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Michael Ritch (born February 24, 1973) is an Americanstock car racing driver who competed in 47 races acrossNASCAR's top three series between 1992 and 2002. He also competed in 165Rev-Oil Pro Cup Series races between 1998 and 2009, winning 15 races and the 2007 Southern Division Championship. Ritch currently competes on theSMART Modified Tour.

Ritch began his racing career when he was nine years old when he raced BMX bikes.^[1] He would eventually move tolate model race cars. At the age pf nineteen, he won both the track championship atAce Speedway inElon,North Carolina and the regional Mid-Atlantic Championship in 1992, winning fourteen of his 44 starts.^{[citation needed]}

Ritch made his only careerWinston Cup start atDover International Speedway in 1995. He would finish 34th in the forty-car field, falling out of the race just before the halfway mark after an engine failure.^{[citation needed]}.

Ritch made sporadicBusch Series starts between 1992 and 1999, often onshort tracks inVirginia andThe Carolinas. During this time he made eighteen starts with a best finish of ninth coming atOrange County Speedway in1994.

In 2000, Ritch got an opportunity to run a full schedule, driving the No. 55Ford forDavis & Weight Motorsports. The season was a disappointment as Ritch failed to qualify eleven times in 32 attempts, had only one lead lap finish, and finished 33rd in the standings. He also finished in the top-twenty only five times that season, with a best finish of thirteenth atTalladega, and also led five laps atGateway. His best showing that season came atSouth Boston Speedway when he was fastest in practice and qualified third 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.^[1]

After being released from his Busch Series ride, Ritch drove a limited schedule in theCraftsman Truck Series forWare Racing Enterprises in2001. He made seven starts for the team in a two-year period, with a best finish of sixteenth coming at Gateway in 2001.^[1]

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 fifteen wins (including seven in 1998), nine 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 atConcord Speedway on September 5, 2009.

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

(key)

• Michael Ritch driver statistics at Racing-Reference

• Living people
• 1973 births
• Racing drivers from High Point, North Carolina
• NASCAR drivers
• CARS Tour drivers
• SMART Modified Tour drivers

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