Burning rubber and beating the heat

XENIA, Ohio (WDTN) - Drivers were burning rubber at Kilkare Raceway in Xenia Thursday night for Night of Fire. With temps reaching triple digits outside, it can get very hot for drivers inside, especially because of the safety gear they wear.

"I wear race pants, a fire jacket and a helmet, a neck brace, gloves," explains Phil Hines.

But, the 12-year-vet says he doesn't sweat it.

"When you're sitting in the car, before you make the run. Yea, it's hot, you want to drink water. But, as soon as you strap that helmet on, there's no drinking water no more. About that time, your adrenaline starts pumping. and you don't even worry about it, it goes out the window," explains Hines.

Drivers aren't the only ones trying to beat the heat, so are fans.

"Sitting in front of the fan in the trailer, lots of water and ice," says Britney Hines.

And the raceway is also taking precautions to make sure spectators stay cool.

"We've got two big cool zone fans going on, to keep our fans nice and cool. We have extra drink stations set up. We do have double staffing in our medical department," says Kilkare Raceway's Director of Race Services Kyle Willetts.

And those precautions will stay in place this weekend since temps are expected to hit triple digits again.