We don't have NASCAR races in northern BC but we do have the next best thing - snowmobile ice racing.

Take a stock snowmobile, increase the engine power as much as possible, lower the suspension so the belly pan is two inches off the ground, add razor sharp skis to the front and hard carbide studs to the track at the rear.

Hold tight because an ice-racing sled can stick to a sharp icy corner almost better than the driver.

If speed, the whine of a racing engine and hang-on-tight racing appeals to you, ice racers meet on Burns Lake in February to race a closed course on the frozen lake for a total of 200 miles (320 kilometers) at speeds up to 126 miles per hour.

The race course is just a bit under 3 miles long (4.7 kilometers) and includes many hairpin curves. This is a great spectator sport if you can keep your toes and fingers warm.

All classes and sizes of snowmobiles race together. Some machines are more powerful than others. Speed is important but reliability is often the key to winning. You can't win if you spend a lot of time fixing broken parts.