Kalamazoo Speedway Introduces Donnie Ritter as New General Manager

KALAMAZOO, MI - With a Facebook Live Question and Answer segment, Kalamazoo Speedway introduced Donnie Ritter as the track's General Manager on Wednesday night. Ritter was a new hire for Kalamazoo Speedway in 2025, with years of promotional and managerial experience from Springport Mid-Michigan Speedway, where he resigned last winter. Ritter accepted the General Manager role after former Speedway owner and General Manager, Gary Howe, retired on Monday night.

Howe's exit plan goes back to the sale of the race track to Randy Ritchy in 2020. Since the sale, Howe has remained on the staff as an advisor and General Manager. According to Kalamazoo Speedway, Howe resigned Monday night. After his resignation, social media posts indicated other members of the staff tendered their resignation as well.

Wednesday night, the Speedway hosted a Question and Answer Live Facebook video via Top Row Racing Media and on the Kalamazoo Speedway page. Moderator and Top Row Racing Media founder, Louis Noakes, mentioned in the video that some of the hard-pressing questions didn't have answers yet, including issues of staff. Ritter, however, chose to answer those questions.

"We have most of the positions filled," Ritter said. "I'm very fortunate with the people that support me. I had eight or ten guys show up tonight just to help get things ready."

Ritter says that several people have offered to help in their areas of expertise this Friday until permanent replacements can be found. Owosso Speedway Assistant Manager of Business Operations and Announcer, Chris Fobbe, will hold the microphone Friday night; Rick Beebe will be in the flagstand, and Modified driver, Lon Putnam, will be training with Florida's Ryan Warning to be Race Director.

As for the racers at Kalamazoo Speedway, Ritter says Friday night before the racing begins, there will be a driver's meeting where teams can bring up items they'd like to discuss, any concerns they may have, and work on figuring out things they need answers to immediately.

"My goal is to let drivers know, I'm here for them," Ritter said Wednesday night. I'm hoping to make them feel welcome, appreciated, and have a good time."

In line with racers, it was also confirmed that the team with Kalamazoo Track Safety (KTS) will remain in place on Friday night.

Ritter says that those who are interested in joining the team should contact him directly. As of Wednesday night, Ritter says they believe they've filled all positions for the Friday night show and will likely post job openings after this weekend.

As the video concluded, Ritter addressed the tenure of Howe at the speedway and the relationship the two shared.

"Hats off to Gary," Ritter said. "He's been at it for many years, and he actually was my mentor back in the day. I've got a big place here (at Kalamazoo Speedway), it's more than I've ever taken on, but I'm ready for the challenge. I can't wait to see everybody Friday."

On Friday, May 9th Kalamazoo Speedway plays host to Template Late Models, Outlaw Limited Late Models, Street Stocks, and Front Wheel Drives. Pit and General Admission gates open at 3:30 PM with racing scheduled to start at 7:30 PM.