Some Williams Lake racers took home trophies from the WL Forestry/NAPA Thunder Mountain Speedway season opener Saturday, June 15.
The rain ended up cutting the evening short, so the trophies were presented in the pit after most of the crowd had already gone home.
In the hornet class, Cole Bird won the fastest time in the main and the dash, while Emily Thomas got second in the main.
Brian Bettles won the B-dash trophy and placed third in the main.
The Legends main was rained out, but there were still winners from the day.
Kayden Fraser won overall.
He garnered the fastest time in the qualifier and won the heat.
Willy Van Allen won the A-dash trophy.
Van Allen lives in 70 Mile House but said home track is Thunder Mountain.
His stepdaughter Jill Desilets from West Kelowna also competed Saturday.
It is her first year and Saturday was her third race.
"The last one she competed in with some pretty good racers. They put her into the wall and upside down barrel roll on her load in my car, that's why it's all scratched," he said. "How's that for a learning curve?"
The Legends, he explained, are factory-built, full-purpose race cars with the chassis underneath, the same as big cars.
"They have a Yamaha motorcycle engine 1250s mounted in there sideways, 140 horse power, 11 to 12 hundred pounds. They are designed to race and are North American and world-wide."
He "loves" it, he said of racing Legends.
"Those cars are $90,000 to $100,000," he said pointing to the Wescar race on the track. "These are $8,000 to $10,000. They are fast insane little machines."
Arnie Kunka was the only street stock qualifier with a time of 16.800 that broke the track record.
"His son Donny Kunka had the track record prior," said Lynn Dunford, executive member. "Arnie put his son Donny on notice that he plans to break that record at Stampede."
The father and son drove two of four cars in a memorial lap for the late Buz Farnsworth from Quesnel
She ran the concession for years at the Gold Pan Race Track in Quesnel.
"She was everybody's oldest grandma," Donny said.
Mike Spooner, also from Quesnel, was the evening's back flagman.
He said his wife, Kathy Spooner, made the black flags the drivers held out of the driver's window as they did the memorial lap.
The flags had #31 Buz on them, as she was a racer as well.
Due to rain, the Wescar series race was stopped after 39 laps.
Dunford said the racers competed Friday night at PGARA in Prince George and the points from both nights would be combined to determine the winner.
Racing in the Wescar from Williams Lake was two-time Wescar champion Kendall Thomas.
"I've been racing for over 40 years," he said. "I raced all around in Washington and Oregon too."
He said he struggled with Friday night's race, but hung in for seventh place.
"I have an old car. It was built in 1996 but has won three championships."
Describing racing as a "family gig," he said his dad Earl Thomas raced when the track was out at Sugar Cane and his daughter Emily races in the hornet class.
Dunford said the next main event will be the Stampede weekend hit-to-pass, tri-city race series and all-class inviational.
