Kevin Kovac's Take Five
Take Five: Inspiring driver faces another health crisis
In a new feature appearing regularly on DirtonDirt, senior writer Kevin Kovac will offer readers five things worth mentioning from around the Dirt Late Model landscape (index to previous Take Fives):
No. 1: Tyler Ritchey of Woodbury, Pa., beat the odds to become a winning Dirt Late Model driver after suffering a paralyzing injury at the age of 18. Now the 33-year-old racer is in the midst of another battle as he fights for his life in the Intensive Care Unit of a hospital in Johnstown, Pa. Ritchey was found unresponsive Thursday morning by his wife, Taylor, and rushed to the hospital where he was diagnosed with multiple blood clots in his lungs and legs. According to updates posted on social media by his family, doctors have given him treatment to dissolve the blood clots and decrease lung pressure while working to keep him stable. The specialists are “waiting to see how he responds” and one update indicated it could be several days before the “extent of his brain function” is determined.
No. 2: The racing community has been sending its thoughts and prayers to Ritchey in the days since he was hospitalized. Married for five years and the father of 2-year-old son Wyatt, Ritchey suffered a back injury 15 years ago in a swimming pool accident that left an incomplete quadriplegic but he’s never let the physical limitations slow him down. Despite being wheelchair-bound, he began racing a Limited Late Model at Bedford (Pa.) Speedway and became a winner in the division in 2019. More recently, he moved up to a Super Late Model and last August recorded his first career victory in the headline class at Bedford.
No. 3: Ritchey made a pair of Super Late Model starts at Bedford behind the wheel of his No. 3 in the two weeks before he was stricken. He finished 10th in April 3’s season opener and was 19th in April 10’s feature after being knocked out of action in a multi-car incident one lap into the race.
No. 4: Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series regular Clay Harris of Jupiter, Fla., was a surprise entrant over the weekend in weekly Super Late Model events at Pennsylvania’s Selinsgrove Speedway and Port Royal Speedway. After making some repairs to his team’s hauler while home in Florida during a break from Lucas Oil touring, Harris made a 17-hour haul north last week to visit Integra Shocks representative Brian Daugherty’s shop in Punxsutawney, Pa., for some technical consultation. He then decided to go racing and recorded finishes of 21st at Selinsgrove (retired early because of two broken shocks) and third at Port Royal. Harris remained in the Northeast for the week ahead of this weekend’s Lucas Oil tripleheader at Georgetown (Del.) Speedway, BAPS Motor Speedway in Newberrytown, Pa., and Hagerstown (Md.) Speedway.
No. 5: Congratulations to longtime Dirt Late Model crewman Cody Duncan and his wife DeLaney on their marriage Saturday in Maryville, Tenn. A 33-year-old from Wooster, Ohio, who’s the son of veteran Buckeye State racer Charlie Duncan, Cody isn’t traveling the national Dirt Late Model circuit full time but remains well known in the division’s pit area from his stints with such teams as Rocket1 and Clint Bowyer Racing.
