Tires were smokin’ and engines were wailin’ as drivers sped down Huntington Avenue in Castle Rock on Saturday — and nobody got a traffic ticket.

“It’s just fun to spin the tires and laying down rubber in front of the police,” Danny Younce said, grinning, as he headed off to race his 1994 Chevy sidestep pickup.

Younce was among two dozen racers who came out for the first-ever drag races at Mountain Mania, Castle Rock’s annual festival celebrating the town’s logging heritage and life near Mount St. Helens.

Officials closed Huntington Avenue next to Lions Pride Park south of town to allow the cars and trucks to race two at a time. The straightaway course was short — drivers had just 100 feet to blow out the competition.

Mike McAllister and his son, Justin, of Woodland organized the race after being approached by the Mountain Mania committee.

“I know how it works, so they asked me to get it together,” said Mike McAllister, a drag-racer himself. “It was kind of a last-minute to put it together, and there was even talk about maybe not having it, but it ended up coming together.”

There had been talk in previous years of holding races during Mountain Mania, but insurance and logistics hampered those earlier efforts, said Dana Marcil, Mountain Mania organizer.

Marcil said she was pleased with the number of cars racing.

“I want to do it every year, and hopefully it will get bigger and better,” she said. “I would say it’s a hit.”

Watching the races dredged up drag-racing memories for Sherman and Debra Brown of Castle Rock.

“I lived in Alaska and cars would come from all around — Palmer, Anchorage,” said Debra, 50. “Towns would race against each other to find out which was ‘muscle town.’ I went through a few clutches myself in my Nova. Who said girls can’t race?”

“I’m glad to see these guys got something like this going,” said Sherman, 55. “If I’d known about it earlier, I’d have volunteered to help.”

The Castle Rock course was much shorter than what racer Zach Aylesworth is used to. He usually drives his 1979 Ford Fairmont in 1/8-mile races at Riverdale near Toutle or 1/4-mile races in Portland.

“I race as often as I can,” said Aylesworth, 21.

Younce of La Center, Wash., who usually races at Portland International Raceway, saw an announcement for the Castle Rock races.

“I’ve got a new motor, and I wanted to get it dialed in so I don’t embarrass myself at PIR,” he said.

Younce watched as drivers ahead of him laid rubber, producing white billows of smoke while testing their wide tires’ traction.

“Instead of drags, maybe it should be called a burn-out,” he said. “Everybody’s always happy when the tires are squealing.”