RPW Column: Allison Ricci Has Orange County, Fonda & Short Track Super Series On ’20 Schedule

RPW Column By: MIKE TRAVERSE / RPW – NEW PALTZ, NY – Growing up, it would have been nearly impossible for Allison Ricci not to want to go racing. With a family history that included her grandfather Rich Ricci Sr., her dad Rich Ricci Jr. and her Uncle Mike Ricci, she had racing all around her from her earliest memories. But it took awhile for the 3rd generation driver to make her racing debut.

“My Dad just didn’t want me to race too early, she said. “By the time I reached 19, he decided it was time. We put together one of his old Troyer Chassis car’s and got started at Accord Speedway during the 2014 season.”

For 2015, Allison ran sportsman at Accord and with the rookies at OCFS. It was a good season for her with four Accord and two OCFS wins. It was during 2015 that Halmar’s Chris Larsen first took notice of her.

“He was at OCFS one night when my Uncle Mike was running the 44,” she said. “I won the rookie feature that night and Chris was so impressed with the drive that he told the team manager at the time, Willy Auchmoody, to get me on the team. We wouldn’t be able to do what we do without Chris”

She moved into the sportsman full time at OCFS in 2016 and finished 6th in the final point standings. Late in the season, it was also the first appearance of a car that has become familiar around the circuit in the latter stages of a season, the pink #55. It has become a car which is popular with fans and always has such special meaning.

“Our team got started with the Miles of Hope Breast Cancer Foundation that year,” Allison said. “We are very proud and honored to do fund raising for them and the amounts have gone up every year. In the 4 years that we’ve done it, we’ve gone from , $5,000 to $8,000 to $10,000 to $12,000 for a total of $35,000 or so.”

Since 2017, Allison has been in the 358-Modifieds. She has finished all three seasons at OCFS with top 10 point finishes of 6th, 8th and 9th respectively.

In 2019, the pink #55 had a special meaning for Allison’s team.

“We have a friend, Nicole Coutant, who had breast cancer and beat it,” Allison said. “She had a recurrence and beat it again. And now once again, she is fighting the disease, so we put a special ‘Team Nicole 3rd Time’s a Charm’ dedication on the car.”

For 2020, Allison has planned OCFS in the 358-Modified division and racing at Fonda when the 358’s are off at Orange County. Also planned for the team are the races in the Short Track Super Series North Division and maybe some other racing.

Allison likes the challenge of the resurfaced OCFS track.

“We just can’t fly it through the turns like we used to,” she said. “We have to have more throttle control it’s a challenge, but it makes for some great racing.”

As she has expanded her racing the past couple of years to include many new tracks, she has found it helpful to have some teammates on the Halmar team to get some advice from.

“My three main mentors in racing have been my Dad, Jimmy Horton and Stewart Friesen. They are always willing to give advice and are great teammates.”

When asked what is her most memorable racing experience, she said there has been many, but she narrowed it down to two.

“We had a STSS Sportsman race at I-88 (now Afton). I finished second to Brad Weaver. We needed just one more lap,” she said. “Also the night at Accord when my Dad and I both won features is a great memory.”

Along with Halmar, the team receives support from Lightning Auto and Truck and Fourwide. Along with her dad, her crew consists of her boyfriend Robert Mayr III, John Davis, Karen Davis and her grandfather, Rich Ricci Sr.

The always pleasant Allison is a very popular driver wherever she races. And when the pink car appears later in 2020, it’s a reminder of the goodness that she and her team bring to the sport.