Stock car racing fans are in for a treat this weekend at PGARA Speedway.
There's a double-whammy coming to the Playground of Power to the city's three-eighths-mile oval track as the Prince George Auto Racing Association hosts the Tri-City Street Stock Series on Saturday and Northern Outlaws 4-Cylinder (pro mini) Invitational Saturday night and Sunday afternoon.
Lyall McComber, the current points leader in PGARA's Canadian Tire street stock series, will be one of the jackrabbits to catch in Saturday's 75-lap main event, as will Arnie Kunka of Williams Lake in Round 2 of the three-stop Tri-City Series.
Kunka won the feature race in the first Tri-City race June 29 at Thunder Mountain Speedway in Williams Lake and always seems to be running with the fast guys at PGARA. McComber finished second in that 23-car race, while Darren Lemky of Williams Lake also made it to the podium, finishing third.
"Sounds like we'll have about 20 cars," said PGARA president Jamie Crawford.
The third and final stop in the Tri-City series is set for Sept. 21 in Quesnel.
The four other PGARA race classes all have money to lure them to the race track tonight, and all drivers will be eligible for a share of the loot. The main event winner in each of the two-day Northern Outlaw 4-Cylinder Invitational (super minis) will earn $1,500, with $800 going to the second-place driver and $500 for third. Crawford is hoping the cash payouts will raise car counts in all the classes.
"We don't normally race for money," said Crawford, who expects to see about eight street stocks entries from Prince George, as well as 12 hornets, and 15 mini stocks and four super minis.
"I'd like to see more street stocks, I'd like to get more of the guys who have cars just sitting around already built or almost built. It's a hard class and it's kind of holding its own. The other car counts, the hornets and minis, have climbed up drastically."
The Canadian Brewhouse Northern Outlaws, Canadian Tire street stocks, Chieftain Auto Parts mini stock and Ron's Towing hornets will be back racing for points Sunday afternoon at PGARA.
The action starts tonight with time trials at 6 p.m. and racing at 7. On Sunday, time trials are at 1 p.m., with racing at 2.
Next Wednesday night, the sprint cars return to Prince George for a night of racing put on by the West Coast Vintage Racing Association. Twenty-eight sprint cars are expected, including local drivers Bob Williams of Prince George, Ron Larson and Bruce Bentley of Quesnel, and former Prince George driver Wendall Moore, who now lives in Kamloops.
Don't be surprised to see King of the Wing sprint car series veteran Jason Conn of Prince George racing a vintage car. Drivers from the Western United States, the Lower Mainland, Vancouver Island and the Okanagan are expected.
"They used to race Wednesday nights back in the day, long before my time," said Crawford. "It's a big series and they do tons of racing in the States. There's some big-name guys who raced in the World of Outlaws that are coming racing. They're just a group of older retired guys and they just tour around and race where they want to."
The sprint cars will be backed by the PGARA racing classes.
The vintage racers are coming to Quesnel's Gold Pan Speedway next Friday and will be in Williams Lake on Saturday, Aug. 24.
