Day 5 of Sick Michigan Miles Next Week Visits the 4th Track on Our List, The Ubly Dragway – The Info on Ubly, A Michigan-Based Business, and our 4th Sick The Mag Track Shirt That Ties Them Together
One week from today, Friday, August 15th, Sick Michigan Miles Presented By Driven Racing Oil will be on Day Five of the week, Day Four of competition, and our fourth race track, The Ubly Dragway.
This also means our fourth and final track shirt, tying together The Ubly Dragway and a Michigan-based business, for the fourth in our limited-quantity design shirts for Sick Michigan Miles.
Want one of these limited edition Michigan Miles track shirts or stickers? They will be available on the Sick The Mag Merch trailer on Michigan Miles - August 10-17th - CLICK HERE for more info on Sick Michigan Miles!
This is the fourth, and final, story focused on Michigan, the track we are visiting on that day, and showcasing the official shirt for each track that incorporates the track, as well as a Michigan business.
We will have a fifth day of racing when we return to Darana Dragway; you can click on the link below to read about the track, the Michigan-based business and the track shirt created.
To read our first story on Darana Dragway (formerly Milan Dragway), CLICK HERE!
To read our second story on Mid-Michigan Dragway, CLICK HERE!
To read our third story on Northern Michigan Dragway, CLICK HERE!
The Ubly Dragway came to life from a parcel of land from Art Janowiak, and the efforts of Clarence Bukowski and racer Harry ‘Butch’ Schmidt to turn it into a drag strip. Although it’s reported that many thought the idea wasn’t a smart one, the asphalt drag strip opened on May 5th in 1963, to a reported crowd of almost 5,000 people to witness the racing.
After a little over a decade of racing action, the track closed in the mid-1970s. It was acquired and re-opened in 1984 by Tom and Sharon Ledford, and the track now sports a mix of asphalt and concrete surfaces. After over two decades, the Ledfords departed, and Dennis and Linda Janowiak took over management of the facility.
The track is the third on Sick Michigan Miles under the World Drag Racing Alliance (WDRA) sanctioning body, and hosts a mix of test and tune, bracket races and specialty events, including being the host track on the recent Heads Up Hustle drag and drive event.
If you’ve read any of our first three stories, you’ve seen the work of Sick The Magazine staff artist Garrett Olsen on our limited-edition track shirts. Combining the track and a Michigan-based business has resulted in some unique designs, and the fourth combines The Ubly Dragway and Better Made Snack Foods.
Started in 1930 and based in east Detroit, Cross Moceri and Peter Cipriano purchased a small potato chip business and founded the Cross & Peter’s Company. The ‘Better Made’ brand name came along a couple years later, in 1934.
After expanded to a bigger plant in 1955, Better Made introduced their first flavored potato chip, Barbecue, in 1973, followed by Sour Cream & Onion, Hot BBQ, Sweet BBQ and Salt & Vinegar.
The company merged with the Bay City Made-Rite Chip Company two decades later, and by that point, the founders had passed away, leaving the ownership to their heirs.
Although the Moceri family is no longer involved, and the business renamed to Better Made Snack Foods in 2004, it remains a staple of Michigan, and the last Detroit-based chip that once tangled in a crowded market. The company primarily uses Michigan-grown potatoes, and has over a dozen varieties of chips.
Come join us for a week of fun and racing action, plus the Woodward Dream Cruise, as we invade Michigan for the Sick Michigan Miles Presented by Driven Racing Oil event, NEXT WEEK - August 10-17th! CLICK HERE for more details!
Written by Derek Putnam. Photos courtesy of Sick the Magazine, Heads Up Hustle, The Ubly Dragway and the Better Made Snack Company.
If you have thoughts / feedback / ideas, please e-mail us at derek@sickthemagazine.com