EDMONTON, AB. – The motorsport season in the province of Alberta is winding down for another year. Edmonton’s Castrol Raceway wrapped up its 26th consecutive year of oval racing on Saturday, September 10th. Two other tracks, Central Alberta Raceways and Drayton Valley Speedway, still have several oval events remaining on their 2016 schedules. On September 24th and 25th, the Northern Provincial Pipelines Late Model Series will wrap up its 16th consecutive season at the Rimbey, Alberta track. “After our rainout in Edmonton back in May we started our season in Rimbey (in June),” says NPP Series announcer Gord Craig, “for the third consecutive year the season champion will once again be crowned in Rimbey.” The NPP Late Model Series has struggled with a low car count since the drop of the first green flag. “When you go from an average car count of 15 just a few years ago, down to the single digits, there can be a lot of questions.” Craig has fielded plenty of questions since the 2016 season opener when only five cars showed up.

“Where did everybody go was the most common,” admits Craig, “but we weren’t the only class suffering from a decreased car count this year. They were down everywhere.” Not only were car counts down, the number of spectators sitting in the grandstands was down this year also. With unemployment levels in the province of Alberta at their highest levels in twenty-years, racing has not been a priority for many people this season. “I had a nice long chat with one of our drivers back in July. He told me he was receiving a pick slip the end of the month.” Many NPP Series drivers are business owners. “Staying afloat during these tough economic times is the new priority. Park the race car and steer the business is something I heard time and time again in my conversations.” Craig hopes an economic turnaround comes soon in the province of Alberta. Two-time and defending NPP Series champion Darrell Midgley from Sidney, British Columbia has a 27 point lead over Edson, Alberta’s Shawn Kennedy in the point standings. Kennedy, who has never won a NPP Series Championship sits just five points ahead of 2014 NPP Series Champion Mark Miller from Calgary, Alberta. Miller has a three point cushion over 2010 NPP Series Champion Bruce Broughton from Stony Plain, Alberta who sits fourth in the point standings.