The green flag is about to be waved and drivers will step on the gas Saturday night to launch the 2015 season at PGARA Speedway Park.
That's when hornet, mini stock and street stock classes will line up on the Prince George Auto Racing Association track and race for double points.
"It's a double points day and that's a pretty big day," said PGARA president Chris Arronge. "If you miss this, you're out of the running for the championship."
There will also be a big payout in the Canadian Tire street stocks, with $1,000 available.
The main-event winner receives $250, second place gets $150, third place gets $100 and the remaining $500 will be split amongst the remaining main-event drivers.
Arronge predicts there will be about 12 street stocks in the running for the big purse.
In 2014, all three divisions were captured by first-time champions - Gary Howard (hornets), Lawrence Barks (mini stocks) and Jerry Gascon (street stocks).
There are seven other races on PGARA's calendar for 2015, including: WESCAR on June 14; hit-to-pass main event days on June 20 and July 4; the Tri-Cities Street Stocks Invitational on Aug. 15; hit to pass on Aug. 29-30; and the final race day on Sept. 5.
The hit-to-pass main event days will also feature racing in the three PGARA classes. On those days, it'll be 'start your engines and go.' There won't be any time-ins, dashes or heats. Lineups will be drawn from the first two race-day points.
"There will be no qualifying," said Arronge. "We'll just start with the main and it's straight racing. There is a 150-lap main for hit to pass so that's a bonus."
The Tri-Cities Race Series now features four stops on the calendar for 2015.
The series, which originally featured stock car races in Williams Lake, Prince George and Quesnel, was given a boost this year when Penticton got the green flag to host a race.
That means stock car racers from across the province and Washington State are now competing against one another.
The series dates back to the early 1970s when stock car races were held every weekend in one of the three cities in central B.C. The series eventually sputtered out but was re-ignited in 2013. In 2014, as it was opened up to drivers across the province, between 20 and 29 cars lined up at each of the three races.
Prince George's Tri-Cities race will be the third in the line-up this summer after stops in Williams Lake on June 27 and Penticton on Aug. 1.
On opening night Saturday, time trials begin at 6 p.m. followed by racing at 7 p.m. Admission is $10 for adults, $6 for ages six to 18, while those who are five-and-under, seniors and disabled get in free.
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