Everyone's missing out on the Real Street Drags at Great Lakes Dragaway

Out of all my drag racing friends, NONE of them ever seems to want to go to the Real Street Drags. I always go by myself. So since evidently some people don't know what's so good about it, I'm gonna enlighten everyone!! :cool2:

Once a month on a Thursday night at Great Lakes Dragaway they have the "Real Street Drags". If I were to rent a dragstrip and throw a big party, this is something like how it would turn out !!! What it is, is drag racing from 3 PM until 11 PM with the ET clocks turned off. You can do time runs from 3 PM until 8-10 PM and you will get a LOT of runs in if you get there early. Not only that but they prep the track surface BETTER than any other day I go there and I've probably raced at GLD 20 different days in the past 2 years. Yes you still get a timeslip but only half (so you cant see what the other guy ran).

But the real point of it is the "street racing". You set up a race for fun or a certain amount of money, and set up the start (do you give him 5 lengths and the smack or do you wanna start heads up or even off the Christmas tree or a Pro tree?), and they run the race. These are the real exciting races that happen from about 9 PM until 11:30 PM (well the lanes close at 11 PM but it almost always continues for at least another half hour.) The big street racers from Illinois show up and have some big grudge matches with some SERIOUS cars, I dont think I've been to an RSD where I didn't see half a dozen 9 second cars and a handful faster than that. I cant tell you how fun it is to watch 2 huge "posses" gather around their respective cars and race 2 low 10 second or 9 second cars for $5000!! I've seen guys leave before the flag gets dropped and the other guy still goes anyways and barely beats him on the top end of the track while the whole crowd is screaming and shouting!!

That's the other thing, the crowd is HUGE and it's 90% people in the age range 18-30. The little stands in front are packed to the brim (you will be bumping into people) and there is ALWAYS a handful of hotties there wearing incredibly skimpy clothes. I dont know what it is about RSD but I seen carloads of pure chicks (no guys present) waiting in line to get in. Not only that but if you race its a blast to race in front of a huge crowd. It is just like racing at the street races in Milwaukee or whereever in front of a crowd except you won't get busted. The only thing about racing at RSD is it's better if you have something impressively fast (either something "real fast" or something thats much faster than it looks). Reason being, the competition is quite stiff so lately I've just been going to watch cause its so damn fun to stand up in the stands with the rest of the crowd. They have specific RSD announcers who call out some of the races and its pretty funny to hear the smack talk.

Its like I said about it being a big party, they race for money and make jokes and swear on the P.A. system and everybody has a good time and nobody cares. They don't even check tech inspection anywhere near like a normal test and tune night. I seen guys running 12-11 seconds without a helmet and I cant think of a better time to drag race your 11.49 or faster ride without a roll cage cause nobody's gonna say anything!! I asked the tech inspector himself and his words were something to the effect of "Well yeah the inspection is going to be much less strict on street racing nights, it depends on the car. I'd have to see it."

Last Thursday some of the cool stuff I saw was:
- 4 girls with miniskirts so short I could barely catch my breath
- some of the biggest cans I've ever seen in my life on a normal-weight chick (anyone else see this girl in the grey shirt walking in front?)
- 9 or 8 second blue/yellow Supra from Sound Performance in Illinois, about 100 feet out this thing looked like it hit "warp speed"
- blue Fox body (5.0) Mustang with a big block running at least 10 seconds got loose, hit the wall and flipped on his roof (driver was OK)
- 1 transmission exploded
- 1 "Daddy buys the car and I beat on it" kid blew his motor, literally exploded, parts were picked up off the entire length of the track
- 1 driveshaft busted on the line made a neat "light show"
- 1 7 second alcohol dragster challenged anyone to a street race :cool2:
- 1 or 2 Hayabusa motorcycle that had to be in the 9s
- lots of big wheelies off the line including a few from manual transmission cars!

I've seen 10 second sleeper Ford Ranger trucks, 10 second station wagons, all kindsa crazy sh*t you don't normally see on the regular nights!! It seems like all kinds of guys come out of the woodwork on RSD nights, I don't know if it's the lax tech inspection or they are out to make some fast cash or what. There is also this girl in a silver LS1 automatic tranny Camaro that runs ~10 seconds and dusts everything she races! I saw her race a guy last Thursday she gave him 10 lengths and the hit and still drove around him, that was quite the race.

Its late at night and my paragraphs are probably not totally coherent but what I'm trying to say is basically nobody seems to talk about RSD yet every time I go I have the most fun ever and I cant beleive nobody else knows about this. Go at least once and I guarantee you will be saying "holy sh*t" more than once while you're there!!

Josh

Thursdays are impossable for me, I get my hair and nails done.....;)

Yeah,

I have been there and it was a great time!

I also had fun racing my car. I smoked a new 2003 Viper real bad at the June RSD!!!

It was a good time but it's getting so packed that you barely get any runs in. I guess I could leave early and get there at 3:00...they are now opening up early to get some timed runs in before hand.

:3gears:

Yep, been there a TON of times, racing and spectating. Although, Trent and Brian do a real good job of making sure everyone is wearing proper gear. They only thing required IS a helmet, so don't go expecting not to get hassled for it.

Will agree on one thing though... women down there:stare

Chris