On a Sunday evening at the Greene County Airport, the air smells of gasoline, ketchup and gyros. There is a line of tailgating parties that stretch down the first landing strip, and in the midst of all the chatter is the overpowering rumble of car engines.

The Flashlight Drags are an annual event at the Waynesburg airport, which attracts around 1,500 people–including about 200 cars that actually race–according to Jake Blaker, director of Parks and Recreation.

The idea of the event is for drivers to race their cars on a drag strip without the threat of getting arrested, said Blaker—the tagline is “street racing without the jail time,” according to the Flashlight Drags website.

“It’s nice getting to match up with other drivers,” said Nick Wall, of Washington, one of the drivers. “You actually get to see who is faster.”

For most fans of the sport, Flashlight Drags proves to be a way to compare Foreign and American cars to see which is truly faster.

The airport race track that the airport offers is only an eighth of a mile long, which does not give the racer much time to work with. The short track adds another element of competition for racers that can reach speeds of up to almost 100 miles per hour, according to Wall.

But the event is not just about the racing. There is a strong community atmosphere with all the tailgating taking place.

“We came to spend time with family and friends,” said Mike Frazier, a spectator from Washington. “And to see some fast cars.”

The community that this event brings in is typically people already interested in cars, but most of the people are willing to teach their knowledge of drag racing.

Another component of the day involves the car show, a much more relaxed part of the festivities.

This quality of the event brings a large portion of people, who bring their cars just to show off. The lines of cars on display take up a majority of the ground space, with the owners standing or roaming around the immediate area.

The models and brands of cars vary, as well as the years they were produced. A lot of people come to just be in a community and to talk about cars. People show up with a tent, set up by their car and simply enjoy the day.

At the same time, for George Frazier, a racer from Washington, the event was also quite frustrating.

Frazier was having a good day of racing when his car collided with another racer, while they were trying to back out of the parking lot.

The car that George Frazier owns is a recent model Ford Mustang, which costs around $40,000, brand new.

“The damages are not hard to fix but it’s very tedious because all the parts are connected,” said George Frazier.

George Frazier estimates the damages will cost somewhere between $5,000 and $7,000 to repair.

George Frazier, who has been to this event seven times in the past, was shocked upon learning his car was hit.

“Nothing like this has ever happened,” said George Frazier. “I’m just pretty upset.”

However, the incident will not hold him back. After he gets his car fixed he will be back in action for the next race which will be held Oct. 1.

“Don’t worry, I’ll be back next time,” he said.