Bob Williams has been around the WESCAR stock racing block a long time.
He got in on the ground floor as a racer when the late-model touring series began in 2000 and, 16 years later, he plans to be gunning for the podium again tonight when WESCAR comes to PGARA Speedway for its only Prince George stop of the season, the Mr. Quick/White Spruce Enterprises 100.
A lot has changed since WESCAR arrived on the provincial racing scene as a more-affordable alternative to CASCAR. The province's economy has taken a series of hits and racers are finding it tougher than ever to lock up sponsorships to help share the costs. The series lost its title sponsor four years ago when OK Tire backed out, but it remains the premier stock car circuit in the province, giving drivers from the Prince George Auto Racing Association a higher level of racing to aspire to.
Williams wasn't part of the 14-car field for the WESCAR season-opener in Williams Lake two weeks ago. He says he'll enter only three of the five WESCAR races this year but will travel to Victoria for the Canada 200 in September and is also planning a Las Vegas race. At 57, Williams says age is creeping up on him and he's busy with his work as owner/operator of Williams Petroleum.
A similar number of cars are expected in tonight's race at PGARA and while he'd love to be racing on a crowded three-eighths mile oval, Williams knows that's not going to happen any time soon.
"Fourteen cars is not bad, if you go to any series in anywhere in North America, the only races where you're seeing 30-car fields are at those great big shows where a lot of money is up for grabs," Williams said. "Corporate sponsors are not as easy to nail down. It might be (better) to work with local sponsors for local races, because then they get something out of it."
Known originally as the Western Canadian Speed Association when it formed in 2000, the series became Western Canadian Auto Racing (WESCAR) the following year, and has since gone through a series of name changes. In 2009, the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) got involved as the sanctioning body, which lasted until 2013, when the American Speed Association (ASA) took over. Last year it went back to its WESCAR roots.
Williams served as president of the series from 2003-12. He was the season points champion in 2004 and 2006 and was the runner-up five times. While he's no longer full-time racing, that doesn't mean he's lost any love of his for the sport, as he was reminded last week when he was hot-lapping at PGARA Speedway in his Monte Carlo.
"It felt good," said Williams. "When you get in there and step on that loud pedal, it's fun. I'm confident we will be a car capable to win, but to win a race in this series you have to have all the pieces in the puzzle together. That works on starting position, your set-up and some luck."
Tonight's race is the second stop in a five-race series. WESCAR will be in Quesnel for Billy Barker Days July 16, Agassiz on Aug. 6, Williams Lake on Aug. 27 and the series wraps up Sept. 16 in Quesnel.
Vernon, and its high-banked half-mile tri-oval, used to be a favourite on the WESCAR circuit for racers. But that track has closed, mired in a legal battle with local homeowners over noise complaints. Mayert, a WESCAR director, said WESCAR is considering adding a second race dates to Prince George and Agassiz next year and will look into returning to Terrace and Hythe, Alta.
"There's a road course track being built in the South Okanagan (in Osoyoos) and there's some talk abut doing some testing there this fall to see if our cars would be compatible with the track," said Mayert.
"There are some safety considerations. You're going that much faster and you're using a lot more brake and turning in both directions, our cars are meant to turn one direction, so if we have to turn the other way there are some things we'll have to change."
One thing Mayert hopes never changes is how close the racing is in WESCAR. On any given night, it's tough to predict who will finish in the winner's circle. But if you had to single out the most dominant driver in WESCAR's history, it's hard to look beyond Korbin Thomas. He's been the series champion in six of the 15 years and is the three-time defending champ.
"He is definitely the bar the rest of us aim for," said Mayert. "He's just a good driver with a good team and good car prep. He's been at it a long time and he's very knowledgeable."
Two weeks ago in the series opener in his hometown of Williams Lake, Thomas took over the lead from Quesnel's Dave Olson, 60 laps in, and held it to win the 100-lap feature at Thunder Mountain Raceway. Olson was right on Thomas's tail until late in the race.
Mayert finished fifth in Williams Lake and the 2008 series champion says he's struggling to find the formula to qualify with fast guys in his Ford Fusion. Home track advantage won't hurt the chances of Mayert and his pit crew tonight, and local drivers Williams and Logan Jewell, the fourth-place finisher in Williams Lake, have to be thinking the same thing.
"This is our home track and if we don't do well here we have to really look at what we're doing, you can't lay an egg in your own house," Mayert chuckled. "We have been good here, we've just gotten away from that. We won four times in a row here in 2007, 2008 and 2009, we just need to get back to that."
The PGARA street stock, mini stock and hornets series also race tonight, sharing the spotlight with WESCAR and the new Northern Outlaw 4s pro mini series. Mayert is encouraged by the surge of interest in the street stock series provincially and he's hoping more drivers will consider making the jump to WESCAR.
Time trials start tonight at 6 p.m., with racing to follow at 7. If tonight's races are rained out, they'll try again Sunday with time trials at 1 p.m. and racing at 2.
