Where Fun Begins

R. I. P.  DAVE

Whether we are racing on the track or watching the action from the stands, all of us who enjoy the weekly show at Paris need to take a moment and remember DAVE HAVILL.  Were it not for Dave we would not be able to spend our Friday nights here in the way we do.   That is because Paris Speedway would not exist but for his dogged determination to find a place to put a speedway track.   After years of effort he finally succeeded and the first meeting was staged here in September 1990.  It was a very basic set-up on that day without even a safety fence for the track but it was a critical step in his bid to establish a genuine speedway track.   Things have come a long way in the past twenty years.  Since then Dave personally put in countless hours working on his track year after year until illness finally forced him to step back and leave the heavy work to others.   Typically he fought hard against the cancer with which he was afflicted but sadly he passed away on Sunday.   Rest In Peace Dave.  You had a vision of what you wanted to do and by your own hard work achieved it.    As long as there is racing on your track you will not be forgotten and that is quite an epitaph for any man.   Thank you for all you have done for us and our sport.

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With a successful racing season here at Paris it’s time to take a look at the current standings for the season long Points Series in the different classes.   Some of them are already settled but others look likely to go right down to the wire before they are settled. Keep in mind this weekend is the season finale.

SPEEDWAY  -  This is all but over with Aaron Hesmer holding a 33 point lead over his cousin Gary.  This race should be all over with a week to spare.

OPEN FLAT TRACK  -   This one is much too close to call.  With his win on Friday Jeff Seguin shaved a couple of points off of Ryan Rainville’s lead which is now down to only four at 103 points to 99.  In third place Doug Lawrence on 84 still has an outside chance but for him to win both the leaders would have to miss last meeting.

OPEN ATV  -    Regular participation is the key to winning this class which Josh Caughell seems to have in hand with a 21 point lead over Brett Noble, 97 to 76.  Jason Law is third on 68 with a fast closing group of four just behind him.  Regan Woodards, Blain Nock, Jason Styx and Friday’s winner Matthew Van Ginkel have been winning most of the races lately but they missed too many meetings early in the year to have a real chance to come out on top.   Steady scoring each week by Caughell has been the key.

AMATEUR FLAT TRACK  -  This is another class which should be decided on Saturday.  Since his first appearance a month ago Matt Ward has been scoring points in bunches and is now third in the standings with 65.  However ever present Braden Vallee has a big lead with 128 and a typical effort from him on Saturday will put him out of reach of Joey Martin who is in second place with 92.

YOUTH FLAT TRACK  -  This one is already over with Braden Vallee too far ahead of runner-up Nate Hammond to be caught.

YOUTH ATV  -  This is the closest battle with Tamara Noble just three points ahead of Braden Kelloway.  This is one that won’t be settled until the season finale.

50 cc  -  Justin Hutchison has won this class and the race is for second with Hunter Bauer, 64, leading Dustin Brown 51, an impressive total for a youngster who has only ridden in four meetings.  Aston Newell is in fourth place on 49 while recent additions to the class Dax and Dakota Laking have also been scoring well.

BAJA BIKES   -  Leader of this pack of fun loving guys is Jeremy Weasmer on 105 ahead of Mike Hurlburt 86 and Blaise MacDonald 73.   In the women’s class Jenny Totten has a 12 point lead over Holly Schirtzing.

GO-KARTS  -   This is a family affair with Tim and Arlene Seguin leading their respective groups.

RESULTS FROM FRIDAY

SPEEDWAY              -     1) AARON HESMER, 2)  Gary Hesmer,  3)  Gary Moody,  4)  Robert Cuff.

ATV                            -      1)  MATTHEW VAN GINKEL, 2) Regan Woodards,  3)  Blain Nock,  4)  Jason Stys.

FLAT TRACK OPEN  -      1)  JEFF SEGUIN,  2} Ryan Rainville,  3) John Kehoe.

FLAT TRACK AMATEUR  1)  MATT WARD,  2)  Joe Martin,  3)  Brandon Seguin,  4) Braden Vallee.

FLAT TRACK YOUTH   -   1)  BRADEN VALLEE,  2)  Josh Fenton,  3)  Tyler Brown.

BAJA BIKES               -      1)  JEREMY WEASMER,  2)  Matt Ward,  3)  Mike Hurlburt,  4)  Shane Dube.

FLAT TRACK  50CC   -     1)  DUSTIN BROWN,  2) Dax Laking,  3) Dakota Laking, 4)  Justin Hutchison.

ATV YOUTH               -      1)  TAMARA NOBLE, 2)  Braden Kelloway,  3)  Jaylen O’Gorman.

BAJA WOMEN            -      1)  HOLLY SCHIRTZING, 2)  Jenny Totten,  3)  Mary Weasmer,  4)  Laurie Noel.

