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Garvey puts a Familiar #1 in Victory Lane Again!

Bill Vilona

bvilona@pnj.com

A camouflage, Hot Wheels designed helmet was fastened to Hayden Pursell’s head, along with steely focus on his face.

The 9-year-old had outpedaled the competition on his uncle Brad’s bike, pumped his way around the final turn on the banked racetrack and saw the finish line at Five Flags Speedway.

A kid’s dream come true.

“I looked back about three times and saw I was way ahead,� he said.

Nothing like thrill of winning, or just participating with other youth in the annual Kids’ Bike Races, a highlight of Friday night’s race program at Five Flags Speedway.

Pursell, a fifth grader from Beulah, was one of four age division winners in the event, which preceded the Allen Turner Pro Late Model Series race for the big machines.

But on this night, it was all about the kids. A total of 109 participated with their parents doing everything from carrying the bikes, getting the kids on the start line, high-fiving them at the end and posing for pictures.

Every kid got a trophy and a special memory. Local businesses Panhandle Grading and Paving and Beef O’Brady’s help sponsor and provide trophies. Every boy and girl on bikes was required to wear a helmet. If they didn’t have one, a helmet was provided.

“The kids really just wrap their arms around the bike event,� said Tim Bryant, general manager at Five Flags, who added it was about the “eighth or ninth� year for the bike races.

“They look forward to it every year and we don’t want to deprive them,� Bryant said. “We always worry ourselves sick, because we never want to get anybody injured. No elbows scraped or anything like that.

“We had a little boy who went down and bit his lip. That kind of stuff worries us. But the fact of the matter is, the smiles on their faces are worth a thousand words.�

The kind of smile that was on 2-year-old Andrew Nathan’s face. His dad toted a miniature, plastic, “Big Wheels� toy that he pedaled as one of the smallest, youngest participants in the 5-under race. Those kids raced a quarter-mile distance on the final straightaway.

Dylan Hamilton, 5, won that division in a close finish. He surged ahead in the final few feet.

“He is all about racing,� said his father, Philip Hamilton. “He races go-carts. Anything with wheels, he loves it. This is all he has talked about.�

The bike racers had their own pit row, nestled in a grassy, picnic area on the other side of Turn 1. Children’s bikes of all sizes and colors were on display with eager faces.

Before each of the races, the same race officials working the real race machine events were helping the kids get ready and made aware of the green flag.

“It’s awesome,� Philip Hamilton said. “Tim Bryant and all the guys at the track taking the time out here to do this, it means a lot.�

The three older age groups all biked one lap around the half-mile, asphalt banked oval.

“Oh man, it’s really… tilted. When you get up to the high gears it’s tough,� said Hayden Pursell.

His father, Mike Pursell, said his son was disappointed when inclement weather postponed the event two weeks ago and forced its reschedule to last night.

“That’s all we heard about for the last two weeks,� Mike Pursell said. “It was to make sure we are there when it’s rescheduled.

“We come out here for the Snowball (Derby race). We love coming here. This is huge for (kids). They about it in the neighborhood.�

Hayden has some bragging rights with his friends. He finished fourth, third and second in the previous times he was in the bike races.

“This is great,� he said.

The other bike winners were Spencer Brown in the 10-13 division and William Huber in the 13-older division.

In the adult races Friday night, Mike Garvey held off D.J. Vanderley in a thrilling end to the Allen Turner Pro Late Model Series 100 race.

Garvey, a McDonough, Ga. resident, took the lead from Vanderley on Lap 88, after Vanderley’s car got loose around a turn, then held off the Auburn University student in the final five laps.

In the 25-Lap Sportsman race that preceded the kids races, Cantonment resident Steve Buttrick jumped into the lead on a restart following a caution on Lap 9, then pulled away for the victory. 

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