DIALED IN
GREAT LAKES DRAGAWAY
back in 1968. “I’ve only missed a couple Memorial
Weekends here at Great Lakes since I first came
here more than 50 years ago,” Hutchens reveals.
Another fan favorite is “Diamond Dave” Miller,
who’s been attending this event for decades with
a line-up of vintage nitro-burning front-engine
dragsters. Some of Miller’s favorite Great Lakes
memories involve match racing Tom McEwen
eons ago. For the 2019 running, Miller squared
off against the front-engine dragster of Jason
Greenwood, who hails from just a few miles away
in the town of Kenosha.
Minnesota’s Doc Halladay was also on hand
with his popular Telstar 1978 Plymouth Arrow-
bodied nitro Funny Car. “I ran big-show cars
back in the late 1980s to early 1990s in NHRA
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competition, and have also been coming to Great
Lakes for probably 40 years,” says Halladay.
Jet car fans also show up in droves, knowing
they’ll be treated to a spectacle of horsepower,
the likes of which can only be delivered by these
fire-breathing monsters of thrust. It was at last
year’s running, in fact, that Great Lakes Draga-
way saw its first-ever side-by-side 300 mph pass
when Scotty Heat driving his “50 Cal” jet dragster
blistered the quarter mile alongside Danny Sul-
livan, who also went over 300 mph, sending the
grandstands into a frenzy, followed by a standing
ovation as they taxied down the return road.
Just one year later, though, disaster struck on
Friday night during Heat’s second run, which
resulted in a horrific top-end crash. “I was racing
the ‘Hot Blade’ jet when he passed me nearing
the finish line, and I could feel my car dip down
on the right rear and then the car veered toward
the wall,” says Heat, who suffered a broken back
in the crash. Amazingly, Scotty returned to the
track the following day wearing a back brace
and greeted fans, vowing that he would return
to driving jet cars as soon as possible.
For vintage doorslammer fans, the Midwest
Nostalgia Pro Stock Association was also on hand
to deliver a dose of drag racing from yesteryear.
Many participants of this group have experienced
this fabled drag strip being woven into the fabric
of their childhood, and there’s no greater example
than Arlee Williams III, who drives his parents’
1980 Plymouth Arrow. Williams, who currently
resides in suburban Milwaukee, has enjoyed life-
shaping moments here at Great Lakes Dragaway.
“I met Shirley Muldowney here when I was just
a little kid. She invited me over for a photo and
before it was over I was sitting on Shirley’s lap
holding her small dog while she held me!” he
Issue 147