Ubly Dragway
ActiveActive Still racing today.
Ubly is a veteran-owned drag strip in Michigan’s Thumb region.
- Gary Dyer set an unofficial world ET record of 8.70 in 1965
- Almost 50,000 spectators in its first year
- Raced
- 1963-mid-1970s, 1984-present
- State
- Michigan
- Raced on
- Built as a drag strip
- First race
- May 5, 1963
- Track
- 1/8 mile
- Surface
- Asphalt
- Address
- 4812 South Ubly Road
Ubly, MI 48475 - People
- Art Janowiak, landowner (1963)
- Clarence Bukowski, builder (1963)
- Harry 'Butch' Schmidt, builder (1963)
- Tom and Sharon Ledford, leaseholders and operators (1984-2007)
- Dennis and Linda Janowiak, managers (2007-)
- Sanction
- IHRA
- Elevation
- 776 ft (236 m)
- Coordinates
- 43.69986, -82.93399
- Contact
- ublydragwaymi.com (989) 658-8132
Big races
Budweiser Classic
Holiday bracket race that has been one of the track's main annual events.
History
Art Janowiak provided the land, and Clarence Bukowski and racer Harry ‘Butch’ Schmidt built an asphalt drag strip on it. Plenty of people thought it was a waste of money, but almost 5,000 came to the opening on May 5, 1963, when Butch Ryan made four runs between 165 and 170 mph. The NHRA track raced every Sunday and drew almost 50,000 spectators its first year. On October 10, 1965, Gary Dyer beat Jim Thornton’s A/FX Ramcharger Dodge in a match race with an unofficial world ET record of 8.70. The strip closed in the mid-1970s and was reopened in 1984 by Tom and Sharon Ledford, who left in 2007 after a 24-year lease, according to Brian Ledford. Dennis and Linda Janowiak run it now as an IHRA track.
Video
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