The track opened in 1959 and closed in fall of 1996. In 1959 and 1960 the track hosted the U.S. Nationals. The U.S. Nationals were moved to Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis in 1961. The national event is still held there today. Gil Kohn was the owner of Detroit Dragway. Gil Kohn and promoter Ben Christ came up with the radio commercial "Sunday! Sunday! Sunday!" . This ad is used to promote events to this day. The Summer Nationals of 1978 set the largest amount in prize money ever awarded at the track of $40,000. A typical weekend crowd was around 30,000 spectators. The track went downhill starting in the 1980s. In 1991 the weekend spectator turnout was around 500. The track was to be renovated with a multimillion-dollar deal in 1994. Local politics never gave the track a chance to do so. The last year for the track was 1998.
Legends of Detroitedit
Shirley Muldowney was known as the "first lady" of drag racing. Shirley at age 16 never even knew how to drive a car. At age 18 she had learned how to drive from her husband, Jack Muldowney, and then appeared in her very first race in 1958. Muldowney got her NHRA license in 1965. Muldowney made a change in classes she ran and jumped from dragsters to funny cars. She purchased her funny car from the legendary Connie Kalitta. From 1972 to 1977, Muldowney teamed up with Connie Kalitta. She made it to Top Fuel class getting her license in 1973 and winning three national championships in 1977, 1980 and 1982.[2]
Connie Kalitta was nicknamed the "Bounty Hunter". National Hot Rod Association Top 50 Drivers list Connie "The Bounty Hunter" Kalitta was ranked #21. Kalitta won 10 NHRA national events. Kalitta appeared in 22 finals. Kalitta recorded a personal best pass of 4.58 @ 314 mph in 1999. Kalitta no longer drives, but is still very much involved in running Kalitta Motorsports which is based out of Ypsilanti, Michigan.[3]
Referencesedit
^"Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-07-30. Retrieved 2011-03-29.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
detroit, dragway, quarter, mile, long, drag, strip, located, brownstown, charter, township, michigan, corner, sibley, opened, 1959, kohn, track, became, sanctioned, national, association, 1959, dirty, also, known, host, 1959, 1960, nhra, nationals, contents, h. Detroit Dragway was a quarter mile long drag strip located in Brownstown Charter Township Michigan 1 on the corner of Sibley and Dix It opened in 1959 by Gil Kohn and the track became sanctioned by the National Hot Rod Association in 1959 The Dirty D as it was also known was the host of the 1959 and 1960 NHRA U S Nationals Contents 1 History 2 Legends of Detroit 3 References 4 External linksHistory editThe track opened in 1959 and closed in fall of 1996 In 1959 and 1960 the track hosted the U S Nationals The U S Nationals were moved to Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis in 1961 The national event is still held there today Gil Kohn was the owner of Detroit Dragway Gil Kohn and promoter Ben Christ came up with the radio commercial Sunday Sunday Sunday This ad is used to promote events to this day The Summer Nationals of 1978 set the largest amount in prize money ever awarded at the track of 40 000 A typical weekend crowd was around 30 000 spectators The track went downhill starting in the 1980s In 1991 the weekend spectator turnout was around 500 The track was to be renovated with a multimillion dollar deal in 1994 Local politics never gave the track a chance to do so The last year for the track was 1998 Legends of Detroit editShirley Muldowney was known as the first lady of drag racing Shirley at age 16 never even knew how to drive a car At age 18 she had learned how to drive from her husband Jack Muldowney and then appeared in her very first race in 1958 Muldowney got her NHRA license in 1965 Muldowney made a change in classes she ran and jumped from dragsters to funny cars She purchased her funny car from the legendary Connie Kalitta From 1972 to 1977 Muldowney teamed up with Connie Kalitta She made it to Top Fuel class getting her license in 1973 and winning three national championships in 1977 1980 and 1982 2 Connie Kalitta was nicknamed the Bounty Hunter National Hot Rod Association Top 50 Drivers list Connie The Bounty Hunter Kalitta was ranked 21 Kalitta won 10 NHRA national events Kalitta appeared in 22 finals Kalitta recorded a personal best pass of 4 58 314 mph in 1999 Kalitta no longer drives but is still very much involved in running Kalitta Motorsports which is based out of Ypsilanti Michigan 3 References edit Archived copy Archived from the original on 2012 07 30 Retrieved 2011 03 29 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint archived copy as title link No 5 Shirley Muldowney No 21 Connie Kalitta External links editNHRA Official website Detroit Dragway 42 09 46 N 83 14 04 W 42 16278 N 83 23444 W 42 16278 83 23444 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Detroit Dragway amp oldid 1080598424, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
