Legendary Announcer Ron Albright Dies

SACRAMENTO — One of the best announcers in Northern California has passed away. Ron Albright and his superb style of announcing made for years of enjoyment listening to him.

Tiffanie Panella, promoter of Delta Speedway in Stockton, Calif., recalled, “Ron Albright’s last full season with us at Delta Speedway was 2021. He knew he wanted to retire, mainly because the heat of the summer was so hard on him, but leaving the racetrack and the racers he loved was very hard. He came back and filled in for a few races in 2022 and 2023 and was thrilled to do so.

“He announced for us since 2014 and every night that he announced he showed up early and visited all the racers in the pits before the races, either to catch up, or meet and learn about them if they were new. There wasn’t a racer that he didn’t know.

“His name pronunciation was impeccable, his knowledge and attention to detail were unmatched and there wasn’t an announcer around that knew the history about micro sprints that he did. He was an icon in Northern California racing and he is truly missed at Delta Speedway.”

Before he became an excellent announcer himself, Gary Thomas was acquainted with Ron Albright at Marysville Raceway.

Thomas remembers, “Growing up Ron was the voice of Marysville Raceway and I ended up meeting him while working a couple races at Delta Speedway during the covid year. Ron and I really hit it off and ended up staying in contact over the last handful of seasons.

“I would enjoy getting a text from him asking about a certain night’s races when he was watching from home. As somebody who loves the history of racing I really appreciated getting to know Ron, since he was a wealth of knowledge. He was one of the people that just got it and I will miss that.

“Ron told me he was a no frills announcer when I met him. He said he didn’t have tag lines or catch phrases. He just announced the product in front of him and I thought he did that amazingly. He was one that never wore on people and knew that he didn’t have to talk nonstop.”

We have lost Ron Albright, but we will never lose our fond memories of listening to his announcing.