The day she became a third-generation stock car racer, 14-year-old Megan Arronge got news she didn't want to hear in the pre-race drivers meeting.
Thinking she'd be making her racing debut June 20 with just two other cars in the entry-level hornet class, Arronge was stunned to learn the hornets would be lumped together with the mini stocks to make it more interesting for spectators watching from the stands at PGARA Speedway.
"I was terrified, there were so many cars there and the minis are really fast," said Megan. "I totally rode my brakes the whole time, the brake pads were all worn away and we had to get new stuff. Next time I'll definitely not use the brakes so much.
"Everyone starts out bad."
Rather than line up next to seasoned mini stock racers Nathan Linfitt and the Barks brothers, Devin and Lawrence, race officials granted a request from Megan's father Dan that she start at the back of the pack.
Megan was taken by surprise when she went into one of the corners with mini stocks on either side of her. She had no idea until then a third racing groove does exist at PGARA Speedway.
"One car came up on top of me in the corner and one car came from underneath me and kind of trapped me in the middle," she said. "I didn't lose it but it was terrifying.
"It's kind of hard racing people with like five years of racing experience. It's scary. The pressure's on and people are watching."
Considering her bloodlines, Megan was born to race stock cars.
Her father Dan, 39, is a three-time street stock champion who started racing in the Prince George Auto Racing Association the day he turned 16. Her uncle Chris, 41, is a three-time PGARA street stock champion who also won two hobby stock and two thunder class championships before moving up to CASCAR, Canada's top stock racing class, for a two-year stint. Now in his eighth season as PGARA president, Chris also raced the WESCAR series and has had a taste of open-wheel racing.
Megan's grandfather Steve, who celebrated his 63rd birthday Friday at his home in Mexico where he owns a bed and breakfast near Puerto Vallarta, was one of the region's dominant drivers in the '80s and '90s. Steve won seven super stock titles and also raced claimers, hobby stocks and super modified open-wheel cars. He also served as PGARA president for 10 years.
Megan has been around stock car racing since she was baby and the subject is never far removed from family conversations.
She's learned how to turn a wrench and how to drive a standard transmission.
"There's always cars around, always something to be working on, I've learned a lot watching them," said Megan. "Some days I get angry working on the car if I can't figure it out. It took me like an hour to bolt some weight into the back of the car and it's a 10-minute job.'
Megan is splitting the driving duties with Alex Tarnowski, the 15-year-old son of Arronge's Tri-Par Racing crew member Paul Tarnowski.
Alex had the fast time in qualifying for his first race May 23 but made a rookie mistake two laps into his first race when he took a corner too fast and hit the wall, which bent the frame of the Dodge Shadow.
Last year, Dan Arronge and Paul Tarnowski installed a passenger seat in the Dodge and used it to offer free rides to young drivers to learn how to race. When Dan told the story of the untimely end of their car to the owners of Prince George Auto Wreckers they donated a 2002 Chevy Cavalier to replace the Dodge as a teaching tool for the hornet series.
Megan will get her chance it race again on July 20.
Dan and his wife Kirby are all for Megan learning how to drive in the confines of a race track, which they figure is a lot safer than the less-predictable environment of city streets. Dan was seven when his dad used to put him on his lap and take him and his brother Chris for rides in his street stock.
"I'm kind of nervous watching her do it, it's a bit rough on them being 14 years old and having no experience racing cars," said Dan.
"I think every kid should learn how to drive on the race track because you've got a full roll cage around you and people to tell you what to do and what not to do.
"In situations where you're sliding and your back end is loose it will teach you how to correct it and how not to overcorrect it and I think it's a perfect lesson for kids, especially in Prince George where it's all ice and snow in the winter."
Hopefully not all like father, like daughter
Dan hopes Megan doesn't ever repeat the mischief he got into as a 16-year-old, racing in the streets.
"I stole my dad's Corvette once," he said. "I waited until he was out of town and drove it downtown and went down Winnipeg Street in the wrong lane and got chased by the cops - the whole nine yards," he said. "I actually veered into a guy's carport and shut the lights off and got away with it.
"The car Megan's driving is not a hot rod, it's a pretty basic car and hopefully at the end of this year we'll put her in the street stock and let her take it for a rip.
She'll feel what horsepower is like and hopefully it will keep her entertained and make her want to do this for a few years."
Chris and Dan have fixed up a 1980 Camaro and gave it a spiffy blue paint job with eagle decalling to race in the street stock class and take turns driving it, each picking a different race date.
The Arronge brothers trail series leader Wayne French by 14 points heading into tonight's races.
"He's won two main events and Dan won one main event and we've timed in faster than him twice and he's timed in faster than us once, so we're pretty close," said Chris.
Starting with time trials at
6 p.m., all three PGARA racing series will be in action tonight. Racing gets underway at 7, followed by the second hit-to-pass of the year.
A scarcity of cheap cars to be used as cannon fodder for hit-to-pass has dropped car counts below 10 and PGARA decided this year to combine the event with the regular stock car classes.
"It's a good way to showcase our local racing and give people a taste of what our local stock car racing's about," said Chris. "We've been charging regular pricing for it too and we had a big crowd there last time."
