After years of sputtering on fumes, it appears drag racing in Prince George is firing on all cylinders again.
Now under new ownership with a new name -- Prince George Motorsports Park (PGMP) -- and a new sanctioning body -- the International Hot Rod Association -- bracket racers and motorcycle dragsters will share the land with mudboggers, rally truck drivers and motocross racers at the site northwest of the city formerly known as North Central Motorsport Park.
The only thing holding up progress right now are the remnants of a long snowy winter.
"We'll be running four major drag racing events sanctioned by the IHRA, we'll have three mudbog races and the CMDRA bike drags are back this year and we'll have a full schedule of Friday night [street legal] drag racing," said PGMP general manager Jim Vandenbrink.
"Last year we were getting 50 or 60 cars for Friday night racing and this year we hope for even better than that. That starts as soon as there's no snow on the track. We're hoping for the weekend after the May long weekend, but there's still a lot of snow and a lot of water that has to evaporate."
Street legal racing starts May 27 and will continue every Friday except long weekends into early September.
NCMP opened in 1978, a project started by original owners Gordon Schade and Ernie Schultz. Ron Cowie of Richmond bought the facility after Schade died 1994, and the following year Cowie renovated the quarter-mile track to National Hot Rod Association standards, which made Prince George the NHRA's northernmost drag strip.
Operated by Pat and Nancy Wilkinson and a small crew of volunteers, the track offered sanctioned meets that qualified local drivers for NHRA division finals, brought jet car racing to Prince George, and provided a regular stop on the Canadian Motorcycle Drag Racing Association circuit. But after years of low car counts and empty spectator stands, the NHRA bracket race meets were dropped and the NHRA affiliation ended following the 2006 season.
Cowie first put the track up for sale in 2002 and when the Wilkinson family stepped down from racing in 2007 after 29 seasons of operating the track, it appeared drag racing was dead. But street legal racing continued during the summer months, and a year ago track ownership changed hands when former PGARA stock car racer Shane Lodjn bought the track from Cowie. In the past year, the track has been the site of car and bike drag racing, a mudbog event and snowmobile drag racing.
Prince George is now part of the IHRA's Division 6, which includes tracks in Edmonton, Calgary, Ashcroft, Kelowna, Gimli, Man., as well as three United States tracks -- Palmer, Alaska; Minot, N.D; and Malta, Mont. The top bracket racers in each class from the four Prince George points meets will qualify for the IHRA Summit Team Finals at Castrol Raceway in Edmonton, Sept. 15-18.
"It's going to bring bracket racing back to life in Prince George," said Vandenbrink. "We haven't had anything for awhile but now there's a goal and purpose for showing up to those four race meets and doing well -- to race with the big guys in Edmonton.
"I would think we'll get pretty good out-of-town attendance. I know lots of local guys who are building cars and resurrecting cars."
The CMDRA all-bike drag races will be back for its first stop in Prince George since 2002. The three-day event will bring at least 100 drag bikes to PGMP. The Prince George Motocross Club is in the process of moving its operational base to a track adjacent to the drag strip.
"Eventually we'd like to have a road course out there and this year by the end of summer we'll have a rallycross course out there," said Vandenbrink. "We'd like to have a (rally) race by early August."
For more information go to the club website, www.pgmotorsportspark.ca.
