Milan Dragway For Sale – Unlike Some Tracks on the Market, Current Owners Have Plans to Remain Open for 2025, And a Schedule in the Works
With a rich history that dates back over six decades, it may surprise some that Milan Dragway has gone on the market for sale. The track has played host to a number of big events over its history, including stops on this year’s Hot Rod Drag Week and Heads Up Hustle drag-and-drive events.
But unlike most tracks with ‘for sale’ signs in the window, Perry Merlo and co-owner Harold Bullock have plans for an active 2025 season, whether a buyer comes along or not.
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“My, my wife Pam, and co-owner Harold have talked about our plans for the track since we bought it in 2021,” said Perry Merlo. “We took it on as a project, because we love the place.”
After operating under a couple different tracks owners since Milan Dragway got its start in 1964, with both the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) and International Hot Rod Association (IHRA) used for sanctioning, the track was sold in 1989 to Bill Kapolka.
Just two years later, Kapolka filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. 30 years later, the track was closed for the entire 2021 season due to bankruptcy again, but it would be Perry and Harold teaming up to buy the track in December 2021.
Perry, Pam and Harold went into the project full-bore. “The previous owner has let the facility fall into a state of disrepair,” Perry said. “I had just retired from a career as a concrete and excavating contractor, a little sooner than I planned. We looked at the track as a challenge, and we feel in love with the place, knowing we were helping to bring it back to its former glory.”
Some of the projects they have accomplished included renovating the concessions and performance centers, the restrooms, and adding a bar adjacent to the starting line named, appropriately, the ‘Water Box Bar.’
The facility also got a large amount of paving, the staging lanes were redone, and the buildings got fresh paint, as well as new roofs and air conditioning systems.
“We’re proud of what we’ve been able to do over the three years we’ve owned it,” said Perry. The 2024 schedule, in addition to the drag-and-drive events previously mentioned, featured Milan’s Heads-Up Racing Series, with six races on the docket, as well as the Detroit Dragway Reunion Nostalgia Nationals, and the Night of Fire, under NHRA sanctioning.
Sick the Magazine has preached the importance of ‘supporting your local track’, and in 2024, Sick The Magazine adorned the right-lane scoreboard at Milan Dragway.
“We’ve talked about it, and we feel it’s time for someone to take it and write the next chapter of its history,” Perry stated about Milan Dragway. But unlike several tracks in recent history that have gone up for sale, Milan will remain open, with a 2025 season on the minds of Perry, Pam and Harold.
“We’re not going anywhere,” said Perry. “We’re really close to having a full schedule together for 2025. We’re just looking for someone with the passion we have for the next chapter of the track.”
Written by Derek Putnam. Photos courtesy of Sick the Magazine and Milan Dragway.
If you have thoughts / feedback / ideas, please e-mail us at derek@sickthemagazine.com