STONY PLAIN, AB – The official start of the race season is still several months away but that did not stop the Northern Provincial Pipelines Late Model Series from being an encouragement to many young racers. The 2008 Awana Grand Prix was held Saturday, February 2nd at the East Parkland Bible Church in Stony Plain, Alberta. Close to 150 people were in attendance to watch 37 hand-made wooden race cars (3 classes) entered into the competition.

NPP Late Model Series announcer Gord Craig was special guest announcer for the 10th annual race event. “I had a blast,” says Craig, “it’s been almost 5 months since I called a race. It was an awesome family event with some great racing and plenty of close finishes.”

Four cars competed at a time on a ramp style track. Each car competed in four heat races with points awarded according to where the cars finished. The top four cars with the most points then transferred to the Features. The races even had a rare rollover, a crash at the finish line and one car losing a tire while running second. “It was pretty dramatic near the end,” says NPP racer Mike Tom, “it was fun watching the races and seeing the excitement from both the kids and the parents. They really got into it.”

Before the Features were run, Tom briefly spoke to the crowd on his experiences as a race car driver and the triumphs and struggles that go with it. “It was nice to be involved today and be able to talk to the kids about racing and how you approach winning and losing.” Tom also spoke on the importance of family.

At the end of the event, the NPP Series handed out several special awards to the young racers. “Lucas Oil provided us with some race cars which were a huge hit,” says Craig, “the Awana group had trophies for kids 1st through 3rd so the youngsters that finished 4th got a Lucas Oil race car.” Lucas Oil cars and NPP Die Cast cars were also given away as door prizes during the afternoon. The Northern Provincial Pipelines Late Model Series is proud to be a part of the community. The 2008 season starts May 3rd at Castrol Raceway in Edmonton.

10th ANNUAL AWANA GRAND PRIX
>Saturday, February 2, 2008
East Parkland Bible Church
Stony Plain, Alberta

SPARKS (ages 5 – 9)
1st # 1 Josh Teichgraber – Stony Plain
2nd #11 Mason Simon – Hubbles Lake
3rd # 4 Joshua Morton – Spruce Grove

T & T’s (ages 9 – 13)
1st #21 Maddie Stanton – Stony Plain
2nd #46 Brendon Petkau – Devon
3rd #33 Megan Toews – Duffield

LEADERS
1st #93 Joshua Fehr – Stony Plain
2nd #55 Jeremy McCoy – Duffield
3rd #66 Jamie McAllister – Stony Plain