Who Is Rik Anthony ?
Rik grew up
in Hobart, Indiana within earshot of the famous US 30 Drag strip and
the commercials that filled the airwaves of Chicagoland, "This Sunday,
Sunday, Sunday...Where the Great ones Run...run...run."
Those memorable summer nights of hearing the dragsters speed down the
quarter-mile are now a memory to that area of the world (for now), but
it planted the seeds that started Rik's love affair with this sport.
Rik graduated in 1978 and joined the United States Air Force to follow his dream of being a broadcaster. He graduated from the Armed Forces Radio and TV Service (AFRTS) school at Ft. Benjamin Harrison, IN in 1979 . For the next 20 years Rik led a double life, working in radio by night and weekends while holding down a full time job in the Air Force by day. This continued until his retirement in 1998 from Scott Air Force Base. Rik has worked in radio in Fayetteville, NC; Dayton and Cincinnati, OH; Colorado Springs and Denver, CO; Agana Guam; Sacramento, CA and St. Louis, MO.
In 2002, Rik did a remote broadcast for a St. Louis classic rock station KHITS 96 at the Sears Craftsman Nationals in Madison, IL (outside St Louis). The smell of nitro and the amazing speeds had the same impact on Rik as anyone who attends the event. The bug bit again and since 2003 he's been reporting on the event for the All Star Radio Networks (where Rik is Senior Producer and National Radio host for a variety of shows).
In 2004 Rik got the ok to launch "Back In The Pits" and he began pit reporting and attending races in St. Louis, Chicago and the 50th U.S. Nationals at Indy. In 2004, Rik conducted over 100 interviews with racers, teams, owners and other personnel. The number of interviews increased to over 250 in 2005 when a syndicated daily version of "Back In The Pits" with Rik Anthony hit the airwaves in over 35 markets nationally, airing over 50 times each day.
It's the goal of the All Star Radio Networks to grow the show to not only the radio, but to your desktop and as a take along to all iPod users.
For those rare instances when he's not doing interviews for the All Star Radio Networks, working weekends at WIL 92FM in St Louis. MO or in a driver's pit area during the season, Rik enjoys spending time with his wonderful wife of 30 years, Gaynale, and their two grown children Shauna, an audio engineer and Brad, ex-Marine Corps veteran and now a theater manager. Rik also enjoys building websites, flying and watching movies.
Special thanks to Scott Weis and Barrett Enterprises for allowing us to take a seat in their Top Fueler at Bristol last season. You guys rock!