It's that time of year again - time to hit the throttle, turn the wheel and take the green flag.

Stateline Speedway begins its 2013 campaign with the return of the Wednesday Night Fever this week, with the popular Road Runners, Fever 4 and Bump to Pass divisions welcoming back race fans to the facility on Beck Road.

Gates open at 5 p.m., with qualifying at 6 and racing at 7:15.

This Saturday the Street Stocks, Sportsman Hobby Stocks, Legends and Bandoleros are in action. Qualifying is at 6 and racing again at 7:15.

Sunday morning the track hosts street-legal open (amateur) drifting, with gates opening at 10 a.m., and spectators passes available for $5. Drifting involves sliding a car sideways around the track, and takes great skill to keep the drive wheels moving at a high speed without the driver losing control of the vehicle.

Other drifting dates include May 12, June 9, July 28, Aug. 18, Sept. 8 and Sept. 22. Team Tandem Drifting (Oct. 5) and a final drifting session (Oct. 6) will conclude the racing season at the track.

The Northwest Modifieds invade Stateline on April 20, with Early Stocks and Baby Grands in a support role.

The Hydrive Late Model series begins its 2013 campaign on April 27, sharing the bill with Hobby Stocks and the popular Figure 8 racers.

The Mel Auckerman Memorial 50-lap race will be run Wednesday, May 8.

The Super Late Models pull out of the pits on Saturday, June 8, with Hobby Stocks, Legends and Bandoleros.

A special Wednesday Night Fever happens on June 12, with the Bump to Pass Death Whip Chain Race as the main event.

"This is our flagship program," Stateline Speedway promoter Larry Bertrand said. "It is full-contact racing and not only are you allowed to wreck the guy in front of you, but you get points if you do.

"For the chain race, we'll have either 1 or 2 cars hooked to the back of your BTP (Bump to Pass) car. Those cars have no steering or brakes, but they will have a pilot. When you have a train that long, the tail end of the train ends up pulling the whole train around the track, so it makes for quite a show."

Bertrand said the BTP racers will combine back into one class this year, and he said so far he has 44 cars registered for the series.

For diesel fans, the North American Big Rigs return on Saturday, June 15, with Street Stocks, Sportsman and Figure 8s also in action.

TheV8 Special Hydrive Late Model event is slated for June 22. "Normally on Saturday nights we have the smaller engine classes in support, but for this event you can watch three different classes running V8 engines," Bertrand said.

The Wednesday Night Fever Mid-Season Championship is slated for June 26.

Sprint cars will be whipping down the straightaway on Saturday, June 29, as part of the Super Shoe Night, as WWS and NSRA Winged Sprints will fill the pits.

The track will host its annual demolition derby and fireworks show on Wednesday, July 3.

Northwest Modifieds, Baby Grands, and Street Stocks will be in action on July 13, and the Faster Pastor Race (yes, local clergy in action!) will run on Thursday, July 18.

"This will be a charity event," Bertrand said. "Since the track owns the racing school now (www.raceastockcar.com), we are helping to raise money for 12 different churches in the Coeur d'Alene/Post Falls area by teaching 24 pastors how to drive, and then that night they will race each other (in heats).

"The event is backed by the power of prayer, so I hope to not crash any cars," Bertrand said.

The Outlaw Compact Shootout is Saturday, July 20.

The Idaho 200 weekend kicks off on Friday, Aug. 2, with the Super Late Model qualifying, last chance qualifier and Northwest Outlaw Figure 8s. The 200-lap Idaho 200 is Saturday, Aug. 3, with gates opening at 5 p.m.

Bertrand noted that former Idaho 200 champs Gary Lewis and Garrett Evans have committed to run all three of the Super Late Model events at Stateline this year, in addition to a stellar group of local racers, guaranteeing some exciting on-track action.

West Coast Street Stocks are in action on Aug. 10, and the Northwest Modified All Star Memorial 100 runs on Aug. 24. The NW Modifieds will also race on Sept. 28.

A special event for the BTP division is the first-ever boat race on Aug. 21. Bertrand said each car will be pulling a 22-foot fiberglass boat, without the trailer. Carnage will ensue.

Another BTP special event is Sept. 18, which is titled '2nd to win.' For this event, first place pays $75, but if you can manage to cross the finish line in second place, you take home $500. Bertrand said a lot of strategy (team and individual) will play out during the event.

The two Friday drifting events (June 14 and Aug. 23) will be the 'big-money events,' according to Bertrand. "It's going to be a good show, as we welcome drifters from Seattle, Oregon and Montana, among others to compete for prize money with a regular audience."

The Sunday drifting events only have seating for spectators in the pits.

Jerry Hitchcock is a sports writer for The Press. He can be reached at 664-8176, Ext. 2017, or via email at jhitchcock@cdapress.com