By JM Hallas
Seguin, TX (Jan. 16th, 2021)
The first husband-wife championship in the history of San Antonio Raceway/Alamo City Motorplex.
It all started at age 4 for Candace Ritter, this year’s Super Pro track champion at Alamo City Motorplex. It was the first championship for the mother of two in her racing career, but not the first for the family. Her husband, Brent, picked up track championships in 2001 (Top Sportsman) and back to back titles in 2014/2015 in Box (Electronics).
Both of her parents (Noreen and Dennis Soefje) were drag racers at Alamo Dragway in her early years. “My mom raced a ’68 Mustang coupe that she drove to the race track. She even changed her own tires to her slicks, and my dad raced a Ford Pinto called Baby Blue,” recalled Ritter.
So, of course, where did she meet her husband, Brent? “We knew of each other from Alamo Dragway but really met in September 2002. I told Brent that I wanted to go for a ride in the double dragster that he drove for Todd Zampese, and Brent didn’t charge me for that pass. Then we got married in May of 2003 in the courtyard behind the tower at San Antonio Raceway.”
“The week of the last race, I was a little nervous, but once I got to the track and got in my dragster, I was fine. We just treated it like a regular race. You have to, or you will just get in your head too much, and that is when you will mess up.”
“For myself, being the points leader was better. I have been the points leader this whole year. For Brent, he does better chasing the points. In his three championships, he was either 2nd or 3rd in the points and won the race to win the championship.”
“I was sitting in my car getting ready to be pulled for the 1st round when Todd Zampese came up to me and told me that Scott Ball took out the 2nd place points person, Jerry Longoria. I told myself, just get past the 1st round with a win and keep gaining points on him.”
“After first-round, Brent said that he was going to see what Jerry does in the buyback round. I didn’t go with him because I didn’t want to jinx myself. When Brent came back, he had this serious look on his face. Then he said, “Well, you are the track champion.” He smiled and told me, “Good job!” I said, “YES!” Then I thought to myself, “Now I can just go race, have fun and try to win the race as well. I went to the 2nd round and won, 3rd round came around, and I dialed a 4.78, the car ran a 4.79, and I lost.”
When asked about racing against her husband, “We never want to meet up until the finals, but if we do, we are no longer husband and wife. We are competitors. We hardly ever race each other, though. Believe it or not, we actually don’t keep track of that, so neither one of us can remember who wins more. We don’t have any side bets; it’s all about bragging rights. If we do race each other, we don’t try to get in each other’s head, really. I will try to get him to look at me when we are at the ‘T’ so I can make him laugh, but he won’t ever look at me.”
With her championship, Ritter adds to the list of females to win ACM/SAR track championships. Silvia Zemgals won the Street title in 2016, while in Jr. Dragsters, sisters Ashley and Megan Hubbell, plus Emily Ball, have all scored championships.
Next Generation? With two children, there’s a good chance that there will be a Jr. Dragster in someone’s future in the coming years.
Sponsors; Simpson Racing Products, Engine/Chassis; Rehrer/Morrison, Undercover
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