Reality TV star takes helm at Milan Dragway as new owner renovates to attract top racers

MILAN, MI — Famed competitive drag racer and “Street Outlaws” reality TV star John “Johnny Quick” Kramer envisions Milan Dragway becoming a “premier” entertainment venue for automotive events in Michigan.

Crews are working to finish paving a smoother track as the drag way races to finish its first set of improvements since a new owner took over operations. Events could resume — fingers crossed for weather — by the end of May or early June at the drag way, 10860 Plank Road.

“If you don’t have something that is exciting for (fans) to show up for, then they aren’t going to come,” said Kramer, managing the drag way.

“We’re an entertainment business, so we have to keep them entertained. I want this place to be the best track in the world. Home field, right?” he said.

The International Hot Rod Association recently bought the drag way, which features a quarter-mile track. They purchased it for $3 million, according to Monroe County Register of Deeds records.

The drag way first opened in 1964. Previous owners Pam and Perry Merlo and Harold Bullock purchased it in 2021 and began remodeling and repairing it. They remain involved during the transition, as the hot rod association picks up where they left off.

Other immediate improvements include installation of a new timing system, a storage building for maintenance equipment, and new fencing. Some old storage buildings have already been demolished.

Future anticipated improvements include new bleachers and concessions and restrooms under them for easier convenience. They plan to install a new public address system and lighting.

The hot rod association also purchased a vacant neighboring property, which better buffers the drag way from neighbors.

“If you build it, they will come,” Kramer said, quoting 1989 film “Field of Dreams,” in which actor Kevin Cosner’s character builds a baseball field that attracts famous ghosts.

“If you have a good-quality racetrack, it gives them a safe place to race that is also family friendly,” Kramer said.

The hot rod association has been growing its portfolio by purchasing and renovating venues, according to a release from the association. It also hosts national events, including the Motor City Nationals, Northern Nationals and IHRA Pro-Am events. The Milan Dragway hired national track preparation firm Total Venue Concepts to improve the track surface and pit areas.

The improvements come at a time when Michigan drag racing fans have fewer venue options.

A judge in a May 1 order forced Ingham County drag strip Sloan’s Onondaga Dragway to cease operations. That drag way had been entangled in noise nuisance lawsuits for more than a decade. Detroit’s drag way closed in the 1990s.

READ MORE: Racetrack shuttered again after years of legal battles

“We’re in the Mecca of racing. And we’re home base. We’re the closest to Detroit,” Kramer said.

Before Milan Dragway reopens for events, it will have smoother pavement and repaired pits. They are also redoing the “shutdown” area, where cars speeding hundreds of mph slow down at the end of a race.

The shutdown stretch takes up about 2,000 feet of the track’s approximately 3,380 feet. It was previously sand with tires at the end, and drivers would have to deploy parachutes.

The new shutdown area will feature a safety net, and the ground underneath will be pea gravel.

“It’s smoother than a baby’s butt,” track manager Chris Pask said of the newly paved track.

“At the end of the day, we’ve got to get racers here. If racers aren’t here, the spectators won’t be here,” Pask said.

“We’ve gotta have racers who want to come here because the track is excellent, as smooth as it ever was. They want to put on a good show,” he said.

Kramer said added safety features should attract higher-caliber racers, including souped-up cars that could reach about 300 miles per hour.

Kramer is known to many in the drag racing community as a competitive grunge racer who has been “repping” the Milan venue and the Detroit area racing scene for decades, he said.

He’s also recognizable to fans of the Discovery Channel’s reality TV series “Street Outlaws.”

While Kramer said he’s been portrayed as “a bad boy,” in real life he’s just “a nice guy” who hails from Taylor and is tasked with being a “hero” to his 5-year-old son.

He is glad many viewers recognized his passion for racing shines through, he said, nodding affirmatively to a mention of the catchphrase “Detroit v. Everybody.”

He hadn’t planned to take over management of the drag way until the hot rod association reached out to him. He was working as a self-employed brick layer.

“I love the rush (of driving), and I’m highly competitive,” he said. “I work to pay for my car.”

“Now my competition is to make us the best,” he said of the Milan Dragway revamp.

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