Sno-cross all in the family for Emo racers

Forget the Brady Bunch.
The Gavel Gang quickly are establishing themselves as a group really worth watching.
John Gavel of Stratton and his three sons haven’t been tearing up the track for too long, but the Gavel Racing Team certainly has made an impact as part of the North West Racing Association’s sno-cross circuit.
Along with Christina Goodman of Emo, the team has zoomed their way to trophies in four of their first five competitions this season—including the latest stop on the NWRA tour last weekend in Vermilion Bay.
Gavel finished third in the Sport Fan 440 division, fourth in the Masters’ category, and fifth in the 30-plus division.
His oldest son, Mike, took fifth in the Sport Fan 440 class while middle son, Robbie, was third in the Junior 14-15 category and seventh in the Junior 16-17 division.
Youngest son, Danny, grabbed fourth spot in the Junior 14-15 class and fifth in the Junior 16-17 group, while Goodman was third in the women’s division.
What started as a plan to involve his children in a new sport turned into a full-blown fascination for Gavel.
“I thought it was something the boys would enjoy,” he recalled. “But as I was walking the track, I thought I could handle it.”
Using an Arctic Cat Sno Pro Z440 Sport Fan machine he purchased over the Internet, Gavel and Robbie, 14, took part in their first event last January in Kenora as part of the Can-Am Racing Circuit.
“In my first race, I finished third in the Masters’ class, and I knew I wanted to stick with it,” said Gavel.
Mike, 18, soon decided he wanted in on the action. It sounds simple enough—until one realizes Mike is paralyzed in his right arm from a childhood accident when he was hit in the head with a golf club.
“I have to drive a little more with a sit-down style,” he noted. “But it’s not difficult now, and mentally, I’ve just adjusted to it.”
The trio also raced at a World Snowmobile Association event in Fort Frances last season.
Eventually, 15-year-old Danny started getting the racing itch, too.
“I didn’t feel like competing at first,” said Danny, whose father said has come leaps and bounds in the on-track aggression department from when he first started.
“But I saw how much fun the rest of them we’re having and I had to get in there.”
The quartet, who purchased another Z440 Sport Fan sled during the season, soon caught the interest of Goodman, 18, who openly admits to a lifelong obsession with snowmobiling.
She tagged along to watch the group race early last season and knew immediately she had found her competitive calling. Convincing her father she could handle the rigours and high-risk environment of the sport was a different matter.
“My dad [Dave Goodman, who sells snowmobiles at his Borderland Esso business in Emo] didn’t want me to get hurt,” she recalled. “In fact, he gave me every reason under the moon why I couldn’t race.”
But after exhibiting her skills in practice sessions, Gavel persuaded Goodman’s father that his daughter had the skills to not only survive, but thrive.
“The track wasn’t intimidating as I thought it would be,” said Goodman, whose need for speed also has her considering becoming a competitive stock car racer down the road.
“But it was a lot harder on my body than I thought it would be,” she added.
John Gavel’s inaugural season went better than he could have hoped for, finishing third in the year-end point standings in the Beginner 440 Fan class.
This season, the team acquired two Arctic Cat Sno Pro ZR 440 Liquid sleds, which has opened up their racing options.
Danny and Robbie are using the new sleds in the Junior 14-15 and 16-17 classes while Mike uses the 2002 model in the Sport Fan 440 and Sport Liquid 440 divisions.
Goodman also has started racing against the males in the Sport 440 Liquid group, using the team’s original sled.
“Most of the racers are nice, but some guys can be pretty cocky,” she remarked. “When girls are looked at in a certain way because they’re doing things not normally meant for them, that gets under my skin.
“But then, I’ve had guys surprised that I can do oil changes on my car,” she added.
Backing them all up is John’s wife, Janette, who serves as official team photographer, videographer, and Web site manager (www.beepbeep.ca) among other duties.
Also on board are mechanic Alex Gamie and the team’s jack-of-all-trades, John Fuhrer, who does pit crew work and also has raced with the team in the past.
For the Gavel family patriarch, it’s all about grooming the younger racers for what he hopes is many years of racing ahead.
“I told them when they start beating me, it’ll be time to hang it up,” chuckled Gavel, who takes his team to Kenora for the next NWRA event Feb. 1-2.
“I’m not going to get much better the older I get, but it’s terrific to watch them do so well,” he added.