DRAYTON VALLEY, AB – There are some pretty good memories for anyone that attended events at Rapid Fire Motorsports Park west of Edmonton, Alberta. The Northern Provincial Pipelines Late Model Series made its debut at this track on August 19 and 20th, 2006. Unfortunately August 20th, 2006 would be the last time the sound of racing would be heard at this multi-purpose facility near Drayton Valley.

Facility co-owners Corey Sekura and Arvid Fonstad agree that the track still has a pulse despite holding no events the past four years. “We are going to hold more events,” says a confident Sekura, “yes I do see a big event being here in the not to distant future.”

Labor troubles cancelled all scheduled events in 2007. Former NPP Series competitor Arvid Fonstad says since 2008 several ‘behind the scenes’ roadblocks have been interfering with the operational aspect of the facility. “We need an emergency response plan because of a new sour gas well located near the track. Without this plan we can’t get insurance. Without insurance we can’t race.” The emergency response plan involves the current oil and gas company (that owns the well) and the race track. “It’s not as simple as it sounds,” adds Fonstad, “we had everything in place a couple of years ago then the oil and gas company we were originally dealing with was bought out by another company. We’re back to square one again with the new company and all the lawyers and the endless paperwork.”

Despite the lull in race events at the actual track site, Rapid Fire Motorsports Park is involved in the annual Thunder in the Valley drag event at the Drayton Valley Airport. “We removed our spectator grandstands and loaned them to the organizers of the Thunder in the Valley race,” says Sekura, “as race track promoters we are still actively involved in the community and want to see this event grow.”