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About Keizertimes. (Salem, Or.) 1979-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 1, 2019)
PAGE A4, KEIZERTIMES, FEBRUARY 1, 2019 for kids by kids Keizer’s own Speed Racer By LAUREN MURPHY Of No Adults Allowed To say that 13-year- old Ryan Bese has a need for speed would be an understatement. Not only is Ryan a junior dragracer, but he also runs for cross country and track at Whiteaker Middle School. “I like to go fast,” he said. For the past four years Ryan has been a jr. drag racer at the Woodburn Dragstrip. Ryan is in the eighth grade and currently the only jr. racer from Keizer. He enjoys having his friends come watch him race, “it’s fun because they can experience what it’s like,” Ryan said. Even though you have to be eight years old to be a junior racer, Ryan started way before that. “My husband worked on a professional race car team before, so that’s how he (Ryan) got started,” said Chris Bese, Ryan’s mom, “I would drag him out to the races. But he was a baby so he has no recollection of it whatsoever.” That said, when the time came to start rac- ing, Ryan was more than a little hesitant to start driving, “When he turned 8, we encour- aged him and he said, ‘no.’ He wouldn’t even sit in the car,” Chris said. With the help of some of his friends from the racetrack he eventu- ally got into his fi rst car, “They put him in the car and literally pushed him down the race track,” she said. “I just didn’t want to do it because I was worried about crashing,” Ryan said. That fear has been pushed aside now because he’s been doing it for such a long time. In his four years of racing the closest he’s come to crashing was clipping a wall. There are three cate- gories at the Woodburn Dragstrip, Jr. Storm, Jr. Thunder and Jr. Lighting. The Jr. Storm category is for ages 6-10, Jr. Thun- der is for ages 10-14 and Jr. Lighting is 13-17. Ryan is currently transitioning form Jr. Thunder to Jr. Lighting. In 2014 (his fi rst year), he won the Rookie of the Year Award, and he’s been winning ever since. In 2015, he placed second in the World of Speed for Jr. Storm, the following year he placed second in the World of Speed for Jr. Thunder. He was the Fall ET Jr. Thun- der Champion in 2016. He won the 2018 NHRA ET fi nals Division 6 Jr. Thunder Champi- on award in the summer series. He then switched over to Jr. Lighting for the fall series and won At 13, Whiteaker Middle School student Ryan Bese is rapidly filling up his trophy case with wins on the dragstrip. the 2018 World of Speed Fall ET Jr. Lightening Champion. The fi nal race became known as, “the Ryan show.” Ryan Dick, his competitor and best friend, was racing against him for the champion- ship. Even though Dick lost, the boys are still close friends. “They’re good kids, they support each other, they cheer each other on. Sports- manship is big,” Chris said. That’s not all, Ryan was also voted the most improved racer this year by his peers at the Woodburn Dragstrip in 2018. Ryan has com- peted on the ET Finals Woodburn Team for four years in a row, fi rst in Boise, then Canada, Woodburn and Boise again. Even though he’s been on the fi nals team four years in a row, this was his fi rst year win- ning. He said his reason One day on Venus is longer than one year. Did you hear about the circus fi re? The stegosaurus was over 29 feet long but it had a brain the size of a walnut. Snails can sleep for up to three years. It was in-tents A non-royal person in Rome was called a “plebeian.” The average strawberry has about 200 seeds. Invisalign & Traditional Braces Customized Financing Before the printing press was invented, most stories were passed down verbally from generation to generation. The mythic Bigfoot and Yeti are not the same thing. Bigfoot reportedly looks more like a man-ape and lives in warmer climates. Yetis are said to look more like a man-bears and live in colder climates. FOR A FREE CONSULT CALL 503.362.0500 www.haveagreaismile.com Truly Amazing Smiles he keeps going back is, “the sweet feeling of winning.” His biggest support- ers have been his par- ents, which is no sur- prise considering they literally pushed him to do it. Although some parents would be con- cerned about safety, the Bese family has to- tal faith in their safety gear. “I actually feel he’s safer in his car than in mine,” Chris said. His sponsors are, Wayne Parker’s Auto Electric, Taylor Motor- sports Products and Westfi eld Motorsports. orihodoniics for children, adolescenis & adulis SCHOOLHOUSE SQUARE 5099 RIVER ROAD N, KEIZER