Story by Lizzie Ramirez | Photos by Cesar Lopez
Hot August Nights attendees wrapped up their love and appreciation for cars with a plethora of events, including cruising in downtown Reno and the Drag Races, where the cars can legally race on a city street.
The Drag Races lasted four days from Aug. 7-10. The first two nights allowed all makes and models of cars, whereas the last two nights were limited to cars registered with Hot August Nights and made in 1979 or earlier.
With no limitations on the first two nights, the Wicked Wayz Car Club—which includes low-riders new and old—was invited to attend and drive down the race track as a mini car show. The club’s cars are modified to be lowriders and have hydraulics.
Wicked Wayz member Isaac Casillas shared his love and appreciation for the car community.
“It’s just about our culture. Hispanic culture is a little bit different,” Casillas said. “I felt like being in Reno for so long for the last 10-15 years… Mexican culture is very slept on in the way of lowriders and stuff like that… I feel like it’s part of my culture.”
Casillas is originally from Los Angeles but came to Reno for college. At the University of Nevada, Reno, he said he helped start the Latino movement there as a multicultural initiative, which brought his family’s Wicked Wayz Car Club, founded by his dad Miguel, to Reno.
Throughout the drive down the track, family and friends were seen inside the cars as music blasted and LED lights shone from the vehicles. One car was bouncing up and down with a group of friends inside laughing, and another car was completely tilted on its side. This awed the crowd with everyone pulling their phones out to take pictures and videos.
People seemed to enjoy the last night of the Drag Races just as much as they did the first night. There was a sense of patriotic pride the last night with a man shouting “America” at the end of the National Anthem, people cheering after the Pledge of Allegiance followed by the announcer asking if the crowd was ready for drag racing.
As people walked out from the Drag Races, they were greeted by the Reno Police Department on horses, which excited the younger crowd because they were allowed to pet the horses.
