RPW Exclusive: Jamie & Denise Page: The Dynamic Duo Of Dirt Racing…Part 1

Column By: LAURIE FALLIS / RPW – BAINBRIDGE, NY – Let’s take a journey with two people that have given there lives to a sport that’s meant so much to them.  It’s been a big part of their lives in so many different avenues of racing over the years.

That couple is Jamie and Denise Page.

The Page’s are two powerful figures that can be seen every Friday at Utica-Rome Speedway and Saturday nights at Fonda Speedway, all through the summer months.  You’ll also see the on the Short Track Super Series and at the events at Brookfield Speedway.

Where did racing start for this energetic couple that’s been married for 18 years?  It actually started before they said I do.

Jamie got his feet wet in 1983, helping his good friend, Greg Hoke on Hoke’s Late Model at Afton Motorsports Park.  The Racing bug would soon attack Jamie as he no longer wanted to crew but get behind the wheel for himself.

First he ventured in the Late Model division.  Then he jumped to the big boys, the Modifieds, racing throughout the Southern Tier of New York.  Billy Decker was always a big help to the young driver.  Being close in proximity to Page was a plus.

Decker guided Jamie, but it was legendary driver Chuck Akulis who was a big help.  Akulis owned a parts store in Bainbridge, NY and Jamie was fortunate enough to work for him in the attached machine shop.

Page states that it was Akulis who was his mentor in racing.

“There wasn’t any person better to learn from than Chuck, with the experience and success he had under his belt,” Page said.  “His knowledge of racing was with me every day.  I was his student.”

Page continued to race for a decade until family reasons forced him to step out of the cockpit.

Jamie’s better half, Denise, first encountered the sport in 1987 when she in the stands at Five Mile Point and Thunder Mountain with her children.  Her ex-husband had gone into the pits to help racer Greg Martindale with his Mini Modified.  However, if not for her kids, Denise would’ve been in the pits.

As life would have it, faith and a little bit of dirt brought them together.  After some time, they became husband and wife in 2007 and then purchased the Algonkin Motel in Bainbridge where they reside to this day.

However, their love for the sport did not fade, especially when Afton Motorsports Park came calling.

In 2010, Jamie was approached by Ron Ford from the track to see if he’d be interested in helping run the facility.  Denise had always wanted to run a restaurant so when Jamie said yes, she took over the Speedway’s concessions (She had a McDonald’s in Oneonta, NY to which she attributes her learning the ropes of the food industry). She was totally on board.

Jamie wanted to do everything he could to help keep the track going.  That was important to him so the trio became the new promotional team for the Speedway that was only seven miles from the Page’s home.

After a two-year partnership, Ford was forced to step away from the day-to-day operations at the track so Page’s took control for the next five seasons at Afton (known as I-88 at times).

The track was in Chenanga County and part of a fairgrounds there.  That being said, the Page’s had a great relationship with the Fair Board and they always felt that was important to be successful.  However, after giving their heart and soul to the track for seven years, the couple felt that they had dedicated the most they could.

“It was for several different reasons,” Jamie said.  “We were financially spending a lot of our own money to keep the track going and 2016 wasn’t a good year.  Denise had health issues and the year at the track was terrible overall. The Fair Board faces were changing also so we felt it was time to step away.”

The adage when one door closes, another opens was in full effect for Jamie and Denise in 2017.  Find out what else happened in part two.