Great Lakes Dragway is a quarter mile dragstrip

Dragstrip

A dragstrip is a facility for conducting automobile and motorcycle acceleration events such as drag racing. Although a quarter mile is the best known measure for a drag track, many tracks are eighth mile tracks...

 in the Town of Paris

Paris, Kenosha County, Wisconsin

Paris is a town in Kenosha County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 1,473 at the 2000 census. The unincorporated community of Paris is located within the town.-Geography:...

, Kenosha County

Kenosha County, Wisconsin

-Demographics: As of the census of 2000, there were 149,577 people, 56,057 households, and 38,455 families residing in the county. The population density was 548 people per square mile . There were 59,989 housing units at an average density of 220 per square mile...

, near Union Grove, Wisconsin

Union Grove, Wisconsin

Union Grove is a village in Racine County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 4,322 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Union Grove is located at ....

.

History

The drag strip opened in 1955, and celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2005. The drag strip became the oldest continuously operating dragstrip in the country after Inyokern Airport

Inyokern Airport

Inyokern Airport is a public airport located in Inyokern, California, United States, serving the Indian Wells Valley area of Kern County. It is owned by the Indian Wells Valley Airport District...

 closed. The track also is open for more dates than any other track in the United States. In March of 2011, Great Lakes Dragaway won a poll "What is the most historically significant dragstrip in the United States?" on BangShift, a popular drag racing blog.

In the early days of the track, races were started by a flagman (before dragstrip Christmas Trees) and cars sometimes raced four abreast.

In the 1970s, nitrous methane "rocket dragster" exhibition cars ran down the track in the low 4 second elapsed time range at over 350 miles per hour.

Schedule

The track hosts Harley

Harley-Davidson

Harley-Davidson , often abbreviated H-D or Harley, is an American motorcycle manufacturer. Founded in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, during the first decade of the 20th century, it was one of two major American motorcycle manufacturers to survive the Great Depression...

 drags, real street drags, import wars, modified superstocks, and divisions for high school students. The track also has special events such as stunt shows, a National Hot Rod Association

National Hot Rod Association

The National Hot Rod Association is a drag racing governing body, which sets rules in drag racing and host events all over the United States and Canada...

 Summit Summer Series event, Wild Thrill Shows, Import Wars, Bugfest, and Fun Racing. The track has held snowmobile

Snowmobile

A snowmobile, also known in some places as a snowmachine, or sled,is a land vehicle for winter travel on snow. Designed to be operated on snow and ice, they require no road or trail. Design variations enable some machines to operate in deep snow or forests; most are used on open terrain, including...

 drags in winter months. Motorcycle Daredevil and World Record Motorcycle Jumper "Super" Ken Mackow got his start at this track in 1970. He went on to become a World Class Daredevil. He is listed in the Motorcycle Hall of Fame.

External links

• Official Website
• Great Lakes Dragaway on Google Maps
• Discover Wisconsin article on Great Lakes Dragaway
• Aerial Imagery from USGS via Microsoft Research Maps