Jack Ritts passed away during the early morning hours of 9/11. He died peacefully in his sleep.
He was a long time racer at Intermountain Speedway ( BCS ) in Cheyenne. He raced in the "A Class" which eventually became the modifieds. He car of choice was always a Dodge or Plymouth coupe with a slant six engine. After a few years of tinkering and adjustments he figured out how to realy make those motors run. He began racing around 1961 and hung up his helmet early 1971.
For many years he served as the track electrician keeping the many outdated systems working. He also spent a couple of seasons in the pit office. He loved to keep things working at the track and after his pit office time became the general handyman at the track.
When I started racing he acted as my crew chief and passed along volumes of information. He never gave it a second thought when I had problems with the race car and would jump right in to help. He did the same for my brother and also let beginning racers use his garage and tools.
He supported the track and club as much as he could until health issues would not allow. One of his greatest honors was being made a lifetime member of the Wyoming Auto Racing Club.
He was a long time racer at Intermountain Speedway ( BCS ) in Cheyenne. He raced in the "A Class" which eventually became the modifieds. He car of choice was always a Dodge or Plymouth coupe with a slant six engine. After a few years of tinkering and adjustments he figured out how to realy make those motors run. He began racing around 1961 and hung up his helmet early 1971.
For many years he served as the track electrician keeping the many outdated systems working. He also spent a couple of seasons in the pit office. He loved to keep things working at the track and after his pit office time became the general handyman at the track.
When I started racing he acted as my crew chief and passed along volumes of information. He never gave it a second thought when I had problems with the race car and would jump right in to help. He did the same for my brother and also let beginning racers use his garage and tools.
He supported the track and club as much as he could until health issues would not allow. One of his greatest honors was being made a lifetime member of the Wyoming Auto Racing Club.