It’s a custom car builder’s ultimate dream to win a Ridler Award – and it just might be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to watch that Ridler award-winner drag racing in Osoyoos.

“Rarely, if ever, does a car-lover have an opportunity to see a Ridler winning car be driven, much less raced on a drag track,” said Chip Sabyan, a member of the Wine Country Racing Association (WCRA).

The WCRA is a group of drag racing enthusiasts that put on drag races in Osoyoos. Right now they are putting the finishing touches on the fifth annual “Rumble in the Valley” Car Club Challenge, and this year, it has a new twist.

“Fans will be delighted to see beautiful vehicles from car clubs throughout the Okanagan Valley, settling their grudges on the drag track,” said Sabyan. But this year there will also be a special appearance from 2014 Detroit Autorama Chevrolet Performance Ridler award winner JF Launier, of Osoyoos, B.C.

Launier will be entering his award-winning vehicle, called “Rivision,” on behalf of the Coachmasters club of the South Okanagan.

Launier – with the help of many others – put in more than 20,000 hours to build his Ridler winner – a 1964 Riviera that won global acclaim at the Detroit Autorama earlier this year. According to the Autorama website, the award emphasizes creativity, engineering and workmanship, and the minimum standard is that the vehicle must be minimally operable (It must start, move forward and backward under its own power, turn left and right and stop using the brake pedal).

But let’s hope Revision can do a bit more than that on the Osoyoos track, because the members of the Okanagan Rodtiques and the Kelowna Kustoms car clubs are no doubt itching to take it down.

The drag racing takes place at the Richter Pass Motorplex on Sunday, Sept. 28. Gates open at  9 a.m. Racing begins at 11 a.m. with the final elimination rounds beginning at 1 p.m.  on Sept 28. Admission is $10, free for those 12 and under. It is a drug and alcohol-free event, with concessions available on site. Fill the grandstands, bring along your lawn chair, or back your pick-up up to “redneck row.”

Any drivers interested in racing  their own vehicles must come early to register and pass through safety inspection. For more information, check outwww.winecountryracing.ca or call 250-498-6443.