First legal drag racing event coming to Detroit city airport

DETROIT – Detroit’s first legal drag racing event will be held Saturday at Coleman A. Young International Airport.

Illegal street racing has become a safety issue in Detroit for the past few years and Brian Olatunji has a solution that could make everyone happy.

Motor City Showdown is Detroit’s first legal drag racing event held in the city limits, organized by Olatunji with assistance from the Detroit police.

The former Detroit City Airport will host the event, which will also include a car show exhibit, Saturday at 3 p.m.

“Drag racing kind of started on airstrips,” said Olatunji. “Way back in the day, there were abandoned airstrips that people utilized, so there’s a couple pieces of symmetry here”.

Detroit Police Chief James Craig was also enthusiastic about the event, believing this could be the first step toward having legal drag racing throughout the city permanently. 

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About the Authors

Koco joined the Local 4 News team in September of 2016. She was born and raised in Metro Detroit, attended Central Michigan University, and previously worked at WOOD-TV in Grand Rapids.

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