With clenched fists stretched in front of him, 8-year-old Kyle Molina gripped an invisible steering wheel.
He grinned when the roar of two cars jetting down the track shook the bleachers.
“I was pretending I was driving the car,” he said.
Kyle was one of about 100,000 people who flocked to Auto-Plus Raceway at Gainesville to watch the 44th Annual NHRA Gatornationals, an annual drag racing competition held Thursday to Sunday.
During top fuel qualifying rounds Saturday, pairs of 25-foot-long cars zoomed down the straight track at speeds topping 300 mph.
Brittany Force, 26, was one of the drivers.
Force, who is in her first professional season, said she grew up watching her father compete in drag races. She said she has fond memories of Gainesville races.
“The one thing I always remember about Gainesville are the fans,” she said. “They always have so much energy, and they’re so nice. No matter what happens, whether you win or you lose, they’re always there supporting you.”
Brandon Bernstein, a driver who made it to the second elimination round, said he enjoyed going to compete in Gainesville because of the energy and nightlife connected to the nearby university.
“It’s fun,” he said. “It has a really good feel.”
Nate Cross, Auto-Plus Raceway sales and marketing manager, said the weekend weather helped bring out a lot of people to the event this year.
“A lot of people wait to buy their tickets until the last minute for this event,” he said. “We’re notorious for getting rain.”
Contact Kelcee Griffis at kgriffis@alligator.org.
Racecabinet.com driver Jim Greenheck performs a burnout during the 44th annual NHRA Gatornationals at Auto Plus Raceway Gainesville on Saturday.
