His & Hers; Gladstone newlyweds to race each other

• Kelsey and Kendall Booke

Press Photo by Dustin Monke Kelsey and Kendall Booke stand beside their Thunder 4 cars Thursday in their backyard in Gladstone. Kendall Booke was the Southwest Speedway champion in the Thunder 4’s last season. His new wife will turn her first lap in a race within the next few weeks.

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GLADSTONE — Kendall Booke loves cracking wise with his new wife, Kelsey.

She just smiles and fires back at her husband.

After all, if Kendall can’t back up his good-hearted barbs on the race track, Kelsey will have the last laugh.

While some newlyweds show off their his-and-hers towel sets, the Bookes have his-and-hers race cars in their backyard.

The Bookes were married last Saturday and had to miss the season opener at the Southwest Speedway. They intend to be at tonight’s races with their Thunder 4 cars.

While it will be two weeks before they race each other, Kendall can’t wait.

“I’m going to show her what’s up,” he said with a devilish smile.

Kendall, the track’s 22-year-old defending champion in the class that was new last year, will be behind the wheel of his No. 2 1991 Ford Probe with black and orange tiger stripes.

Twenty-year-old Kelsey, meanwhile, will in her husband’s pit crew while she waits to get behind the wheel of her own Thunder 4.

She is rotating race nights with Gladstone’s Devon Wandler in the black No. 8 1992 Ford Tempo and plans to race on June 25. Her only other experience on a race track was during last season’s pit man’s races.

Neither can wait for the night when they can get in their respective cars and race against each other.

“It’s going to be a blast,” Kendall said. “I told her if I find out my wheel falls off, I know who took my lug nuts off.”

Kelsey scoffed and quickly quipped back: “Nah uh, it’s going to be the other way around.”

Spend an hour with the Bookes and one quickly discovers that they may be a match made in racer’s heaven.

Kelsey grew up in Bismarck, regularly attending races at Mandan’s Dacotah Speedway.

Kendall is the nephew of long-time Southwest Speedway racer Terry Zastoupil and grew up working in his pit crew.

Zastoupil bought Kendall the Thunder 4 he drives now.

“I think he’s a natural,” Zastoupil said. “He’s very understanding. He searches around the race track for different lines and understands how those cars work.”

Kendall lost just once at the Dickinson track last season and won both the Governor’s Cup and Season Championship nights at the Dacotah Speedway.

If Kelsey wants to beat her husband in a race, she’ll probably have to do it sometime this season.

Kendall will likely move into a Pure Stock car next summer. If that happens, Kelsey said she will probably take over her husband’s car.

“What we’re doing now is when we move up to other classes, we’re going to pass the car on to other people who need to become beginningers,” Kendall said. “I’d like to get to Wissota’s (Street Stocks) eventually.

“It’ll be a good year. Hopefully we can do as good as we did last year.”

Tags: auto racing, kendall booke, kelsey booke, southwest speedway, sports