I-57 Drag Strip/Ellis I-57 Drag Strip (Benton)
ActiveActive Still racing today.
Southern Illinois drag strip built around 1970 next to Interstate 57 at Benton, owned by Donnie and Nicki Ellis. It joined IHRA in 2023 after years as an outlaw track and is known for Luke Bogacki's Summer Door Car Shootout.
- Raced
- 1972-present
- State
- Illinois
- Raced on
- Built as a drag strip
- First race
- August 6, 1972
- Track
- 1/8 mile
- Address
- 6112 Hill City Road, Benton, IL 62812
- People
- Dr. Roice A. McElwee, builder and original owner (1972)
- Sanction
- IHRA
- Elevation
- 432 ft (132 m)
- Coordinates
- 37.95432, -88.93644
- Contact
- i57dragstrip.com
Big races
Summer Door Car Shootout (Biggest Little Door Car Race in the Midwest)
Luke Bogacki's long-running door car bracket race with a $12,000-to-win Sunday main; the 13th running was in 2024 and a 14th was announced for 2025.
I57 Drag and Drive
Street-car drag and drive that pairs racing here with Coles County Dragway and a road route between them.
History
Dr. Roice A. McElwee of West Frankfort built this strip in 1972 and was its first owner. It sits on the west side of Interstate 57 halfway between Benton and West Frankfort and is 3/8 mile long, built for timed eighth-mile racing. The first race ran on August 6, 1972. Lights went in sometime before 1975 for night racing, with grudge racing on Friday nights and regular races on Saturday nights. It still runs as an eighth-mile track. Its early years aren’t well documented.
Video
More in Illinois
- Closed No longer racing, but some of the track is still there. Alton Dragway 1958-72
- Closed No longer racing, but some of the track is still there. Beardstown Drag Strip 1967-1979 or early 1980s
- Nothing left No longer racing, and nothing of the track remains. Camp Ellis (Canton) 1953-56
- Status unknown Closed, but nobody has checked how much of the site survives, or the exact spot was never found. CMW Dragway (Paris) 1971-74
- Active Still racing today. Coles County Dragway (Charleston) 1966-present
- Active Still racing today. Cordova Dragway/Quad City Drags 1956-present
- Nothing left No longer racing, and nothing of the track remains. Fairfield Drag Strip 1966-73
- Closed No longer racing, but some of the track is still there. Greater Peoria Dragstrip/Boondocks Dragway 1957-mid 1970s
- Closed No longer racing, but some of the track is still there. Greene County Fairgrounds (Carrollton) 1958-59, 1961-63
- Nothing left No longer racing, and nothing of the track remains. Half Day Speedway 1952-53
- Nothing left No longer racing, and nothing of the track remains. International Amphitheatre (Chicago) 1962-64
- Closed No longer racing, but some of the track is still there. Lawrenceville Municipal Airport 1954-56, 1958