Brent Marshall loves his cars.
The dealer principal of Northland Chrysler Jeep Dodge owns a 12-cylinder mid-engine Lamborghini Murcilago, a 600-horspower Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG, an Audi R8, a Dodge Viper and a 1970s-era Dodge Challenger muscle car.
All those cars are built to be driven fast. Problem is, where can do you that legally?
For Marshall that place is the quarter-mile drag strip at Prince George Motorsports Park, nine kilometres northwest of the city off Chief Lake Road.
On any given Friday during racing season, Marshall and dozens of other race car enthusiasts will be getting together for Northland Chrysler Friday Night Street Legal racing. It's their chance to see who has the quickest reaction time at the start line and who can get to the finish line first. And in bracket racing, you don't have to have an expensive race car.
As long as it passes technical inspection, any vehicle deemed street worthy can enter the Friday night bracket races. You might see Marshall lined up at the start in an exotic sports car taking on a domestic mini-van. Those older clunkers are given a head start, then it's up to drivers in the faster cars to make up for lost time and beat them to the finish.
"The neat thing is you can show up in any vehicle -- street bikes, diesel trucks, guys with their 4X4s, and kids in [Chrysler] Neons," said Marshall.
"We just have a riot out there, and it's inexpensive. There's places for kids to play, and parents can walk amongst the cars in the pits talking to everybody. People get to see the new cars and how they perform. The fun part for the owners that buy these sports cars is you get a chance to see what they can do, and you can't do that on the street."
The track provides a safe, controlled area to race that allows drivers to test the limits of their vehicles rather risking their lives in a street race. They can tweak their cars with performance racing parts or tires and come back to the track to measure how those improvements improve their quarter-mile times.
"If you have this available to the younger generation it means they're not racing late at night downtown," said Marshall. "You can do it on Friday night and actually do it safely and you can bring your buddy out. There are a lot of grudge matches that go on out there, which makes it a riot. They get to prove who really is faster."
Marshall has raced street legal events at other tracks like Mission Raceway or Phoenix International Raceway and he says Prince George rates as a bargain in comparison.
"It's cheaper than anywhere I've ever been, you pay $20 to tech your car and you can do as many passes as you like," said Marshall. "That's unheard of at these other places. Usually you pay more money, you have to show up on time to be [inspected], and you're lucky to get called up two or three times a night.
"I've been doing it for years with everything from an old Challenger to a new final-edition Viper. It's a fun event."
Friday Night Street Legal racing at PGMP starts May 27 and will continue every Friday from 6-9 p.m., excluding long weekends, until early September.
