Scott Rettich

Scott Rettich (September 7, 1984 – April 12, 2022) was an American racing driver, and competed in such disciplines as the U.S. F2000 National Championship in the National class.

Career history

Karting

Rettich was born in Dayton, Ohio, and started karting in 1996. Between 1998 and 2004, Rettich entered the Ohio Valley Karting Club championship collecting 5 titles in various classes. Throughout his karting career, he entered the WKA Manufacturer's Cup and Gold Cup. Rettich won five championships, four in the Gold Cup and one in the Manufacturer's Cup. Between 2000 and 2005, Rettich was factory driver for Italian kart manufacturer Energy. And from 2003 until 2005 he also drove for Margay.

Auto racing Rettich in his Spec Racer Ford at the 2010 SCCA National Championship Runoffs at Road America. The first taste of motorsport for Rettich was the 2005 SCCA June Sprints. He entered in the Spec Racer Ford class but did not finish the race. For 2006, he raced in the SCCA Central Division in the Formula Mazda and Spec Racer Ford class for Keirn Motorsports. He won the championship in the Formula Mazda class winning five out of ten races. He also won the Formula Mazda June Sprints and the Runoffs, thus winning the SCCA Triple Crown. He scored a second place in the Spec Racer Ford championship.

Rettich made his pro racing debut in 2007 with Mundill Racing in the Star Mazda championship. He started nine out of 12 races in the season. He scored three top-ten finishes and scoring a 16th place in the championship. He was the best scoring driver for Mundill Racing, but also the one with the most entries. For 2008, he stayed with Mundill Racing in the Star Mazda championship, this time for a full season entry. His best finish was now a fifth place at Road Atlanta. In the final ranking, he finished 11th.

2009 marked a comeback in SCCA club racing for Rettich. He raced in the SCCA Great Lakes Division in the Spec Racer Ford and Formula Enterprises class for Hippi Racing. He won both titles and the Formula Enterprises June Sprints. The next season was extremely successful for him. Driving for Hippi Racing, Rettich won the revived SCCA Spec Racer Ford Pro Series and scored a second place in the SCCA Pro Formula Enterprises (behind Sean Rayhall). He also swept the SCCA Triple Crown winning the Great Lakes championship, June Sprints and Runoffs.

Rettich founded Alliance Autosport in 2011. Alliance Autosport made its debut at the 2011 24 Hours of Daytona in the GT class. The Porsche 911 GT3 997 was driven by Rettich and Formula Enterprises rival Matthew Schneider. They start 29th and finished 20th. He returned to the Grand-Am Road Racing GT class at Watkins Glen driving for Racers Edge Motorsports in a Mazda RX-8. Alliance Autosport fielded Rettich in the SCCA Pro Formula Enterprises and the SCCA Spec Racer Ford Pro Series. He won the SCCA Pro Formula Enterprises in an impressive way winning nine out of ten races, the other race was won by Matthew Schneider.

The 2012 season started with the 2012 24 Hours of Daytona. Rettich joined Matthew Schneider, Jon Miller, Darryl Shoff and Hal Prewitt at Daytona. Starting 31st the team finished 28th, 41st overall. He ran a partial season in the 2012 U.S. F2000 National Championship National class driving a Van Diemen DP06 Formula Enterprises car. He achieved four podiums in six races and was placed eighth in the standings. Rettich won the Great Lakes Division Formula Enterprises championship, just like in 2011, 2010 and 2009.

Death

On April 12, 2022, Rettich died unexpectedly at his home, aged 37. His memorial service was held on the 23rd. In his memory, the NR2003 league Maverick Cup Series ran the Scott Rettich Sonoma 70.

Racing record

SCCA National Championship Runoffs

Year Track Car Engine Class Finish Start Status 2006 Heartland Park Star Mazda Formula Mazda 2 3 Running Spec Racer Ford Spec Racer Ford 14 19 Running 2009 Road America Spec Racer Ford Spec Racer Ford 4 3 Running Van Diemen DP06 Mazda Formula Enterprises 2 1 Running 2010 Road America Spec Racer Ford Spec Racer Ford 2 4 Running Van Diemen DP06 Mazda Formula Enterprises 1 1 Running 2011 Road America Spec Racer Ford Spec Racer Ford 2 4 Running Van Diemen DP06 Mazda Formula Enterprises 1 1 Running 2012 Road America Spec Racer Ford Spec Racer Ford 4 5 Running Van Diemen DP06 Mazda Formula Enterprises 5 1 Running 2013 Road America Spec Racer Ford Spec Racer Ford 15 45 Running Van Diemen DP06 Mazda Formula Enterprises 1 1 Running 2014 Laguna Seca Spec Racer Ford Spec Racer Ford 4 6 Running Van Diemen DP06 Mazda Formula Enterprises 1 1 Running 2015 Daytona Spec Racer Ford Spec Racer Ford 13 36 Running Van Diemen DP06 Mazda Formula Enterprises 1 1 Running Spec Racer Ford Spec Racer Ford Gen 3 6 6 Running 2016 Mid-Ohio Spec Racer Ford Spec Racer Ford 3 3 Running Van Diemen DP06 Mazda Formula Enterprises 1 1 Running Spec Racer Ford Spec Racer Ford Gen 3 10 6 Running 2017 Indianapolis Spec Racer Ford Spec Racer Ford 3 4 Running Mazda ESR Mazda Prototype 2 6 8 Running Spec Racer Ford Spec Racer Ford Gen 3 9 12 Running 2018 Sonoma Spec Racer Ford Spec Racer Ford Gen 3 5 7 Running Van Diemen DP06 Mazda Formula Enterprises 2 3 3 Running 2019 VIR Spec Racer Ford Spec Racer Ford Gen 3 10 12 Running Van Diemen DP06 Mazda Formula Enterprises 2 3 3 Running 2020 Road America Spec Racer Ford Spec Racer Ford Gen 3 9 7 Running Van Diemen DP06 Mazda Formula Enterprises 2 7 1 Running 2021 Indianapolis Spec Racer Ford Spec Racer Ford Gen 3 14 20 Running Van Diemen DP06 Mazda Formula Enterprises 2 1 5 Running

American Open-Wheel racing results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position, races in italics indicate fastest race lap)

Star Mazda Championship

Complete SCCA Pro Formula Enterprises results Year Entrant 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Pos Points 2010 Hippi Racing ATL1 ATL2 NJMP1 NJMP2 MIL1 MIL2 BIR1 BIR2 VIR1 VIR2 2nd 1180 2011 Alliance Autosport VIR1 VIR2 MOS1 MOS2 BIR1 BIR2 MID1 MID2 ATL1 ATL2 1st 1307

U.S. F2000 National Championship Year Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Rank Points 2012 Alliance Autosport SEB SEB STP STP LOR MOH MOH ROA ROA ROA BAL BAL VIR VIR N.C. N.C. 2013 Alliance Autosport SEB SEB STP STP LOR TOR TOR MOH MOH MOH LAG LAG HOU HOUN.C.N.C.