Detroit Dragway – Closed but Fondly Remembered: 1959-1998
“Sunday...SUNDAY! AT DETROIT DRAGWAY!!!"
That’s the phrase that gets repeated more often than most other radio ads from the 1960s. As amazing as it sounds, that phrase is known by people ALL across the country – from east coast to west coast.
The Detroit Dragway was located at 20675 Sibley Road in Wayne County. It kicked off in 1959 and 1960 by sponsoring the U.S. Nationals and later races of the American Hot Rod Association and United Hot Rod Association.
During the 1960s, stock car racing was a fan favorite, giving the ordinary person a chance to drag the track. Ford, GM and American Motors had teams of their own, usually made up of their own employees. A good example was Chrysler’s Ramchargers, made up of engineers from the Chrysler Central Engineering Division.
During then 1970s, fuel dragsters and funny car races dominated and brought in droves of spectators, and in 1978, the NHRA Summer Nationals drew a crowd of 30,000 over three days.
After a little over two successful decades. The decline began in the 1980s. Manager after manager kept screwing up until the race car drivers and spectators realized something was terribly wrong and started staying away. The track became neglected and showed signs of deterioration.
Crowds of 35,000 were now down to 500.
Between 1992-1994 improvements were made in hopes to revive the track and renewed interest in the Dragway. The attempted revival didn’t work Sadly, the proposal failed due to public opposition.
After a mostly-thriving 39 years, the final struggling years were just too much, and the track permanently closed in 1998.