RIMBEY, AB – Bad weather and racing do not mix.  One only has to look at what transpired at Castrol Raceway in Edmonton and Rimbey’s Central Alberta Raceways on the final weekend of summer.  Both facilities were forced to cancel scheduled motorsports events due to heavy wet snow and below normal temperatures.  The Northern Provincial Pipelines Late Model Series was scheduled to conclude its 2018 season in Rimbey, Alberta on September 15th and 16th.  “This is the second time that we’ve lost a race weekend at Central Alberta Raceways due to snow.”  The NPP Late Model Series has had a unique weather history with Central Alberta Raceways.  “We were the first touring series to compete in Rimbey,” says Craig, “it was a perfect night for racing (July 30, 2005).  The sky was clear, the temperatures were warm.  It was a great night of racing.  We had 17 cars on the track that night.”  In 2006, one of two scheduled races in Rimbey that season was rained out.  Both appearances in Rimbey were affected by the weather in 2007.  “We got snowed out in May.  Almost a foot of snow fell on the region a day before the race weekend.” Two months later, on July 28, 2007, NPP Series drivers were on the opposite end of the weather spectrum.  “It was a day race.  Temperatures were in the low 30’s.  We were forced to halt our Feature on lap 7 due to dust.  Nineteen cars were on the track.  Drivers couldn’t see anything.  Shawn Kennedy was leading the Feature when the Red Flag flew.”

RACE DAY SUNSHINE AT CENTRAL ALBERTA RACEWAYS

From 2008 to 2014, NPP Series officials scheduled nine race events at Central Alberta Raceways.  “We lost seven of those race dates due to rain during this time.  Of the two events we managed to complete, one of the Features was shortened due to rain.”  The NPP Late Model Series managed to escape the deluge of rain outs starting with the season championship weekend in September of 2014.  “We had a good run of race events in Rimbey after that season championship weekend.  We lost only one race date out of ten during this time.”  The 2016 season was the first time in NPP Series history that a scheduled race event in Rimbey was not rained out.  “We scheduled four events in Rimbey that year and completed every one of them.”  Unfortunately the good times did not last.  “Since we are on the topic of weather I guess we can say we are currently enduring a bit of an economic storm right now.”  Alberta’s economic slowdown, which started in late 2015, forced NPP Series officials to cancel the entire 2017 season due to a lack of competitors.  “Unfortunately the low car count woes trickled over into 2018.”  NPP Series officials cancelled its scheduled appearance in Rimbey back in May.  “The economic storm clouds are slowly lifting,” says Craig, “hopefully that means a few more teams in the NPP Series for 2019.”

NPP LATE MODEL SERIES AT C.A.R. 
>RACE DATE & FEATURE WINNERS LISTED
July 30, 2005   Dwight Kennedy
May 13, 2006   Trevor Emond
July 29, 2006   Rained Out
May 26, 2007   Snowed Out
July 28, 2007   Feature cancelled due to dust
July 26, 2008   Brian McCaughan
June 6, 2009   Rained Out
June 12, 2010  Rained Out
June 8, 2012   Rained Out
June 9, 2012   Rained Out
June 23, 2012  Bruce Broughton (rain shortened Feature)
June 9, 2013  Rained Out
June 22, 2013  Rained Out
May 31, 2014  Rained Out
September 20, 2014  Darrell Midgley
September 21, 2014  Darrell Midgley
August 21, 2015  Rained Out
August 22, 2015  Darrell Midgley / Mark Miller (two Features run one night)
September 11, 2015  Bruce Broughton
September 12, 2015  Dean Deatherage
June 10, 2016  Mark Miller
June 11, 2016  Darrell Midgley
September 24, 2016  Darrell Midgley
September 25, 2016  Shawn Kennedy
May 25, 2018  Appearance cancelled by NPP officials
May 26, 2018  Appearance cancelled by NPP officials
September 15, 2018  Snowed Out
September 16, 2018  Snowed Out

NOTE: No NPP Series races scheduled at C.A.R in 2011 or 2017.