The Weekly Reekie: Take Me Away to Great Lakes Dragaway
When they announced the venues for Sick Summer 2024, I was most excited to see that we are heading back to Great Lakes Dragaway, Wisconsin. AKA Union Grove, it’s the coolest racetrack I’ve been to and it’s one of my “happy places”.
Wiktionary, the free dictionary, defines happy place as: “A mental visualization of a pleasant location, to avoid thinking or dealing with something unpleasant or painful.” The concept stems from a branch of study called environmental psychology, which explores the relationship between humans and the external world. The gist of it is that physical spaces and places can affect how we think, feel and behave.
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Since I’m always looking for ways to avoid dealing with unpleasant and painful things, allow me to expound upon my love of Great Lakes. How do I love the Dragaway? Let me count the ways.
First, though, let me just say that the tracks we’re returning to for Sick Summer 2024 are some of the best that a racer, spectator or videographer could hope for. We start off at Byron Dragway, Illinois, where the weekday crowds are so big you have to wonder how any business in the area could possibly be open – no-one’s at work, they’re all at the track!
The dragstrip itself is great for us camerafolk because it’s roomy with a downward-sloping view. It’s noteworthy for being ultra-wide, a hangover from when it was built in the 1960s as a four-wide racetrack, and there’s this strange optical illusion where although from the startline it looks as though the track is sloping down, the cars are actually racing up a slight incline – or so the surveyors tell me.
On day two we’ll be at Cordova Dragway down by the Mississippi, another standout facility with a proud history. Founded back in the mid-1950s, I visited there most recently during Drag Week ’22 and Sick Summer ’23 and I can report that it’s still very much alive and kicking. Among many things notable about Cordova is The Strip, which is hands-down the best racetrack bar I’ve ever had the pleasure of falling down drunk in.
On day three we’ll hit Tri-State Raceway in the cornfields of Iowa. I’ve only been there once, for Sick Summer last year, and I can’t say there was too much that stood out about it, other than a lack of traction. But hey, America is the land of second chances so here’s hoping it works out better this time around.
Finally, on day four, we’ll be back at my beloved Great Lakes Dragaway. One of the oldest dragstrips in the world, it wears its age like a badge of honor, mainly because nothing seems to have been upgraded and there’s cool old junk strewn everywhere. It’s a thoroughly enchanting place for anyone interested in nostalgia, drag racing and/or cool old junk.
Great Lakes was founded in 1955 by Wisconsin couple Lynn and Marge Bennett. Contrary to its nickname, the track is not situated in Union Grove but in nearby Paris, WI.
Marge Bennett is credited with coining the term “Dragaway”. The extra “a” still confuses people to this day. In fact, I remember last year when Garrett Olsen sent through his designs for Sick Summer merch, Tom Bailey pointed out that there seemed to be a typo! “You’ve spelt dragway wrong, ya dummy!” Oh how we laughed.
The man who put Great Lakes on the drag racing map was former owner ‘Broadway Bob’ Metzler. One of the most famous promoters of all-time, ‘Broadway Bob’ had a penchant for flamboyance and a knack for showmanship. Although he sold the track in 1994 and passed away in 2012, I daresay a lot of the cool relics that remain at the track are leftover from the ‘Broadway’ days.
Great Lakes is so steeped in history you can practically trip over it. Littered around the property are old race cars and jet cars, ice cream trucks and merch trailers. Rust and patina are doing their darndest to erase the old-school signwriting and paintwork. Eventually they’ll come for the vehicles themselves. But for now you can still catch the fading remnants of the glory days of racing, when the likes of Don Garlits, Shirely Muldowney and Don ‘The Snake’ Prudhomme strutted their stuff on the strip.
Speaking of the strip, one notable thing about it is that the burnout area runs up a little hill to the staging beams, which is not something you often see. The ancient red timber tower that splits the lanes is one of the cutest structures on Earth. The hardwood bleachers are old enough to hold a prime position in the Smithsonian Bleacher Museum, and they’re always heaving with people.
Also on the site is an adorable RC dragstrip, a collectible toy store that’s always closed, and a cozy bar that serves ’em nice and cold. Perhaps most inexplicably, there’s a bunch of fiberglass statues of random animals on the property, like the giant mouse with a cheeseburger that stands guard over the concessions.
There are so many things to love about Great Lakes but I think top of my list is that they race there six nights a week. I’m no Cheesehead but in this case I gotta say: Wisconsin for the win!
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