GO-KARTS                  -      1)  FERN BOURQUE,  2)  Tim Seguin,  3)  Tom Weasmer.

GO-KARTS WOMEN   -      1)  ARLENE SEGUIN,  2)  Barb Brennan,  3)  Mary Weasmer.

A FRIDAY NIGHT AT PARIS

by: Duncan Luke

Where else but at the Paris Fairgrounds could you have been be on a Friday night and be able to say that you had seen all of the following.

* Two expert flat-track riders going shoulder to shoulder for all six laps of their first qualifying heat and still have only a tire width separating them at the finish.

* See a youngster on an ATV test how far he could stretch the tape with his neck when he overran the start line as he came up to the tapes. Surprisingly far is the answer.

* Four Baja bikes in a line across the track as they same out of a turn.

* A go-kart spinning out and getting stuck in a pile of dirt just off the inside edge of the track and the driver then getting out, pulling it clear and rejoining the race.

* A demo by a 1,000cc specially designed racing sidecar, one of only two in all of Canada.

* A young speedway rider slamming into the fence and then entertaining the crowd and showing that he was unhurt by picking himself up doing a swan dive over his fallen bike.

* A 70 year old go-kart driver showing that you are only as old as you think you are by easily defeating his rivals not once but in every race.

* A rider wearing a bright pink racing helmet.

* P50 riders falling all over the track when it was a little greasy after watering and the difference in the level of concern when this happened between the officials and the kids themselves when one of them, as he came up to the tapes for the restart, happily told the starting marshal that “he really wiped out”.

* A flat tracker trying to jump the start so aggressively that he put the starting gate out of action for the rest of the night.

* The program adjusted to enable a rider whose bike wouldn’t start to share a bike with another rider in the same class all the way through the qualifying heats.

* The genuine applause given to a young rider when he was able to get to his feet and walk off the track, albeit with a shoulder injury, after an awkward fall.

* An ATV rider losing control and coming off as his machine tipped over, then jumping up getting the machine back on four wheels and restarting it before the leader could get around to lap him.

* 49 heats of racing.

In short it was just another regular night of racing at Paris for the fans to enjoy.

The best race of the night got the meeting off to a fast start when Ryan Rainville and Jeff Seguin wowed the fans with six spectacular laps of close action. Although they exchanged the lead more than once neither could get more than a wheel ahead and at the line it was Seguin in front by no more than half that distance. The final wasn’t as close with Seguin leading it from start to finish while behind him Rainville took second and Steve Rivier third.

There was another dramatic finish to the flat-track youth final. Braden Vallee’s season long string of victories in this class was under threat thanks to a fine ride by Nathan Hammond who led for the first three laps. Vallee then got by only for Hammond to catch him at the final turn and it was only in the run to the flag that Vallee got the edge to keep his record intact.

Another winning streak continued when Aaron Hesmer took the speedway main event with Gary Hesmer following him home and Mike Hammond third.

Machine problems meant that the two Matts, Ward and Sehl, had to share a bike and while #45 got a good workout it certainly performed well and brought them five wins and a second in six starts. Sehl used it in the final but Ward borrowed Rainville’s bike and had no trouble adjusting to it with a tapes to flag win while Sehl had to settle for third behind Vallee.

At the end of a very competitive ATV final that needed a restart after a couple of them tangled mid race, it was Blain Nock who took the checkered flag ahead of Regan Woodards.

RESULTS:

SPEEDWAY – 1) AARON HESMER, 2) Gary Hesmer, 3) Mike Hammond, 4) Tommy Hensby.

ATV – 1) BLAIN NOCK, 2) Regan Woodards, 3) Shawn Stys, 4) Justin Kelloway.

FLAT –TRACK – 1) JEFF SEGUIN, 2} Ryan Rainville, 3) Steve Rivier, 4) Dale Thompson.

FLAT TRACK AMATEUR 1) MATT WARD, 2) Braden Vallee, 3) Matt Sehl, 4) Nick Longhurst..

FLAT TRACK YOUTH – 1) BRADEN VALLEE, 2) Nathan Hammond, 3) Michael Burning.

BAJA BIKES – 1) MIKE HURLBURT, 2) Jeremy Weasmer, 3) Shane Dube, 4) Jay Weasmer.

FLAT TRACK 50CC – 1) JUSTIN HUTCHISON, 2) Hunter Bauer, 3) Austin Barath, 4) #11

ATV YOUTH – 1) BRADEN KELLOWAY, 2) David Stanley.

BAJA WOMEN – 1) TANYA ROGERSON, 2) Jenny Totten, 3) Holly Schertzing.

GO-KARTS – 1) TIM SEGUIN, 2) Winston Grosse, 3) Tom Weasmer.