Going the Extra Mile – Sick Michigan Miles Starts in One Week at the Revamped Darana Dragway in Milan, and We Highlight the First Track Shirt That Pays Tribute to the Track and a Michigan Business
We’re one week away from the start of our first ‘one-off’ drag and drive event of 2025, Sick Michigan Miles Presented By Driven Racing Oil. Sick The Magazine is based in Michigan, and it’s been a goal to showcase the state with an event entirely in Michigan.
In the first of five stories about Michigan, we will be highlighting the track we’re visiting on Day One, and showcasing the official shirt for each track that incorporates the track, as well as a Michigan business.
Skip the line at get the limited edition Michigan Miles track shirts and stickers sent directly to you! We only get a limited number of each design, and once they’re gone, we won’t have any more! CLICK HERE to view our Sick Michigan Miles merchandise, and make to join us next week on Michigan Miles - August 10-17th - CLICK HERE for more info on Sick Michigan Miles!
Milan Dragway got its start in 1964, and has seen use under both the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) and International Hot Rod Association (IHRA) sanctioning bodies. After seeing multiple owners in more than half a century, the track was closed for the entire 2021 season due to bankruptcy.
Perry Merlo and Harold Bullock teamed up to buy the track in December 2021. “Me, my wife Pam, and co-owner Harold have talked about our plans for the track since we bought it in 2021,” said Perry. “We took it on as a project, because we love the place.”
The track had a large number of projects completed in just over three years under Perry, Pam and Harold. Some of the projects included renovating the concessions and performance centers, the restrooms, and adding a bar adjacent to the starting line named, appropriately, the ‘Water Box Bar.’
Sick The Magazine even pledged to support one of our local tracks, sponsoring the right lane scoreboard. Yes, you could make a run in the ‘Sick The Magazine’ lane; it might even make it a touch quicker.
CLICK HERE TO READ OUR STORY ON MILAN DRAGWAY FROM NOVEMBER, 2024!
In March of 2025, IHRA owner Darryl Cuttell purchased the track, and brought in noted racer and Michigan resident John ‘Johnny Quick’ Kramer to oversee the next round of upgrades. “Milan has always been home for me, so to improve every aspect of this track should make racers and spectators be excited,” said John.
The track had the racing surface smoothed out, and the pit area was treated to a bunch of new asphalt. A new Accutime timing system, new paint, new bathrooms, and a lot more was done around the facility. “It was good after all the upgrades from Harold Bullock, Perry and Pam Merlo, but Darryl is taking it to the next level,” John noted.
The final change was the track’s name, changed from Milan Dragway to Darana Dragway, announced in time for the IHRA Nitro Outlaw Series event, the second of IHRA’s five national events for the season.
CLICK HERE TO READ OUR STORY ON DARANA DRAGWAY FROM JULY, 2025!
When our staff artist Garrett Olsen starting putting together the limited-edition shirt for each track, he tied in a Michigan-based business as well. For our first shirt, the Big Boy restaurant got the nod.
Although the Big Boy name originally started in 1936 in California as Bob’s Pantry, the creator Bob Wian changed the name to Big Boy one year later, the same year the ‘Bob’s Big Boy’ mascot was introduced.
The first Big Boy franchised restaurant would land in the state of Michigan in 1952. A trio of brothers, John, Louis, and Fred Elias, were the first to formally apply for a Big Boy franchise license. Their existing restaurant, Dixie Drive-In in Hazel Park, would change to a Big Boy.
Just over a decade later, the Elias brothers had expanded the Big Boy name to 100 more restaurants in the Michigan and Ohio areas. In 1987, the brothers purchased the Big Boy chain and relocated the headquarters to Warren, Michigan, and operated it until 2000.
Today, a group of investors owns the Big Boy Restaurant Group, with 45 restaurant locations in the state of Michigan. Hopefully, you can visit one during your seven days on Sick Michigan Miles Presented by Driven Racing Oil!
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, the Perrys and Darana Dragway (John Kramer).
If you have thoughts / feedback / ideas, please e-mail us at derek@sickthemagazine.com