VOL. 53 ISSUE 43 NOVEMBER 1, 2016 P89
But where the ball really got
rolling was meeting flat track/
road racer James Rispoli. The
pair hit it off and Wells not only
had a training partner but James'
dad, Phil Rispoli, took the young
Wells under his wing and he was
treated as part of the family.
"My dad didn't know anything
really about racing," Wells said.
"He was just a guy that went and
got a dirt bike and just raced
it locally, and he did well at it.
Without James and Phil I would
have never been able to develop
any skill toward it. That's all their
life revolved around when they
grew up. When I was coming up
through racing, he [James] was
always the class above me, so I
got to use the bikes that he got
off of. It was better for my whole
family and everything for racing,
because my parents couldn't
really afford it as much as they
would have liked to. So luckily
Phil and those guys already went
through it all and they just helped
my parents learn it as they went."
It was more than just racing
help from the Rispolis, it was
also learning about the business
of racing.
(Left) It was a
dream season
for Wells and he
looks forward to
moving up to the
premier class
in 2017.
(Right) Originally
Wells was
looking to move
to GNC1, but he
feels the move
to Parkinson
Brothers Racing
was the better of
the two options.
(Left to right)
Wells, Craig
Parkinson and
Justin Fargo.
Away from the race track, trainer
John Sedlarick (left) pushes both
the champs Wells (right) and
Bryan Smith (center) at the Flint
Barbell Club.