Edward "Ed" Oritz (September 19, 1931 – April 16, 2020) was an American Modified racing driver. Equally adept on both dirt and asphalt surfaces, he raced from Canada to New Jersey, and is credited with 200 feature wins in a career that spanned five decades.[2]
| Ed Ortiz | |
|---|---|
| Born | Edward Ortiz September 19, 1931 Ransomville, New York |
| Died | April 16, 2020 (aged 88) |
| Retired | 1998 |
| Debut season | 1955 |
| Modified racing | |
| Car number | 0 |
| Championships | 5 |
| Wins | 200[1] |
| Championship titles | |
| 1962 NASCAR NY Sportsman Champion | |
Racing career
editEd Ortiz and fifteen friends got into racing in 1954, building the original Ransomville Speedway on the property behind his father's car dealership. Four years later, the group raised sufficient funds to purchase their own land, and the current Ransomville Speedway was built at its present location. Ortiz won the track's championship in 1962.[1][3]
Ortiz claimed additional track championships at Merrittville Speedway ON (1961), Canandaigua Speedway NY (1962, 1963), Lancaster Speedway NY (1966), and Rolling Wheels Raceway in Elbridge NY (1971). He also found victory lane at Fonda Speedway NY, Old Bridge Stadium, NJ, Utica-Rome Speedway NY, and Victoria Speedway in Dunnsville NY.[3][4][5]
Ed Ortiz was inducted into the Northeast Dirt Modified Hall of Fame in 1999.[6]
References
edit- ^ a b "Western New York star Ed Ortiz - 88". Speed Sport. April 17, 2020. Retrieved April 7, 2024.
- ^ Bisci, Joe (April 18, 2020). "Ransomville legend Ed Ortiz dead at 88". Niagara Gazette. Retrieved April 7, 2024.
- ^ a b Petty, Steven (April 23, 2020). "Remembering Ransomville legend Ed Ortiz". Dirt Track Digest. Retrieved April 7, 2024.
- ^ "Victoria's final card set Sunday". Schenectady Gazette. September 27, 1962. p. 24. Retrieved April 6, 2024 – via Google Books.
- ^ "Ortiz captures Lancaster event". Buffalo Courier-Express. April 28, 1970. p. 20. Retrieved April 6, 2024 – via NYS Historic Newspapers.
- ^ Hill, John (May 26, 1999). "Hall of Fame Weekend". Syracuse Herald-Journal. p. D3. Retrieved April 6, 2024 – via NewspaperArchive.