Before the Christmas tree lights system was implemented for starting a drag race, flags were used.

Those good old days are returning to Winterport Dragway for four races this season beginning Saturday at 12:30 p.m.

It will be called “Gassah Guys Nostalgia Reunion” and flags will be used to start the races. All of the vehicles will have had to be built before 1974.

The return to drag racing circa the 1950s and 1960s is the brainstorm of 63-year-old Vaughan Stevens of Augusta, who began his extensive racing career in that era.

“When I was a kid, me and a bunch of other guys opened up a [drag race] track on an air strip in Norridgewock,” said Stevens.

After a year, they moved on to an established track in Sanford.

Those fond memories have remained with Stevens, and now that he has time on his hands, his longtime dream is about to come to fruition.

“I’ve wanted to bring it back [for a long time]. I wanted people to have the opportunity to see drag racing the way it was … old school stuff,” said Stevens. “This is a completely different version of drag racing than people have seen over the last 40 years.”

He said his oldtime drag racing program has been “very well accepted.”

“We’re going to have racers up here all the way from southern New England,” said Stevens.

There will be 30 divisions of racing in four classes.

There will be the Gas Class for street rod cars without fenders, Altereds for street rods with fenders, the Super Stocks for later vintage cars such as Chevy Chevelles and Camaros built through 1973, and a class for Winterport Dragway cars built before 1974 that can cover the one-eighth-mile drag strip in under six seconds.

The flag starts involve a flag man or flag woman with a red flag and a green flag. The flag person bends over with the green flag down by their toes, touching the ground. The red flag is pointed, back and forth, at each driver. After each driver acknowledges they are ready, the flag person raises the green flag at their discretion to start the race.

“In today’s racing, with the [electronic] Christmas tree light starts, drivers can anticipate that last [green] light. They’ll start going on the last yellow [leading to the green],” said Stevens. “Some of the drivers are excellent at anticipating it. And some of the cars are electronically tied in to the light system.”

He said flag starts prevent drivers from gaining an advantage and “evens up the competition.”

He also pointed out that under the current starting system, there are staggered starts. Cars that are a second slower than the opposing car get to start a second earlier.

“In our system, they both leave together,” said Stevens.

The “Gassah Guys” will be part of a full racing card at Winterport Dragway.

There will also be a regular race card on Sunday.

The Sunday card is the make-up of the Mike Johnson Memorial Mopar Day program that was rained out last Sunday.

Bob Reynolds, president of Winterport Dragway, said they are looking forward to the Gassah Guys race and that they have been off to a good start in their weekly series.

“The sport seems to be coming back and that’s a good thing,” said Reynolds. “The car counts have been great and the attendance is way up from last year.”

They have nine classes, although not all of them run every week, and he said they’ve had 60-80 vehicles every week.

“Our attendance has averaged 275-300, and when we’re busy, we get 500,” said Reynolds. “We normally get 200.”

Reynolds said they have spent more than $12,000 re-paving the strip.

And he said Bruce’s Tractor Sales in Old Town has donated a small farm tractor on which they attach four tires and drag them along the cement over the first 60 feet of strip at the start.

“That has really enhanced the grip on the concrete. It has made a huge difference. The last thing you want is a car spinning at the start,” said Reynolds.

Winterport Dragway races on most Sundays and selected Saturdays.