RPW Column: Longtime Family Involvement Leads Ryan Walther To The Driver’s Seat

Column By: MIKE TRAVERSE / RPW – WANTAGE, NJ – After being surrounded by racing his whole life, it was only a matter of time for Ryan Walther of Wantage, NJ to want to take his turn behind the wheel.

That time is now. After getting on the track for practice this past weekend, Ryan will be racing his #10R Sportsman at the upcoming Eastern States Weekend.

After winning a race car in a raffle earlier this year, Walther stepped up his effort to get racing. He sold the raffle car and was able to acquire a 2018 Teo Pro car.

“The raffle car wasn’t what we wanted to work with. We got the Teo Pro car and I’m happy with it. We are getting a late start,” Ryan said. “I work so many hours right now and I have a 2 hour each way commute, so time has been a factor. But we got the car out for the OCFS open practice on Saturday and again for another session on Sunday.”

And Walther is pleased at how the car has been running.

“We had some starter trouble on Saturday, so I only got in a couple of sessions,” Ryan said. “Sunday, I got to run about 50 laps. With me having absolutely no racing experience, it’s a big learning curve.”

Ryan’s dad, Mike Walther, is a long time crew member for Richie Eurich and a former racer. He won 4 Sportsman features at OCFS during his time racing.

“My dad and Rich have been friends for a long time. He bought his first car from him,” Ryan said. “He raced using Rich’s #10, so I’m following along with my car being #10R.”

Ryan has already had many years of being part of Eurich’s crew. He has enjoyed the experience of being part of the team.

“I’ve been going to his shop for 7 or 8 years. Being on the crew is very enjoyable. Rich has such good knowledge and he has great stories to tell,” Ryan said.

Right now, it’s just Ryan and his dad Mike working on the car. But he does have some that are available for advice.

“Rich has been to the shop to look at the car. And Dave Eurich looked the car over Saturday,” Walther said. “If I ask them questions, they will give me some good answers and advice.”

Right now, the car is black with no sponsors. And Ryan understands why it will be that way for now.

“It’s hard to attract a sponsor when you haven’t shown anything yet and have little experience,” Walther said. “Hopefully, we will eventually have some sponsors join us. We will do our best on our own for now.”

And he has a plan for what he would like his racing activities to be.

“I would like to race a small block. I am so busy, working 60 plus hours a week with a long commute. I don’t have enough time to properly work on the car to race every week,” Walther said. “A less busy racing schedule would be ideal for me.”

One of the great things about racing is seeing how it moves from generation to generation. And now, It’s Ryan Walther’s turn. Good luck Ryan as you begin your racing odyssey.