Merrill Ice Drags - Classes And Race Cars

We were surprised at the number of regular ol' muscle cars racing on the ice. Thing is, the pure frozen water is not nearly as hard on a car as driving on salted roads in the winter, and crashing seems far less likely than you may think.

We were surprised at the number of regular ol' muscle cars racing on the ice. Thing is, th

In addition to their freaky race location, the Merrill Ice Draggers also have some interesting race classes. We most dug the oxymoronically named Stock Altered Rail class, which requires bone-stock, nonperformance engines to be used, but the car itself can be totally fabricated from scratch. The result is a mix of homegrown contraptions that, if you squint hard, sort of look like the very earliest rail jobs of the '50s. We wish there were a similar class available for asphalt drags. Maybe there's a germ of an idea there.

Other classes are for all sorts of four- and two-wheel-drive vehicles, plus a single Tuner class for front-drivers. Most of the turnout is mainstream muscle cars and bracket racers that do regular street-and-strip duty during the summer. They range from stockers to some real heavy hitters, and there's even a blown-alky dragster that holds the track record at 5.592 at 140.58 mph. Yeah, that's on 660 feet of pure ice. The two-wheel drive, rubber-tire record is an understandably slow 16.103 seconds at 53.36 mph, but other cars are as quick as Open Door Slammer record holder Suzy Schulz at 6.405 and 124.20 mph. By asphalt math, using NHRA conversion factors, that's roughly a 10-flat quarter-mile. The more typical muscle cars run in the 7s, or like a 12-second quarter-mile. Overall, pretty impressive when you consider not only the track surface but also the bitter cold.

The day we were there, the race temps had warmed up to about 2 degrees, but the windchill grew more biting as the day wore on. Locals walked around not noticing or caring about the snot frozen to their beards. Our camera batteries lasted for about 10 photos before dying due to the cold, so we kept spares tucked in an armpit under four layers of jackets and swapped them out every few minutes. The AA batteries that power our voice recorder for note-taking were total junk, and even the ink in our pen froze. So, if we can get there again, it'll be as racers.

Learn more at merrillicedrags.com.

The races are immediately adjacent to homes that, during the summer, are on the Wisconsin River beachfront. Residents seemed to be more interested in watching the action than in complaining about the noise.
The races are immediately adjacent to homes that, during the summer, are on the Wisconsin
A rollbar was added to this cool Model A roadster pickup in the days before the race. It's powered by a 440 Mopar.
A rollbar was added to this cool Model A roadster pickup in the days before the race. It's
This Nova Pro Streeter looks funny on the tiny rear tires used on ice, but the GMPP ZZ572/720R under the hood still does a great ice "burnout."
This Nova Pro Streeter looks funny on the tiny rear tires used on ice, but the GMPP ZZ572/

Subzero race temps lead to some tuning challenges. Freezing is a far greater problem than overheating, and some racers block off grilles to help keep heat in the engine.
Subzero race temps lead to some tuning challenges. Freezing is a far greater problem than
One of the most serious door-slammers is record holder Suzy Schultz's Camaro, which she drives with hand controls. The car is powered by an SB2.2 small-block on big nitrous. Imagine driving the equivalent of a 10.0-second quarter-mile time on ice.
One of the most serious door-slammers is record holder Suzy Schultz's Camaro, which she dr
This sleeper '73 Valiant had what the owner described as a "360 and then some," which we took to mean a 408ci stroker. It's a summer daily driver that's good for mid-12s on asphalt quarter-miles.
This sleeper '73 Valiant had what the owner described as a "360 and then some," which we t