When it comes to entertainment potential, Monday nights can be surprisingly productive.

ABC found that out back in 1970 when it took a Sunday afternoon staple, professional football, and began broadcasting games on Monday nights. Monday Night Football soon became a viewer favorite, and it went on to become the second longest running prime time show on American TV, trailing only 60 Minutes.

Mikki K. Harris/Staff (ENLARGE)

Steve Phillips walks in front of his 1948 Chevy Coupe during the Monday night cruise at Summit Racing in McDonough

Photos Related: All-electric Leaf for the green crowd  Acura TSX sedan picks up some power  Lexus raises bar for entry-level hybrids  A Nissan to let your hair down for Nissan's redesigned 'Z' is a roadster  Pontiac G8 truly great, but too late  Photos: AJC Cars Showroom Galleries Find the car of your dreams More Cars stories

The folks at the Summit Racing Equipment store in McDonough are doing with cruise-ins what ABC did with football.

They've taken an event that has long been a strictly Saturday night affair and are drawing crowds of cars — as many as 300 a week and several hundred spectators every Monday night from May through October.

Reggie Triggs, who gushes enthusiasm about almost anything automotive, earns his living as a store supervisor at Summit, and he's the chief ramrod behind the Monday night cruise-ins.

The events, now in their third year, are free to both exhibitors and visitors, and food and ice cream vendors are part of the show each week, giving car-loving families a chance to extend their weekend one more day and do it without great expenditure.

The Monday events offer those who work on weekends the chance to make up for what they miss on Saturday nights and they don't conflict with existing Saturday night shows.

"It just gets the week off to a good start," Triggs said.

Each week, the front row at the cruise-in, which runs from 6 p.m.-8 p.m., is dedicated to a certain make of car. But the vast majority of display spots are open to any make or model of vehicle. Trophies and door prizes are given, but the winners aren't always the most expensive cars.

"We pick cool cars, not necessarily the ones with the most expensive paint job, body work or engine," Triggs said. "A lot of times it's just something that catches our eyes or something we haven't seen in a long time or just a really cool car."

Claude and Sally Weaver from McDonough have been at every Monday cruise-in since the very first one. Usually they bring "Tweety Bird," their bright yellow 1958 Chevrolet Apache pick-up with a 402-cubic-inch engine, 400 turbo transmission, power steering, power brakes and push-button windows.

"It gives us a chance to get out of the house on Monday and see all these cars," Claude Weaver said. "It's a good place to get together and talk."

Garry Bopp, who earns his living as captain of a Delta Air Lines Boeing 767-400, recently flew in from Moscow then hopped in his 1965 Shelby Cobra replica and drove to the cruise-in from his home in Covington.

"If I can be, I'm out here on Monday night," Bopp said. "It's a chance to talk to other car guys. You see a lot of the same cars every week, but there are a lot of different ones, too."

Some of the more interesting entries are found on the back row, where the folks with the low-riding vehicles tend to congregate.

Daniel Wilson of Jackson earns his living working on giant tractor trailers but his off-time is spent tinkering with trucks — and cars — that run just millimeters above the pavement. Sometimes they run with no clearance, as evidenced by the showers of sparks Wilson recorded on his cellphone camera. At other times, he uses his air bag system to pump his 1996 Ford Ranger up to eight inches of clearance.

"We're all in a car club called 'Ground Level,' " Wilson said of the group around his truck. "We like to hang out over here and goof off on Mondays."