HUDSON – Bob Webber looks out at the crowd from above.

Men in Wranglers and NASCAR caps shout from the stands. Sometimes the wives chime in louder. Toddlers in plastic earmuffs watch with wide eyes. The thick smell of fried food beckons the nostrils.

Webber sits in full view of the track, in his metal-chair box seat, and radios down to the starter below.

“Lineup looks good,” he says. “Give ’em the green.”

The starter waves his flag and the air fills with noise. Engines roar to life, smoke rises and rubber squeals on the asphalt circle. The cars accelerate and race past the crowd to start the first lap.

Every Sunday from May through October, hundreds of Hudson residents and those from out of town, too, drive up to Old Derry Road, park their cars on the grass and watch hours of short-track auto racing at Hudson Speedway.

The state’s most famous races take place at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, but perhaps the most passionate laps happen in Hudson. The track has been in continuous operation since 1945.

The fans come to watch family members, friends or just for the sport. With six divisions for different ages and types of cars, the short-track speedway offers a different experience for racing lovers.

Webber, the speedway’s owner since 1989, said the sport calls to all ages. The races on Sept. 12 offered the best evidence, when 61-year-old Peter Fiandaca, of Fitchburg, Mass., won his 323rd race, and 12-year-old Jarrod Soucy, of Marlborough, Mass., won his first.

Most parents would shudder at the thought of their 12-year-old behind the wheel of a car, especially one traveling at speeds up to 80 miles per hour, but Don Soucy, 39, said his son has plenty of protection.

The driver’s seat in Jarrod Soucy’s 1984 Volkwagen Rabbit is worth about $1,000 and “belongs in the space shuttle,” Don Soucy said. It’s also equipped with head restraints and his son wears a full fire-proof suit when he’s driving.

“It’s like if he played hockey or anything else,” Don Soucy said.

The racers are all hobbyists and work from a low budget, Webber said, which explains why more than half the cars look like they lost a fight with a sledgehammer.

“That’s the nature of the beast,” he said. “Short-track racing is kind of a contact sport.”

Webber, 63, drives around on race days, too, but a recent hip replacement surgery keeps him on a different track. He climbs into a 1995 beige Lincoln Town Car and circles the pit area on Sunday mornings to check on drivers before race time. He calls it his “mobile office.”

Competitors and pit crews wave as the Lincoln ambles by. Webber points out everyone by name, hometown and car number.

“A lot of these guys have raced with me for generations,” he said. “You come to know everyone. It’s that kind of place.”

Mitch Wendell, of Derry, said he has been racing since 1981 and now has two sons in the mix: Dean, 18, runs in the Rookie Stocks Division and Chad, 13, races in the Thunder Lights. And even at 47, Wendell still races in the Outlaw Sportsman Division every Sunday.

“Once you get into racing, it’s really hard to stop,” he said.

Wendell said Hudson Speedway is different from so many race tracks around New England because of its relaxed attitude. The fans care about the drivers and the drivers care about each other, he said.

“It’s uncommon at some other places,” Wendell said. “The competitiveness gets ahead of them. Here, it’s a little more laid back.”

Hudson Speedway welcomes all drivers, no matter their gender, background or experience level.

Jerry LePage, 46, of Nashua, is in only his second year of racing, but he’s improving. He said he was a “lifetime spectator” and loves racing but finally decided to build up his Chevy Monte Carlo and try it out last year.

Webber said there are a few girls who race, too, but not many. They don’t always have the same desire that boys do, he said, because so many young men learn about it from their fathers.

“I didn’t know anybody when they were 13 years old who wanted to hang out with their father,” said John Griffith, 37, of Hudson, who often races at the speedway with his son. “But we work on the car together all week.”

However, that isn’t to say young women can’t race or don’t like to watch.

Danielle Purington, 36, of Epping, said she makes the trip to Hudson every week and has worked at the speedway for 16 years.

“It’s one of those things you stick with,” she said. “It’s like a family.”

Purington is also studying for a medical degree in radiology from the New Hampshire Technical Institute, but she only does it around the annual racing schedule.

“Hudson’s fans and drivers are one of a kind,” Purington said. “If you sat in our ticket booth for one week, you’d be amazed. These people come rain or shine every weekend, even if they don’t have any family racing.”

“You have some very interesting characters around here,” said Roland LaPlante, 49, of Milford, who has been racing for almost 30 years.

Those interesting characters are the soul of Hudson Speedway, Purington said, but many town residents are taken aback by the scene on race day.

“It’s one of those places where people can be very judgmental,” Purington said. “If they walk in here, they’ll realize we’re not all grease monkeys.”

Stereotyped or not, the devoted group at Hudson Speedway every Sunday is unique. And when the final checkered flag waves in two weeks to signal the end of the 2010 season, their passion will remain.

Cameron Kittle can be reached at 594-6523 or ckittle@nashuatelegraph.com.