RaceTheBase.ca - Charity Event Website & Registration

Registration Website for Charity Drag Racing Event

Race The Base was a charity motorsport event held at CFB Cold Lake in Alberta, where owners of high-end performance cars paid an entry fee to drag race against a Canadian Forces fighter jet, with all proceeds going to charity. It was as niche and spectacular as it sounds, and it required a registration system built specifically around that unusual format.

I was brought in by Fuel Creative, an Airdrie-based agency that was managing the project and handling all the design and content work. My role was purely technical: build the website and the registration infrastructure that would let competitors sign up, upload photos of their vehicles, pay their entry fees, and receive confirmation, all without manual intervention from the event organizers.

The Registration System

The registration system collected competitor and vehicle details through a custom PHP form with server-side validation, then routed payment through the PayPal API for entry fee processing with automatic fee calculation based on vehicle class. Drivers could upload photos of their cars as part of registration, which fed into the event's promotional materials. The whole thing needed to work reliably for a one-time event with no room for last-minute fixes, so I spent a good amount of time on edge case handling and testing the payment flow end to end before launch.

The event ran without any registration issues, and Trevor at Fuel Creative left a review that I'm still proud of:

"We contracted James to help sort out some website and online logistical challenges with a public charity event that was previously held in the province. James was able to effectively and efficiently resolve the technical challenges and website deliverables as tasked with. The end product worked seamlessly as planned and there were no issues left unresolved. I would highly recommend James for his clear communication and technical expertise with respect to website/technical/database programming services."

Trevor Petrow, Creative Director, Fuel Creative inc.