ | LVS | NSV | DAR | BRI | TEX | HCY | TAL | NHA | NZH | CLT | DOV | RCH | PPR | GLN | MLW | MYB | CAL | SBO | IRP | MCH | BRI | DAR | RCH | DOV | CLT | GTY | CAR | ATL | HOM | | N/A | 0 |
| 1999 | Davis & Weight Motorsports | 55 | Pontiac | DAY | CAR | LVS | ATL | DAR | TEX | NSV | BRI | TAL | CAL | NHA | RCH | NZH | CLT | DOV | SBO | GLN | MLW | MYB | PPR | GTY | IRP | MCH | BRI | DAR | RCH DNQ | DOV DNQ | CLT | CAR 35 | MEM 37 | PHO | HOM | 104th | 110 |
| 2000 | Davis & Weight Motorsports | 55 | Ford | DAY DNQ | CAR 16 | LVS 39 | ATL DNQ | DAR 39 | BRI DNQ | TEX DNQ | NSV 39 | TAL 13 | CAL DNQ | RCH 42 | NHA 22 | CLT DNQ | DOV 15 | SBO 25 | MYB 24 | GLN DNQ | MLW 16 | NZH 43 | PPR 32 | GTY 22 | IRP 20 | MCH DNQ | BRI 25 | DAR 42 | RCH DNQ | DOV 23 | CLT DNQ | CAR 21 | MEM 42 | PHO 35 | HOM DNQ | 33rd | 1643 |
| $^†$ - Qualified but replaced by Rodney Combs. $^‡$ - Qualified but replaced by Jeff Fuller. |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||

**Craftsman Truck Series**

NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series results :

| Year | Team | No. | Make | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | NCTC | Pts | Ref |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 2001 | Ware Racing Enterprises | 51 | Chevy | DAY | HOM 33 | MMR | MAR | GTY 16 | DAR | PPR | DOV | TEX | MEM | MLW | KAN | KEN | NHA | IRP | NSH | CIC | NZH | RCH | | | | | | 64th | 269 | |
| 2001 | Ware Racing Enterprises | 91 | Chevy | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | SBO 26 | TEX | LVS | PHO | CAL | 64th | 269 | |
| 2002 | Ware Racing Enterprises | 51 | Dodge | DAY | DAR | MAR | GTY | PPR 17 | DOV 17 | TEX 24 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 48th | 370 | |
| 2002 | Ware Racing Enterprises | 81 | Dodge | | | | | | | | MEM 36 | MLW | KAN | KEN | NHA | MCH | IRP | NSH | RCH | TEX | SBO | LVS | CAL | PHO | HOM | | | | 48th | 370 |
