When PGARA opens for a new season on Saturday, Jeremy Wickes will be screaming around the oval in his 1973 Chevelle.
He'll have family tradition as a passenger.
Jeremy, 28, is a third-generation driver in the Prince George Auto Racing Association. He's following in tire tracks first made by his grandpa, 85-year-old Lloyd, and continued by his dad, 57-year-old Chris. Jeremy will be driving the No. 30 car in the Canadian Tire street stock division and can't wait to fire up his engine.
His plan for the season is simple: pass as many cars as he can. As for a points championship, he says that's not important to him. Jeremy just loves to race and he's happy to be maintaining his clan's stock car legacy.
"It's not so much about racing out there as it is about family and bringing more people together," he said.
"It seems to be in the blood," added Chris. "It was in my blood before I got out there (as a driver) and I think it's going to happen again when (Jeremy) has kids."
Chris pointed out that his daughter, 26-year-old Megan, who also took some spins around the PGARA track in her teenage years, has children who are already captivated by cars. Four-year-old Zoe and nearly three-year-old Dayton like hanging out at PGARA on race days. Then there's Colton, who's almost a year old and is bound to get plenty of exposure to revving motors and squealing tires.
If one kid already has 'the look' in his eyes for racing, it's Dayton.
"We had 12 race tires out there on our lawn and were setting them up to measure them, and he rolled every one of them to the far edge of the fence," Chris said with a chuckle. "That's 60 feet, and he's not as tall as them. He's gonna be a wheeler, you just know it."
'I think I got a few firsts'
Lloyd Wickes well remembers the first car he drove at PGARA. It was a 1936 Hudson Terraplane, and he had it in gear in either 1953 or 1954. PGARA's first official season was 1953, and racing took place on an all-dirt track near present-day Costco.
"I think I got a few firsts," Lloyd said. "Lots of seconds and thirds. I beat (Pat) Patterson, that was the main thing. They (Patterson and rival Denny Stein) were too busy fighting each other and they forgot about me. The dust was all flying and they were both cross-ways and I got around them (and won a 'B' main event)."
Lloyd first got the bug a year or two earlier when he and a friend watched a race at the fairgrounds.
"We watched through the fence or over the fence, and these cars, they looked to be fun so I thought I'd get involved," he said.
Lloyd drove for three or four years and then jumped out from behind the wheel and became PGARA's flagman. In those days, the occupation wasn't exactly a safe one because the duties were performed on the track instead of from high above it.
"I started the trophy dash from the middle - two on each side (of me) - but when I got some strangers out there I had to talk to them a little bit and say, 'You know where I'm going to be, right?'" Lloyd said. "I'd move to the edge once the race started."
And yes, when it came to his personal safety, he did have a close call.
"Vic Russman and Bill Dagg, one on each side, and I had a flag in each hand and they broke them off," said Lloyd, whose wife, Delores, quickly added: "He disappeared in the dust in the infield and we all thought he was dead."
Lloyd survived, of course, and figures he was a flagman for about seven years.
New generation, new track
For Chris Wickes, PGARA was a childhood playground. By the time of his youth, a new high-banked, paved track was in operation at the corner of Highway 16 and Ferry Avenue. With his parents closely tied to the local racing scene, Chris spent many a summertime weekend immersed in the sights and sounds of motorsports.
Given his background, it was no surprise that Chris became a driver himself. His first season was in 1985, which was also the inaugural year of racing at the current facility, located on Highway 16 on the eastern outskirts of the city.
Chris's first-ever race was memorable for two reasons: it was a 30-lap main event, and he ended up in a wreck.
"I went partners with my brother (Murray Wickes) and my cousin (Barry Wright) and built a car and took it out and blew it up," he said with a laugh.
"We had all drawn toothpicks for which race we were going to race - dash, heat or main - and flipped a coin to (decide who would) time it in. I got out there and mine happened to be the main, and some guy was already mad at Barry so first thing, coming off of Corner 4 I think, 'BOOM!' I hit the wall, slid up against it, and I'm pretty sure it was Paul Spence (who hit me). We had too many drivers in the car and it was payback."
In his second season, Chris shared driving duties with Terry Lewis and Mark Gratton. By his third year, he was on his own. Chris continued to race until the 2000 season, all in the street stock category.
Also in the year 2000, Chris's wife, Sherry - a longtime volunteer at PGARA - started her own driving career in the bomber division.
Bring on the kids
Jeremy Wickes was just 14 years old when he took his first racing lap on the PGARA oval. His first car was a 1981 Ford Mustang, a perfect fit for the mini-stock class.
Near the end of the next year, 2002, Jeremy's sister Megan joined him on the oval. She was at the controls of a 1984 Subaru sedan and quickly found out she'd get no favours from her sibling once the green flag dropped.
In fact, Jeremy used Megan's inexperience to his advantage.
"I knew she'd always stay to the bottom so I'd rub up against her passenger-side door when I had somebody behind me because they'd have two options - either crashing into the back of her, or trying to spin me. So (the other driver) could either let off the gas or have one of those two things happen."
Chris, the proud papa, said Megan "wasn't a real driver" but enjoyed being out there.
"I'd be in the pits and she'd drive way up high in Corner 1 and 2 and wave to her friends," he said with a laugh. "I'd be like, 'The race is happening! What are you doing?'"
"And then her boyfriend, she raced against. Dustin. She came up on Dustin and got so excited, she spun out."
PGARA 2016
This is the 64th season of PGARA action. On Saturday, time trials will start at 6 p.m. and racing will commence at 7 p.m. The Canadian Tire street stocks, Chieftan Auto Parts mini-stocks and the hornets will all be part of the show. As well, a Devin Barks Memorial Smoke Show competition will be held. Barks, who was an up-and-coming PGARA driver, died in an auto accident on March 12.
Other highlights this season will include: the return of WESCAR on June 11; the Tri-Cities Street Stock Invitational/PGARA Street Stock Invitational on Aug. 13-14; Hit-to-Pass from Sept. 2-4; the PGARA championship finale on Sept. 10; and Nitro Circus on Sept. 16.
