January 24, 2014 at 3:36 p.m.
Matt Ritchie 'made the final for his brother'
Matt Ritchie 'made the final for his brother'
Jeremy Ritchie, 22, of Minocqua, was killed Jan. 14 in a two-vehicle accident near Harshaw.
Just two days later, Team Ritchie was at the oval in Eagle River, with heavy hearts, but knowing Jeremy would want them there.
The team's driver, Jeremy's brother Matt, would get to drive his No. 355 Polaris in Jeremy's favorite race.
Friday Night Thunder
Matt took to the track Thursday, Jan. 16.
"Thursday night, he was sixth fastest time out of 24 sleds," Joe Ritchie, Matt and Jeremy's father, recalled.
"He got a second in his heat (Thursday) so then he qualified for Friday night."
Friday night, Matt took a third in his heat race, which qualified him for the Friday Night Thunder race.
"He wanted to race the Friday night for his brother, because that was ... their favorite race," Nancy Ritchie, Matt and Jeremy's mother, said.
Matt finished ninth in the Friday Night Thunder race. It was enough.
"He figured he did that and he decided that he wasn't going to ... try for the world championship on Sunday," Nancy said.
"He made the final for his brother," she added.
The weekend's racing might have been done with Friday Night Thunder, but there was something special yet to come. AMSOIL and the Deckers put it together.
"They did a very nice tribute at the racetrack on Sunday," Nancy said. "Did a video, and then they had a big banner made up for us - for Zeke Jonas, who was also part of our team, who passed away in a car accident six months ago, and then for Jeremy."
A brother reflects
For Matt Ritchie, the untimely loss of his brother didn't keep him off of his sled, but there was something missing championship weekend,
"We had a lot of plans together for the weekend coming up," Matt said of Jeremy. "He was taking off of work and was going to help us out the whole weekend. But plans changed and we made the best of it."
Thinking of his brother, it was an easy decision for Matt to go ahead and race.
"I knew right away that there was no doubt in my mind that I was going to try," Matt said. "He'd be mad if I didn't go out there and try."
Jeremy was passionate about racing. He started racing when he was three years old, Matt said.
"There was no such thing as taking a day off when it came to racing," he said.
As far as focusing on racing in the wake of Jeremy's accident, it was something Matt was able to do at first.
"Thursday we time trialed in sixth and at that point I had no fear in my mind and then we ran some heat races for Friday Night Thunder and we finished third in the first heat and then we came out to the final and it was hard to focus and stay concentrated and I decided to pull off and come out (of) the weekend ahead," Matt said. "No matter what, it was always in the back of my mind."
With the full support of his team, Matt declined the chance to qualify for the World Championship race.
He cited the loss of Jonas as well.
"We were two guys down this year and it just wasn't the same without them," Matt said
He liked the tribute at the track on Sunday.
"Oh my gosh, I couldn't thank them enough," Matt said. "I mean, I wasn't expecting anything like that.
"They said they were going to have a moment of silence and then, when they went out there, they had a whole video tribute and a banner made up ... and then the Jonas family got to come out on the ice with us along with the whole Ritchie Motorsports team ... it brought tears to everybody's eyes."
Craig Turk may be reached at [email protected].
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