The drivers' names were called out after which there was a moment of silence over Oamaru Airport.
And then it got loud.
Whitestone Rodders member and race organiser Kevin Boler, a builder from Oamaru, was never too far from the start at the Oamaru Drags on Saturday.
He was not racing, but as one of about 40 volunteers who stage the twice yearly event at Oamaru Airport he was there for the sounds, the smell and the atmosphere.
''Just the rumble of a V8. I'm a V8 man. I love them,'' Mr Boler said.
''Listen to that. Just the noise, the smell. The crowds are always good. I just love it. It's just a passion, I suppose.''
The event drew about 1000 passionate petrolheads.
Whitestone Rodders president and event announcer Geoff Omnet, of Oamaru, said the weather helped to draw a large crowd and an entry of 86 cars, 13 motorcycles and a demonstration vehicle.
Mr Omnet said the event was going strong three years after returning from a 12 year hiatus.
''We don't do it for prize money.
''There is a fastest car at the end of the day, but they don't get a medal, they don't get a prize._It's just for their own personal benefit,'' he said.
Craig O'Hara, of Oamaru, finished with the fastest time among the cars, clocking 11.277sec over the quarter mile in the Ford T Bucket he bought five years ago.
''I didn't [like it] when I got it,'' Mr O'Hara said.
''It was a piece of junk, so I stripped and rebuilt it.
''Basically, the body and the chassis are the only things original on it since I got it.
''New motor, trans, diff, wheels, interior.''
Now though, he said, it is ''all right''.
''It's light and it beats all the heavyweight cars easy. I've got the weight advantage and that's all that counts, really.''
At the lunch break on Saturday, he said that while he was happy to have clocked the fastest time of the day, that was not why he came to the track.
''It's just to beat my last number, it's not to actually beat anybody else,'' he said.
''If I beat everybody else on the day, it's just that added bonus, isn't it? I've got no complaints with that.''
