Evans City's “Racin” Ralph Spithaler Jr's passion is race cars and he has been a driver at local speedways for 37 years.

Spithaler has been behind the wheel of four classes of cars and sometimes drove three different divisions in the same week! As a youngster, he and his dad, the late Ralph Spithaler Sr,, and mother Dorothy would go camping on the weekends. On the way home, they often stopped at Butler Speedway to watch the stock car races.

They became Lou Blaney Sprint fans and also liked to see Bob Wearing Sr. compete. Occasionally, they would go to go-cart tracks.

When Ralph was 12, a friend of his had a go-cart for sale. His dad decided to buy it and they went racing at the Shumaker Speedway in Ford City. After a year, Ralph Sr. decided to buy a go-cart and they both competed, but in different divisions.

Ralph Jr. is now behind the wheel of a Vintage Go-cart several times a year!

At the age of 23, Ralph saved enough money and decided to buy a Sprint. He said, “I decided to give it a shot! My original plan was to race five years and sell it.”

After six years, he put his Sprint up for sale and had a buyer when Joe Gizenski of Old Allegheny Stone offered to sponsor him.

“Opportunity doesn't come that often,” he said, “so I didn't sell it, but found another like mine for the guy.”

At the same time — 1986 — the Graham family, former owner of Tri-City Speedway, asked him to run their Modified. Ralph took a hiatus from the Sprint for one year to focus on a good ride. He had previously run Earl Hoover's Modified for one season that was formerly piloted by Ralph Quarterson.

Spithaler earned the 1989 Lernerville Modified Championship for the Grahams, driving six years for the team. He has been the runner-up in points four times. When the Grahams bought the speedway, they thought it would be a conflict of interest to be a promoter and own a race car, so they sold it.

Spithaler enjoyed the Modifieds.

“I especially liked competing against the icons like Lou Blaney and Bob Wearing Sr, that I watched from the grandstands as a youngster,” he said. “It was so neat to run against these great drivers and many others. It was a lot of fun!”

Spithaler has his 2019 retro Sprint car painted like the design job on the Sprint that the Crash Brothers had for Lou Blaney.

He met his wife Betty, met through his friend, Sprint driver Jamie Smith. Her uncle is George Frederick, who owns Gary Kriess' car. She was into showing horses.

Betty is devoted to Ralph's racing.

“For a while,it was hectic. I was showing horses and racing,” said Ralph.”

He also raced Micro Sprints at Hickory at 1992.

“Sprints, Mods and Micros…. We were busy,” claimed Spithaler.

His friend, Ralph Baker, helped him for 10 years and would take the Sprint to his garage for maintenance. For this, Spithaler was grateful! Tom Prager has been with him the majority of the time. Also on the pit crew are Amy Prager, Ernie Lockhurst, Bill Wahl, Trent and Sylvan Easler's Alternative Powers Resources. His mother Dorothy, 85, still comes to the races.

This season, he bought Danny Holtgraver's 2013 Sprint, therefore updating his 2000 former car. Carlon and Jeff Hines build his motors.

Spithaler said, “During the winter months, we do slot car racing and go to different guys' homes. Every Wednesday, we go to Chuck Kennedy's house to race, Chuck and Andy race along with Chris Rudolph and others.”

He first started racing slot cars at Seneca Jr High School. Ralph is employed at HP Star Lumber in Evans City.

He added, “I'm just having fun racing. When it stops being fun, we will quit. We take it one year at a time.”

Congratulations to the Kenny Schaltenbrand race team, which already accumulated enough points to win their first Lernerville Late Model Point Championship.There were so many people celebrating in victory lane, the photographers needed a wide-angle lens for that picture!Schaltenbrand said: “I am finally stress free!”It will be blockbuster racing for crowning the rest of the divisions Friday, which is the last night of points! Brian Swartzlander and Rex King Jr. are tied at 351 in the Modified division. Five digits separate Tyler Dietz (357) and three-time defending champion Corey McPherson (352). In the Sprint class, Jack Sodeman tops the chart with 329, followed by Carl Bowser at 318, and AJ Flick with 312. A feature winner will receive 30 points and a heat race victory is 10.

It has been reported that Aliquippa's Tim Shaffer has been released from his All-Star Sprint ride.Carol Gamble is a racing columnist for the Butler Eagle