The wildest ride in town continues in the heart of Sparks, with cars hitting the blacktop for Hot August Nights' thrilling Drag Races & Burnouts competition.
We're used to seeing these cars sit idle, but dozens of them are showing off their speed and power on the drag strip at John Ascuaga's Nugget.
"This is what they did in the 50's and 60's. It's what our parents did," says drag racing participant Tim Rose.
In his 1923 car, Rose tore up the drag strip all afternoon Wednesday. Which is exactly what this event is made for.
"Primarily designed to let them run those old cars as long and as fast as they can," says Geoff St. John, chairman for the drag races.
The drag strip isn't quite 1/8 mile, but some of the hot rods got going pretty quick for being street legal.
"I build them to drive them," says Rose. "I drive mine everywhere."
For $25, Hot August Nights' members can race their cars all night. What makes this event so cool, is that even non-members can join in on the action for $45.
That means grandma's old Buick can line up against a Pontiac GTO or Chevy Corvette.
"What's fun about it, is any car that's street legal, you can run out here," says Jim Richards, a Hot August Nights volunteer and drag race participant.
Along with the racing, you also have the burnouts. We got to see a trial run for Fred Shoemaker and his 1964 Chevy.
"Try to make some noise, do some burnouts and try to draw a crowd," he says.
It's the perfect competition for drivers to have some fun, away from any potential speeding tickets.
"Come out here, do your burnouts so you don't get in trouble on the streets again," says Shoemaker, while laughing.
The racing continues every night through Saturday, costing spectators $10 to check it out.
Written by Adam Rasmussen
