It's red and white and shiny all over. And it will come in handy in case of an emergency.
The Prince George Auto Racing Association unveiled its acquisition of a decommissioned ambulance last Saturday night prior to the green flag at the Chieftain Auto Parts Hit to Pass.
"It's a 2006 ambulance that's in excellent shape," said PGARA director Shane Murphy. "It has a Ford motor and we worked with B.C. Ambulance Service to get the right one. It's actually a gift from the Ministry of Health and if it wasn't for the assistance of [Prince George-Valemount MLA] Shirley Bond, we couldn't have made this deal work."
Bond was at the track Saturday night and said she was "absolutely thrilled" her office and the provincial Ministry of Health could help out PGARA.
PGARA president Chris Arronge said it's a big improvement on what first aid attendants have used in the past.
"Right now the first aid attendants work out of their car and they don't have a place to give patients the proper attention they need," he said.
Murphy added there were a number of reasons why the organization wanted a standard ambulance at its events.
"It provides a safe, private, clean facility [for patients and first aid attendants] and it can help meet the need of other organizations outside of PGARA that require first aid at their events," he said. "And we have had an ambulance in the history of PGARA for 60 years. There was a big old station wagon, complete with a siren mounted on the fender, then there was a suburban that was white with PGARA decals. In the late '80s and early '90s it was part of the community and it reminded me of the good times spent out at the track. When people in the city saw it, it reminded them of the good times at PGARA."
The ambulance will be driven by first aid attendants at the track during race weekends, including PGARA's Canadian Tire championship finale tonight.
During the off-season and in the race season next summer, Murphy plans to use the ambulance away from the track to promote PGARA and its upcoming events.
Last week, PGARA launched its first food drive to support the Salvation Army. Each race team has until today to gather as many non-perishable food items as they can. They will earn one championship point for every 10 pounds of food they collect to a maximum of 10 points.
Racing fans who attend tonight's finale can bring food that will be donated to the Salvation Army.
"This is our first year doing it and we should be able to collect 1,200 pounds of food," said Murphy.
As for the championship finale of the Inland Kenworth Hornets, Chieftain Auto Parts Mini Stocks and Richmond Steel Street Stocks, qualifying begins at 6 p.m. followed by racing at 7 p.m.
In the hornets division, Gary Howard and his No. 56 car lead the way with 84 points after four races. Hanna Breaman and her No. 52 car sit in second place with 61 points, followed by Keely Rommel and her No. 68 car with 55 points.
In the mini stocks, Devin Barks/Rick Worthington's No. 18 sits atop the standings with 147 points after five races. Lawrence Barks and his No. 8 car follow in second place with 135 points. Trevor Reinart and his No. 60 car are in third place with 72 points.
In the street stocks, Prince George's Jerry Gascon and his No. 6 car top the standings with 221 points after five races. P.G.'s Wayne French and his No. 73 car are close behind with 183 points in second place, followed by Dave Adrian and his No. 4 car with 150 points.
Admission is $10 for adults, $6 for those ages six to 18, while seniors, the disabled and kids under the age of five get in free.
