Fueled by NITRO, there's a grassroots drag racing movement taking hold this summer at Northland Motorsports Park.
A not-for-profit society - Northern Interior Timed Racing Organization - made up of race car owners, their families and friends, has taken over management of the city's quarter-mile drag racing facility.
The initial NITRO organizational meeting attracted 80 people and from that meeting a board of directors was elected to operate the track, which is owned by local businessman Brent Marshall. Marshall bought the facility in 2012 and with help from local companies like Rolling Mix Concrete and IDL Projects, has invested $1.5 million in improvements to revitalize interest in the sport.
"It was costing money (for the Northland Dodge dealership) to run it, so you just need a group that has more time and more people to spread out the workload and manage it and budget it and fundraise, rather than relying on one or two people," said Landon LeDuke, vice-president of NITRO. "Obviously a lot of people use the facility, so it's just a matter of getting them more involved. We had personal donations right off the hop and that was better than expected. It's so expensive to insure and it puts (liability) more at arm's length if a non-profit society is running it."
While Marshall is no longer affiliated with the Northland Auto Group, Northland retains naming rights for the motorsports park for the next two race seasons.
In 2013, Rolling Mix/IDL Projects repaved a 720-foot section at the start line of the drag strip (known as Rolling Mix Raceway) and new washroom/laundry facilities were built as part of a major renovation at the park. But as Rocky Mountain Nostalgia Funny Car driver Landon Goudreau found out the hard way last year, a section of the concrete pavement was left with a washboard finish, which resulted in the Edmonton driver losing control of his 1,200-horsepower machine. That problem is about to be addressed.
Salem Contracting of Prince George has ordered a track grinding tool it will use to cut into the concrete and improve traction on that section of the track, which becomes troublesome for cars with more than 1,500 horsepower.
Work on the $20,000 project, which is being donated by Salem, is expected to be complete by next month.
"We'll get the high spots taken down so the rubber will adhere to the track better," said LeDuke.
The timing system at the track, which was revamped in 2013, has been plagued by problems which prevented printouts for the drivers. That system will be replaced.
"By the time all this is done we'll have the best track in Western Canada or all of Canada," said Marshall.
"We have a new tire drag built for behind our tractor which lays rubber down and between grinding and this tire drag, we should be able to run cars up to 3,000 horsepower. The society will help raise funds to keep improving the facility and make this viable long-term.
"Racers who race all over Canada and the U.S. have said we have the nicest facility, with our lake/beach, the RV setup, the power setup, and the latest bathroom and shower facilities and the new track. We're in really good shape compared to anyone else."
The lake (Dodge Pond) is stocked with rainbow trout, and the overall park includes a motocross track and a mudbog area. There is some interest in developing the dirt bike facility and some improvements have been made by a group of motocross racers, but there won't be any races or mudbog events this year.
June 12 marks the start of the Friday Night Street Legal series at Rolling Mix Raceway and that will give racing enthusiasts a chance to test their driving skills and see how fast their machines can run in elapsed time (ET) bracket racing. The Street Legal Series will continue each Friday night this summer from 6-9 p.m., with the exception of long weekends.
Big car counts are expected for the two major events of the season at Northland Motorsports Park - the All-Out Drags (July 10-12 and a date in August still to be determined), which will attract racers from tracks in Edmonton, Fort St. John, Ashcroft and Mission.
For most of its history over the past two decades, the Prince George track located nine kilometres northwest of the city off Chief Lake Road has been sanctioned by the National Hot Rod Association. But this year it has been declared an outlaw track to accommodate racers from Edmonton and Fort St. John who have built cars following International Hot Rod Association rules.
The racing classes in Prince George for the two All-Out Drags feature events will now allow either NHRA or IHRA rules.
"More local cars are being built and the local club is getting stronger and stronger just because everything is heading in the right direction," said LeDuke. "Attendance at Street Legal has been gaining since we took over three years ago."
Marshall said crowd counts were over 1,000 on some nights last year.
