HENDRICKS COUNTY, Ind. — With sounds that can be heard for miles around, the NHRA U.S. Nationals at Lucas Oil Raceway are impossible to miss.
You'll start to hear the roar of the engine minutes before you actually see the entrance to the raceway. Once inside, first time fans were shocked to hear and feel the speed.
”It made my jaw drop, for sure. Him and I both look at each other like, 'This is nuts.' Makes your heart shake,' its crazy," said Mason, a first time NHRA fan at the races with a group of friends.
Longtime NHRA fan Rodney Douglas remembers the early years of the race.
"I used to come out here when I was a teenager. We used to park our cars on the back road back there and we could see the races," Rodney said.
He brought his daughter, Janelle, along for her first experience at the Lucas Oil Raceway. Safe to say, she was excited for everything that comes along with the fast cars and fun.
”To see the race, the noise, it keeps scaring me and startling me. I'm ready to smell the nitro and the hotdog mixture," Janelle said.
The NHRA U.S. Nationals is not like what you would find at IndyCar or NASCAR. Instead, fans are watching the biggest drag race in the world.
”It's a lot better just going four seconds down than two hours around in a circle," said Cade, a lifelong NHRA fan.
Fans watched as race after race happened in the blink of an eye. Some going right down to the wire - the winner and loser only separated by milliseconds.
”Four seconds, 330 miles an hour. It's insane," Cade said.
With the long holiday weekend of racing coming to a close Monday afternoon, fans are already excited for next year on the 4,400 foot drag strip.