Dennis Ritts- Official- Turn 4
I got my interest in racing because of my father. He started racing at Intermountain Speedway (BCS) in 1960. My mother and I went every race night and watched from the stands. When my dad retired from racing in the early 70’s, he became the track electrician. I helped him with what I could, and also picked up a lot of trash, cleaned restrooms and did whatever I could just to be at the track.
I started racing the Hobby Stock division in 1977, which turned out to be a terrible season for me. I continued to race Ford’s until 1980 when I switched to Dodge. I then became more competitive with a 1967 Dodge Coronet. In 1982 I changed to a Dodge Challenger and managed to finish in the top ten in points for the next three years. 1984 was my last year racing for a while.
In 1985 I became the head flagman and held that position until 1990. The club took over operations and I took on many responsibilities. Track manager, head official (DOC), announcer, track steward, lap counter, pit office and any other position that needed filled. I also worked in the concessions and sold tickets. Continued to help out and do various jobs the next three seasons.
In 1994 I decided to race again in the newly formed Pure Stock division. Close to the end of the season, I found myself once again in the flag stand. For the next four years I flagged, ran the pit office and did some announcing. 1999 the track was under new ownership and I continued to flag through the 2001 season. In 2002 I became the track manager and held that position until the end of 2006. I flagged the 2007 season which would be my last at BCS.
I’ve had the honor and pleasure of flagging at various area race tracks including Hi Way 92 Raceway Park, I-25 Speedway in Pueblo, Pikes Peak International Raceway (PPIR), Second Creek and at quarter midget tracks throughout the region. At Rocky Mountain National Speedway I was a guest announcer. I’ve also helped organize and run special events such as the Nebraska Shoot-Out and the Frontier Classic.
I served as the WARC President from 2001 – 2004, Vice President 1992-1993 and on the board numerous times.