Paul Bickford
Northern News Services

Hay River (Sep 08/03) - For Hay River stock car enthusiasts, the passion for the sport runs deep.

Art Loupret has been racing stock cars for five years, and he says he does it to relax.

"I'm totally relaxed in this thing," he explains, while standing next to his stock car just before Labour Day weekend races in Hay River. "It takes total concentration."

Loupret adds that such concentration takes you away from everyday concerns. "You don't worry about bills."

The youngest racer over the weekend was Clayton Jameson, who just turned 15.

The Labour Day weekend event was his third race of the summer, which is his first year racing.

Jameson races a Honda Civic in the mini stock class. He describes his machine as a "rice rocket," explaining the nickname comes from the car's roots in Asia. "And it's small and fast."

The teenager also likes the mini stock class because all five competitors in the category know each other. "We're all friends."

Bill Parker, 63, figures he is the oldest stock car racer in Hay River, and he was also out for the Labour Day weekend event.

Parker, who has been racing for about 35 years beginning with snowmobiles in Ontario, says he does it for the competition. "I just love it."

In fact, Parker -- the owner of Lakeland Auto -- says he has got to race, even if he only recently got out of hospital.

"It's like that Pepsi ad: You gotta have it."