Great Lakes Dragaway

I miss union
daughter raced a 16foot jr dragster… she raced 3 yrs daddys bad girl. she loved racing and misses the days. shes now 23 thanks union grove for the awesome time.

My family and I had a great time there this weekend. We are for sure going a few more times this year. Thanks for a good time!

I love this place! I have been coming here just to watch since I was about 5, Now I have my own 4 year old and a family member with a race car its always a great atmosphere just kind people good food and cool cars. The best part is sometimes you get lucky and some dude will be there with the Jet cars. Those are cool to see. I hope this place never changes.

It’s awesome to have a «local» dragstrip that is open nearly as much as GLD is, I think it’s something we all as racers and fans sometimes take for granted. Sure the place could use a bit of work or maintenance with somethings. But i have an awesome time every time i’m here.

Been coming here to race for many years now and it is always fun.
I went in mid September during the week so it wasn’t packed so I got to do 8 runs in only a few hours.
I ate here a few times and the food is just like any other concession stand food. They got Nachos, burgers, fries, hotdogs, etc and a bar.
Make sure you wear full length pants if you plan on racing your car and I believe they got jogging pants to buy if you wore shorts.
They have helmets to rent for $ 10 if you need one but they only have a short supply. You will need one if you run 13.99 or faster.
They added new safety walls and the track seemed to be in excellent condition.
It is an older track so they have older buildings that need updating but it still has that nostalgic feel of Broadway Bob still hanging around.

Been coming here for 20 years and everyone should go here once. Food is decent. Unfortunately the bleachers are scary with loose boards and holes in spots. If you are scared of heights avoid the bleachers. I always felt that this place was dangerous with the way the racecars return right past spectators and the number of ATVs and golfcarts buzzing around is sometimes out of control. This place is definately run in a loose way. The location is easy to get to from Chicago. I still go on occasion and you can get really close to the cars.

If I was reviewing GLD years ago I would have given them five stars, but now its going to be four. Da Grove certainly has changed over the years and has seen better days, which isn’t to say it isn’t still a great place to spend some time. In fact, being one of the few drag strips left makes it pretty special in my eyes and I still love coming here.
I’ve been coming here since I was a kid brought by my older brother and his friend who used to race his car. The memories made here will last me a lifetime, and so when I had my own family, I made sure to bring them here too. My kids love this place! We especially love the two or three big weekend events like Memorial Day or Labor Day spectaculars, with the jet cars. There is nothing like being able to stand right there at the line when they warm up the engines, and then stage themselves and the control tower catches on fire! As they roar down the track, the officials start hosing down the tower to put out the flames.
And I can’t leave out the nitro methane burning Funny Cars, with their pungent aroma that will bring a tear to your eye. It smells good actually. They always have a great lineup of cars and racers. I’ve seen racers like Shirley Muldowney, Tommy Ivo, and others over the years. Tommy Ivo brought his four-​engine dragster here and it kicked ass. All four wheel smoked down the strip.
So as it warms up in Springtime, my thoughts turn to racing and places like Great Lakes. Chances are you’ll catch me here for the races. You might even see «Broadway» Bob, the former owner and lifetime friend of racing. Buy him an Old Style and talk about the old days. You can’t miss him in his colorful T-​shirts and white hair.

It was my sons 6^th B-​day and I promised him something special, something for the boys, you see I kind of forgot to get the family organized last year so I owed him. He was unconcerned at the collateral damage we would be causing, Shayna S. and my daughter (10) would also be traveling just across the border to see cars go fast. Excitement is not what they were feeling, to entice them I slow cooked some ribs over mesquite all day Saturday and made mint julips, or at least the drag strip version (bourbon, mint and a splash of juicy juice).
We arrived at the gate to be informed that the price I was quoted online was not the actual price, I argued and was called a liar, but not in an aggressive way, it cost 40 bucks to enter because the kids were free on this particular day, I havn’t been to any kind of race track in 15 years so I think the price was not bad. It was not very busy and we parked all the way up front, they tell you no coolers but plenty of people were walking right in with them, scope out the areas for this, we walked in along the track rather then the main gate.
Basically, it is very loud and smells of jet fuel and burning rubber, which can be rewarding in some weird way. I have to mention the top notch bathrooms, they have at least 25 urinals and an attendant! He will supply you with everything you may possibly need, Yes that is right if you encounter that special someone at the drag strip you can run to the head, get a splash of cologne, clean of your greasy forehead and invite that special someone to the bar, one of the only areas in the shade, and fall in love at the strip.
Another plus is you can just stroll around the pits like you are important or just a tourist, my boy felt he had some advise to give a few of the racers and engaged with them. As we walked through the pits people watching is unavoidable, loud shirts proclaiming American pride are abundant, as are cliché slogans painted on the backs of cars, this can be a lot of fun if you are in the right frame of mind.
On the way home avoid the tourist trap Mars Cheese Castle unless you just want a cold one for the road, there is a small bar inside that looks interesting, better cheese and sausage prices next door.
This place isn’t for everyone so keep an open mind, grab some friends, grab some alcohol, sit up high and watch the parade begin, something about this place just makes me warm and fuzzy inside.
One other thing, for $ 20 you can run your car down the track and tell your friends you are a race car driver!