Keith Waltz

Longtime motorsports journalist Keith Waltz passed away September 27, 2025 after a brief illness. Keith was born in Columbus, Indiana on April 1, 1960. His father Russell Waltz and his mother Gretchen Meyers Waltz preceded him in death.

Keith graduated from Columbus North High School in 1978 and from Ball State University in 1982 where he was a member of the Delta Chi Fraternity chapter. After graduation from BSU with a degree in journalism, Waltz began his career in the motorsports industry and was hired by legendary motorsports reporter Chris Economaki and joined the National Speed Sport News staff in Ridgewood, NJ. Keith became Associate Editor of the famed motorsports publication. In 1993, he was honored with the Frank Blunk Award for outstanding journalistic coverage of motorsports by the Eastern Morotsports Press Association.

At the end of 1993, Waltz left his post with National Speed Sport News and moved to North Carolina for a position with Cotter Communications, where he worked with Hall of Fame NASCAR driver Darrell Waltrip.

In May 2000, he joined the communications team at Charlotte Motor Speedway, where he was a key component in the publicity efforts of the state-of-the-art speedway and its adjacent dirt track, while working under Hall of Fame promoter H.A. "Humpy" Wheeler. In 2018, Keith returned to Speed Sport as a columnist and copy editor, while also taking on similar work for NASCAR Pole Position Magazine.

This past January, Keith was honored again by the Eastern Motorsport Press Association and received the Jim Hunter Memorial Award as writer of the year. He wrote his final Speed Sport column shortly after that.

Keith was a walking encyclopedia of all things racing. He traveled to all the NASCAR tracks and many dirt tracks and road rally locations throughout his career. He traveled to Australia and Japan to cover races. Keith had many interesting facts and so many funny stories about his career. He was an I.U. Basketball fan and a season ticket holder to the University of North Carolina at Charlotte basketball team, the 49er's.

Keith is survived by his aunts, Marilyn Waltz, and Jennifer Meyer Garten; cousins, Tracey Owen, Arinda Bussell, Mark Meyer and Mike Goeller. He had many good friends he considered family, both in Columbus and North Carolina.

Visitation will be held Friday, October 10, 2025, from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. at the Jewell-Rittman Family Funeral Home, 3855 25th Street, Columbus. The funeral service will follow at 11 a.m. Burial will be in Garland Brook Cemetery. Memorial contributions may be made to the Parkinsons Awareness Foundation. Visit www.JewellRittman.com to share a favorite memory or to sign the online guest registry.