It was time to approach the starting line for Jimmy Vokovan in his 1970 Chevrolet Monte Carlo.
The Duluth resident put on his helmet, rolled up his window and started his engine to line up for the drag race down Garfield Avenue. He enjoys "the thrill of competing and the speed," he said before racing.
He has been racing his Monte Carlo, with its license plate "MR MONTE," for 25 years, including every year at the Kia of Duluth Drag Races since it began more than a decade ago.
"I've always liked this body style and you don't see a lot of Monte Carlos that are actually race cars," he said.
More than 100 cars raced an eighth of a mile down Garfield Avenue over the weekend in the annual drag races and car show. As cars took off from the starting line to race head-to-head on Sunday, exhaust and the smell of burning rubber was in the air.
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Kyle Augustin of Rochester was standing outside his vehicle in line, waiting with his family for his turn to race. When asked if he had any expectations for his race, he joked, "Just hopefully the car stays together, is all." Preparing for the race includes "a lot of late nights and hours of wrenching on the car, tearing stuff apart, fixing stuff," he said.
It's his second year racing his Pontiac Trans Am in Duluth, but he grew up watching his dad's races and he has raced locally in Rochester.
"It's kinda like a family tradition type of thing. Always been into cars," he said. "It's an adrenaline rush."
Lisa Cardin of River Falls, Wis., was sitting along Garfield while waiting for her husband Joe Cardin to race his 1982 Pontiac Firebird. He races around the Midwest, but he was excited to race in Duluth for the first time this weekend. He put a new nitro system in his car to prepare for it. He's been racing his Firebird for three years, "but he's been into it forever, of course. He was 17 when he bought the car; he's 40 now," she said. He enjoys the thrill and excitement of the drag races, she said, adding, "He's a daredevil."
Traveling to races is how they spend their weekends during summer - it's a short season and they have to do it while they can, she said. They also have a 1970 Chevy Nova and a 1994 Dodge Viper. It's exciting to watch him race, but she said she was a little nervous on Sunday.
"I'm always a little nervous. He's safe, I know the car is safe, but you never know," she said. "Something like this is exciting to be at. It's fun."
