Fairfield-Echo.com

XENIA — As the owner of a jewelry store, it seems appropriate Stephanie Beyer's race car is a gem, too.

Beyer's maroon, white and blue Aero Roadster is as much fun to look at as it is for her to drive in the Super Pro division. The Beavercreek resident took over the ride when her husband, Ed Beyer Jr., started driving for another car owner. He's since back to running his own car — a silver 1973 Vega.

"No, she's not giving it back," Ed Beyer said between Pro Bracket runs at Kil-Kare Dragway on Saturday, April 26. "It's a good car and she's done really well with it."

The duo doesn't run for points at Kil-Kare. They travel the tri-state in pursuit of big-money shows. Stephanie — owner of Beyer Jewelers in Springfield — estimates she won about $8,000 last season. Ed — owner of Ed Beyer Service Center in Beavercreek — has a $20,000 win to his credit in 2000 (racing in Montgomery, Ala.) and a $10,000 winner's check in 2005 (Bristol, Tenn.).

Racing grabbed hold of Ed early on. His father, Ed Beyer Sr., just retired from the sport at 78 years old. He moved his family from Pennsylvania to Beavercreek in 1970 to be the crew chief on a pro stock team.

For Stephanie, the need for speed took a little longer.

"I wanted to try it, but I didn't know if it would scare the crap out of me or not," she said of driving the Roadster that can cover the 1/8th-mile run in 5.4 seconds at 125 mph. "You wouldn't believe the rush. My knees were shaking for probably an hour (after my first time)."

Though Ed's been racing for 19 seasons and Stephanie for 10, they've gone head-to-head just once. Ed won by a two-thousands of a second.

"It's kind of like a two-car team," he said. "If one of us gets beat then you root for the other person. We race together but we don't compete against each other."

Life in the slow lane

With his motorcycle unable to run because of a malfunctioning shift lever, West Chester's Jeremy England had no tricks up his sleeve to fix the problem.

But he did have a quick fix in his Pocket. England entertained the spectators by running his Pocket Rocket, a miniature bike that's more suited for cruising around in the pits with a top speed of 43 mph.

It took England 26.79 seconds to travel the quarter-mile strip. His competition did it in 10.54 and took the win, which is based on time prediction rather than the first one to the finish line.

"I'm halfway down the track and he's just sitting there," England said with a smile.

England said he ran the bike several times last season and made it to the semifinals once before false starting.

Victory lane

Super Pro's Richard Hammond (Huber Heights), Pro's Rich Wilson (Kettering), Sportsman's Mike McGriff (Oregonia), Pro Bike's Michael Nugent (Tipp City), High School's Jesse Parsons (Bellbrook), 10-12 Juniors' James Smith (Beavercreek) and 13-up Juniors' Walter Crum (Beavercreek) all collected wins Saturday. The action heats up May 3 when points begin.

Vote for this story!