Heath Ceperley longs for the days when the Spruce Capital Karting Association (SCKA) was a thriving club.
In its heyday in the early 2000s, the club involved 40 families and it wasn't uncommon on race weekends in the summer to see the track at PGARA Speedway Park crawling with people who would camp overnight in their trailers and motorhomes.
But the crash of the city's forest-based economy took its toll and as much as hurt to give up the thrill of racing their karts and the social aspect of getting to know their fellow racers and their families, the reality was the sport became unaffordable for many racers.
Prince George wasn't the only place that suffered. The effects of the economic downturn were felt in Quesnel and Williams Lake, and after 2005, the Central Interior Karting Series pretty much faded into the background.
Now down to just three racing families, the SCKA is trying to revive itself and is turning to the local business community to lend a hand. Ceperley, a SCKA director, has started to track down business owners in the city willing to pay the cost of a kart to be used by club members. Under Ceperley's plan, each kart would be painted and decalled to represent the sponsor, and the sponsored karts would then be made available to several club members to use on race days and for evening practice sessions.
"Things did go downhill because of the expense and how the economy was going and now that things are slow we're trying to get more people interested in karting and we're trying to find ways to make it more affordable," said Ceperley.
"We'd like to get corporate sponsorship, enough to purchase a kart from each business. If people have to buy their own karts, and the tools, tires and motors, and what it takes to haul it to the track, that gets expensive -- probably $3,000 to get set up right from scratch. But if we can get enough corporate sponsors to purchase karts, we can bring it more in reach of single parents. If we can get a dozen karts, we should get it so everybody can afford to go racing."
Ceperley figures with enough sponsored karts on hand, the cost for new members would be about $500 per season. Club membership in the SKCA is $200 per family and there are also racing fees of $35 per day.
"If we can bring it back to a price range that the average person could afford, then we can bring life back to the club," Ceperley said. "I just need the sponsors to come up with $1,500 or $2,000, and then that's not just a one-year sponsorship. Those karts would be put there every year. Then we'd just need a small sponsorship every year, just to keep the kart going."
He said any new members would be instructed on kart operation and track safety before they are allowed out on the track.
Ceperley and the families of SKCA president Kelly Lienert and club director Verner Yungen are preparing for the regional event in Quesnel, Aug. 12-14. The Quesnel track is home to the Cariboo Kart Racers, which has about 12 members involved. The Cariboo Raceway Park course is 900 metres long, with elevation changes of up to seven metres, and it is considered one of the top kart tracks in Canada, having hosted the ASN Canada national championships in 2000.
The clubs in Prince George and Quesnel belong to the B.C. Karting Association, which has member tracks in Mission, Chilliwack and Duncan.
Kart racing is a first stepping stone for professional drivers who go on to make it big in NASCAR, IndyCar or Formula One racing, having spawned the likes of Greg Moore, and Jacques Villeneuve. Locally, Logan Jewell, who now races the ARCA OK Tire Sportsman Series, the top class of stock car racing in B.C., made his mark as a nationally-ranked kart racer when he was a young teenager.
Ceperley would like to see pocket motorcycles racing on the track and a possible revival of the 100cc bike series that used to race in Prince George. The track could also be used for radio controlled vehicle operators.
There is one more local race weekend planned for PGARA Raceway Park, Sept. 10-11.
For more information call Ceperley 250-963-8383 or Lienert 250-561-7023.
