It's almost time for 蜜桃视频appresidents Toby Charette and Fred Hinchliffe to invade the track at the Pemberton Speedway.
The two know cars and they've helped use that expertise to compete for nearly two decades in both the 4X4 and stock car racing circuits at the track.
"We're very much car enthusiasts but we're not going to sit there and shine them up all pretty," Charette said. "We want to make them go as fast as possible and wreck the living s--- out of them. We go out there to have fun and beat the living hell out of the cars. We can't do that legally on the street; people get upset."
The 2012 Pemberton Stock Car Association season is approaching, with races running from May to September. Charette said it was a natural transition for he and Hinchliffe to move from 4X4 to stock car racing.
"I'm getting a little bit older and the body is getting a little bit more beat up," he said. "It's softer on the body, a heck of a lot cheaper and there's a lot more local races."
Drivers compete on an oval similar to what you would see on a NASCAR program but it's dirt as opposed to concrete. Unlike 4X4 where cars race one at a time, there are anywhere from four to 16 cars racing at once.
Stock cars are divided into hobby stocks, bombers and hornets. Charette said the more experienced racers and better cars are in the hobby stock division, while the bombers and hornets are more beginner and categorized by the size of the car's engine.
"Instead of trading in the car you've owned for 25 years, you can knock out all the windows and put in a five-point harness seat and you're racing," Charette said, noting that he competes in a 1981 station wagon.
After pre-laps and timing laps, races start in reverse pole position. The one with the fastest qualifying time starts at the back and that car must make its way back to the front, gaining a point for every vehicle it passes. Each race day has a five-lap, 15 lap and 25-lap race in each division.
Charette encourages anyone interested to come to the track to test the sport out.
"My stock car is nothing pretty to look at," he said. "It's a station wagon and it's painted black and white like a cow. But there's everything from late 1940s cars to even some as new as this year. Just about any type of car can be made into a stock car."
He added that stock car racing is relatively safe and can count the number of accidents he's witnessed at the track on one hand. He admitted that he doesn't really know how fast he truly goes but that the hobby cars likely go as fast as 80 km/h.
"I don't really know how fast I go because I don't really look at the speedometer," he said. "I push the pedal all the way to the floor the whole time and don't really use the brakes."
Charette said that anyone interested in joining the series can give him a call at (604) 898-1850.
"We can make arrangements with your car or store the car down at the track," he said. "We've all got extra parts and we can even haul the car down there."
The season officially kicks off on May 12 at 2 p.m. at the Pemberton Speedway, located about 10 minutes north of Whistler.
