DRAG RACING: The Flathead's fastest

It smells like gasoline, it’s completely volunteer run and $40 buys you a chicken dinner, a T-shirt and plenty of time to kick back around the bonfire.

“Everyone wants to beat everybody,” Eric Hayes said. “But after you’re done you shake hands, you drink beer and it’s all good.”

Hayes and his wife, Peggy-Hosler Hayes, are self-styled gearheads and the creators and organizers of the Flathead Drag Race at Lost Creek Raceway in Anaconda, which begins this Friday and features plenty of roaring engines, burning rubber and head-on showdowns before the end of the night.

The race is now in its eighth year and features mostly amateur drivers from Lake and Flathead counties piloting everything from Eric’s souped-up 1967 Chevrolet Camaro to Peggy’s factory stock 2007 Toyota Tundra.

“People bringing their cars, they can race their truck (that hauled the car) in the street car class … and they’ll race their car in the race car class,” Eric said. “You’ll see a lot of that, too.”

Entry is only $40 per vehicle, with a single-elimination tournament in two divisions — race car and street car — on Saturday, although drivers that lose in the first round can buy back into the field for an additional $20.

Saturday’s races are bracket races, meaning every driver gives him or herself a timed handicap. Drivers must write a projected time it will take to cover the eighth-mile course on their windshield, and whichever driver in a head-to-head matchup predicts a slower time will be released from the starting line early, spaced out according to the time differential.

The challenge for drivers is that if a racer finishes under the time they wrote on their windshield — called breaking out — that racer automatically loses the race.

It means that consistency and knowing your ride are paramount. That and being able to follow the light tree, a sequence of six lights at the starting line, are what usually separates winning racers from the rest.

“That’s it in a nutshell is cutting a good light,” Hayes said. “You’re down to thousandths of a second.”

“Last year I was in a race and I had a (perfect) 0.00 (seconds) for reaction time,” Hosler-Hayes added. “I had a 10.30 on the window and I ran a 10.28. Too bad! That’s just not your day.”

The couple, who make their home in Kalispell, started putting on the race eight years ago as a way to bring their fellow drivers from Flathead County to the track in Anaconda rather than making the even longer trip to a similar facility in Spokane.

They have seen drivers and cars come and go since, but this year features a record purse and a second-straight year with a change in the format. Last year they split the field into race car and street car divisions, and this year they’ve added a Lake County-Flathead County grudge match on Friday night.

Friday’s grudge match does not include the bracket racing handicaps.

“Kind of like street outlaws,” Hosler-Hayes said.

“I can beat you, my car’s faster than yours,” Hayes chimed in. “Guys, basically, they yap their jaws about how they’re better than their buddies so it’s put up or shut up.”

The county that wins the grudge match will retain a perpetual trophy, with the winning driver taking home a $100 prize.

There are approximately $3,600 in cash prizes that will be distributed on Saturday, with all of the money coming from both entry fees or a couple dozen local sponsors. Lost Creek Raceway is completely volunteer run facility and the organizers’ only financial goal is to try and break even, something they have not always achieved.

A typical field for the event is between 25-50 cars and a similar number are expected this year.

Drivers and cars can show up on race day and be entered, although drivers need to have a helmet, a long-sleeve shirt and long pants, and the vehicle’s battery must be tied down.

All vehicles are inspected for safety before being allowed to race.

Hayes competes regularly on the Montana Drag Racing Association circuit, and will be simultaneously racing in a points event in that series on Saturday at Lost Creek.

While Hayes and his wife both race and have won dozens of trophies elsewhere, neither have hoisted the championship trophy at their own event. Hosler-Hayes, though, has a good feeling about this year’s running.

“Eric, I have a feeling, will do good this year,” she said.

“He’s finally found out the secrets.”

And if not, there’s always beer at the bonfire.

More information on the Flathead Drag Race and Lost Creek Raceway is available at www.lostcreek-raceway.com or by calling 261-8202.