Racing is Life

“I’ve been around race cars my entire life,” the Roche’s Towing and Salvage owner said.

Growing up, Ricky’s father, John Roche, drove race cars. After Ricky was born, however, John stepped out from behind the wheel and started sponsoring other drivers.

“We were always at the garages of the guys my dad sponsored,” Ricky explained. “Then, we’d go to races off and on to watch them race.”

John eventually became the announcer at the Littlefork Speedway, which brought the Roche family to the races every weekend.

When Ricky was 16 years old, he told John he was ready to be a race car driver.

“He told me, ‘Well, if you want to drive one, you’re going to have to build it,’” Ricky said.

With the help of family friend Paul Scholler, the father and son duo built Ricky his first race car.

“I’ve been at it ever since,” he said with a smirk.

Although he had a car of his own, he didn’t race competitively until a few years later — he had to get the feel of his car and remembers being in the way more than anything.

Roche races in WISSOTA Auto Racing’s Amsoil Dirt Track Series. On the organization’s Facebook page, racing experts refer to the series as fast, exciting, and unpredictably thrilling entertainment. WISSOTA tracks are found in Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, Wyoming and Canada. WISSOTA is a derivative of the state names Wisconsin and Minnesota.

The late John Roche had turned dirt track racing into a family affair, and Ricky is following in his footsteps.

“I like to do this, my wife likes to do this, and my kids like to do this,” he said. “It’s a family event. If they didn’t like it, I wouldn’t race.”

While Roche is the only one who actually operates a race car, his wife, Gina, and three kids, Lexie, Thomas, and Michael, travel to race tracks to support him. The family has a camper parked near the Hibbing Raceway, where they frequently spend their summer weekends.

The WISSOTA dirt track racing season starts in April and lasts until October. However, large amounts of rain have kept Roche off the track so far this year.

“I haven’t turned a tire yet,” he said.

Typically, Roche likes to run 30-50 nights per season. In 2010, he only raced 12 nights, and hopes to get at least 15-20 in this year.

“Work keeps me home,” he said of the small number of races he was in last year. “But, you gotta work first before you can play.”

Roche admits that race car driving isn’t the safest sport, but he has been lucky — for the most part. A 1987 crash still occasionally haunts him.

“I ended up on the roof,” Roche said of the rollover that happened at the Emo Speedway. “I had my helmet on, but the roll bars collapsed and my head was stuck between the ground and the rest of the car’s body.”

Twenty-three years later, Roche said he still allows himself four to five minutes to get in his car before other drivers to put his helmet on.

“There are times when it becomes a mental struggle. I get claustrophobic,” he said.

As he knocked on wood, he added, “I’ve been lucky, though. I’ve only tipped over that time and once in Hibbing. Hopefully, it doesn’t happen again.”

Broken bones and two crashes haven’t fogged Roche’s racing future. In fact, he looks forward to his sons, Thomas, 9, and Michael, 6, getting into the sport.

“I’m gonna race long enough so I can rub fenders with both of them,” he said with a laugh.

To encourage an appreciation for racing among his sons and other fans in the community, Roche along with Steve Boyum, John Froemke, and Chad Jonson plan to build a go-kart track in International Falls and have it up and running by the end of July.

“Racing go-karts is an awesome way to get started in dirt track,” Roche explained. “We have found all kinds of interest for this in the Falls.”

He said 15 go-karts, equipped with restrictor plates to control speed, will be allowed on the track, including one go-kart community members will be able to rent.

The track will be located on Rainy Lake Oil property just behind Roche’s Towing. The four organizers have already found some sponsors for the track, but are still searching for more.

“This will be mostly for the kids, but really for all ages,” Roche said. “I think it’s going to be fun.”

Roche said at the end of the day, he dirt track races because he loves to be around the crowd the sport draws.

“Surrounding yourself with people that love what you love is great,” he said. “All the other drivers help each other. If someone has a flat tire, everybody drops what they’re doing to help get the guy back on the track.”

Roche also enjoys bringing his race car to area schools for students to admire.

“They love it,” Roche said of his young audience’s reaction to his car. “They always ask me to start up the engine. It is such an energy rush for them. I know they like having me there because so many of them run up and give me hugs. It’s great.”

There are even a few kids, like the son of one of Roche’s friends, who call him ‘Ricky Bobby’ after the character Will Farrell played in the race car comedy “Talladega Nights.”

Roche concluded, “This is what I’ll surround my life with until it gets to be a job. When it isn’t fun anymore, I’ll quit. But I still got 15 to 20 years left before that happens.”

For more information about Roche’s go-kart track contact him at 285-7575.