Aaron and Jocelyne Wiley have discovered a new ingredient for a healthy marriage: Every weekend, they race against each other in the mini-stock division at Merrittville Speedway.
“This is the fun part of our marriage,” said 37-year-old Aaron, as he and his wife prepared their cars for Saturday’s competition. “We got our little guy (Kurtis) at home, and that’s the serious end of it.
On Saturday, Jocelyne had her work cut out for her after another car hit her back bumper and spun her out in the first lap, but she worked her way from the back of the pack to an 11thplace finish.
“I was mad after the wreck,” she said, “but I finished strong.”
Aaron started ninth and was the race leader after the third lap, but he had problems on Lap 8 and was passed by the eventual feature winner Trevor Goulding.
“The front tire caught in a rut on Turn 4, and it felt like someone ripped the wheel right out of my hands,” said Aaron, who sits in fifth place overall in the point’s race.”
The Wiley’s are high school sweethearts who were introduced to each other by friends at Eastdale Secondary School in Welland. They have been together for 14 years and are enjoying their eighth year of marriage. Their hometown is Wellandport and their life is all about spending time with each other.
“When I see (Aaron) going sideways into the infield with another car attached to his bumper, that is not something I like,” said Jocelyne, who is in her third year of racing at Merrittville and Humberstone speedways.
Jocelyne took home her first-ever feature win on June 13 and on Saturday she was named the Merrittville Speedway driver of the week.
“Not only was my first win exceptionally special,” she said. “But to get the driver-of-the-week award was extra special.”
The Wiley clan also has their 10-year-old son Kurtis to watch in Tuesday night’s go-kart races at Merrittville, and the young apprentice has won three features in a row and is the point’s leader for the track championship.
“I’m really proud of my mom and dad,” said Kurtis, who just completed Grade 4 at Gainsborough School in Bismarck. “It would be awesome to compete against them one day and I would love to be able to do that.”
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