‘Run what you brung’ at Greene County’s Flashlight Drags
Ryan Napierkowski starts every race by pushing a button to signal the drivers to go.
Drivers rev their engines as they work their way up to the starting line for the Flashlight Drags at Greene County Airport.
Trophies made from old rusty car parts, along with bragging rights, go to the winners of the Flashlight Drags at Greene County Airport.
John Sperry of Shinnston, W.Va., stands next to his Jeep that he races in the Flashlight Drags.
Rhythm Caffrey-Bauman, 8, left, and Emma Mayhle, 8, both of Belle Vernon, have fun watching the cars drive by.
Scott Spehar, general manager of the Ron Lewis dealership and driver of a 2016 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat, front, races down the tarmac during the Flashlight Drags.
Austin Kiger and his father, Ed Kiger, both of Spraggs, participated in the recent Flashlight Drags at Greene County Airport. Austin Kiger took home the trophy.
WAYNESBURG – Just before going from zero to 100 in six seconds, the drivers’ minds go blank as they concentrate on the starting lights waiting to flash.
Then they’re off, pressed into their seats with their right foot mashing the gas pedal into the floorboard as the smell of fumes and the sound of the engines reverberate through the air.
These racers fight their spinning tires on the cold track trying to keep the vehicle straight, focusing on the Greene County Airport’s runway ahead of them and hoping to see their lane light flash, showing they won.
That is why the many people involved in the Greene County Flashlight Drags come out to the five races held every year, according to event organizer Michael Schindel.
“This gives people who are passionate about cars a legal and safe outlet for racing,” Schindel said. “That’s why we are all here, to see who’s fastest.”
For the race, vehicles line up and drag race two at a time down the runway. A flashlight was the old way of sending off the vehicles during illegal street races, although the modern event now uses a trigger light system.
“Anyone with a vehicle can come and race whoever they want all day,” Greene County Recreation Director Jake Blaker said.
Later in the day, vehicles are placed into “fair categories” to race each other in the single-elimination grudge matches for the trophies and the title.
“We like to say, ‘You run what you brung,'” Blaker said.
And that’s exactly what the racers do. The long line of vehicles waiting to have their chance on the runway is a melting pot of styles, eras, horsepower and hidden treasures.
Scott Spehar, the general manager of the Ron Lewis car dealership in Waynesburg, this year raced the brand new 2016 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat the dealership owns. It’s the fastest professional muscle car on the road today with 707 horsepower. Dodge made only 3,800.
“We are lucky to have one,” Spehar said. “The races are a good marriage for our business and for our community. It’s the perfect place to showcase a car like this.”
In the same line behind the sparkling red Challenger was a beat-up brown 1976 Jeep owned by veteran drag racer John Sperry of Shinnston, W.Va.
“I’ve drag raced for 46 years now. I don’t fish. I don’t hunt. I just enjoy cars,” Sperry said. “I’ve been coming to this race since the very first one in 2000 because it’s not as serious and it is a relaxing afternoon.”
The Jeep doesn’t look like much, but it is known as one of the fastest vehicles at the drag races.
“What’s under the hood is more important,” Sperry said.
The small-block Chevy engine can push up to 736 horsepower. Sperry said that he has worked his way up to be able to handle that speed and advises new racers to start out slower.
Austin Kiger, 19, of Spraggs, who races a classic 1967 Dodge Coronet, finds that many of the seasoned racers don’t take him seriously at first, thinking he is just starting out. But what other racers don’t know is he has been learning about cars alongside his father, Ed Kiger, since he was 10 years old. Austin made a name for himself at the drag races when he won the entire race at 16.
It was his first race.
“It takes a lot of determination and a lot of hours to be a good racer,” Kiger said
The Flashlight Drags season ended last Sunday, and the young racer proved himself once again by winning the title of fastest “big dog” and taking home the trophy. Now he’s setting his sights on taking home more trophies next season while enjoying the fun afternoons with friends.
“This race is a place for anyone who enjoys cars to share their knowledge and to give it their all out on the track,” he said.