Cars flew down the runway at the Lethbridge airport this weekend as drag racers from across southern Alberta put rubber to pavement in the first ever 1/8 mile drag race.
“We decided it might be a neat idea,” Tal Meidinger, a Le Barons Car Club member, said. “Some people in the car club know people at the airport and they had a conversation.”
The Le Barons Car Club decided to return to their roots and recreate an old-school drag race.
“They started holding drag races at some of abandoned airports that were used during WWII, but that ended in the 1960s,” said Meidinger.
Racers at the event say that drag racing isn’t just about having a fast car, it’s about the community.
“Everyone gets along, it’s fun,” Chris Houston, a drag racer, said. “There is a sense of camaraderie.”
The inclusive community of drag racers call themselves “gear heads”.
“Gear heads are people that like fast cars, loud cars, all ages, all genders, it doesn’t matter,” Meidinger said. “It’s a cool community.”
For racers, sanctioned events like these shine a light on the real drag racing community, not the one portrayed in the movies.
“There hasn’t been drag racing here for many of years,” said Houston. “It gets people off the streets doing illegal things.”
This was the first 1/8 mile race the Le Barons Car Club has ever hosted.