Photo By: Chris Rahm
The day after the half mile in Leamington saw action return to the short track in Wheatley for the first time this year. Unlike the previous day where the weather had the event in doubt right up until race time, Sunday proved to be a banner day as sunshine greeted the riders when they got to the track.
Local riders usually do well at the Wheatley track and Nick Wenzler was hoping to make his mark in the Expert division. While Wenzler was able to pull off a couple of third place finishes, the day belonged to Tyler Seguin as he was able to snatch victory in both the Open and DTX classes. Like it was scripted after last year’s race, Seguin once again hunted down Chris Evans in the Open main to finally make the pass for the win on the last lap. After two races in a row at the short track where he has held the lead on the last lap only to come up a bit short at the finish, Evans has promised revenge when action returns to the short track in September. Stay tuned for that.
After injuring his knee the night before at the half mile, Don Taylor told me the plan for the day was to ride around in last place and collect some points. To the surprise of nobody, that plan changed quickly when the green flag flew in the DTX race and Taylor grabbed the early lead. Despite not holding on for the victory, Taylor put in a brave ride to finish second and get some hard earned points towards the championship.
Repeat winners were the order of the day in many of the other classes. Once again, “Captain Holeshot” Steve Ball, was able to use a great start to take the victory in the vet division. Dave Pouliot was once again two for two in Intermediate action while Hunter Bauer went three for three in youth action as he had done the previous night.
Local boy Jarrett Phibbs entered the novice class for the day and looked great in winning both the DTX and Open races after Trent Pickle had bike problems slow him down in practice. After not running the half mile, the 50cc bikes returned to action. Branden Keys made the drive from home worthwhile as he took the win in front of Myles Ward and an inspired Maia Hunter who made some aggressive moves on the track to take third.
Another local who impressed on the day was Cody Marentette who rode hard in the Intermediate division and was able to grab third in the DTX class.
Wheatley Top Three:
Open Expert: Tyler Seguin, Chris Evans, Nick Wenzler
DTX Expert: Tyler Seguin, Don Taylor, Nick Wenzler
Open Intermediate: Dave Pouliot, Morgan Monroe, Brodie Buchan
DTX Intermediate: Dave Pouliot, Morgan Monroe, Cody Marentette
Open Novice: Jarrett Phibbs, Paul Renaud, Trent Pickle
DTX Novice: Jarrett Phibbs, Jason Hunter, Todd Musson
Vet: Steve Ball, Rob Churchill, Tom Goodford
Youth 250: Hunter Bauer, Shawn Rupert, Boyd Deadman
85cc: Hunter Bauer, Jimmy McCullough, Boyd Deadman
65cc: Hunter Bauer, Jimmy McCullough, Boyd Deadman
50cc: Branden Keys, Myles Ward, Maia Hunter