DATES ARE SET FOR THE STRAIGHTLINE SHOWDOWN

AUGUST 1-4 2024

June 28 2024: I have to announce that unfortunatly the 2024 Straightline Showdown has been canceled. Due to some very sad medical situations my family is facing, I have no choice but to cancel the event. I have called each registered driver and spoke to them personally to explain the situation. I am truly sorry for this situation and ask for everyones understanding. Thank you very much. Scotty 

May 1st 2024: Dates are set for the Showdown and entries will go live on June 18th at 7pm ct. Paid entries by July 1st will receive an event T shirt included with your track fee. 

December 10 2023: 2023 is coming to a close and we want to let everyone know things are getting set for the 2024 Straigthline Showdown at the Legendary Great Lakes Dragaway RC Drag Strip. It will be held August 1-4 2024. More info about the event will be forth coming but set your calendar to join us for what has become one of the best events in the country. 

July 3rd 2023: As we draw closer to the Straightline Showdown, we want to invite everyone to a special Test and Tune day at Great Lakes Dragaway on Saturday July 8th from 11-5pm. We have special gate price of only $10 on this day and we will not be charging any track fee to test on Saturday. We hope you can join us as we prepare for the Showdown. 

June 20 2023: Camping informaiton and Spectator Passes informatoin has been added to the event tab. 

May 30 2023: Entrie opened tonight and it was a great night. Many racers from across the country signed up with Ken Lupi taking the Signup TQ Honors. 

May 21 2023:

Registration which was scheduled for May 22nd has had to be postponed until Tuesday May 30th  at 7pm ct  We are sorry for the inconvenience. 

May 15th 2023:

Hello to our family of the Straightline Showdown. As the summer of 2023 is upon us, we have much to celebrate and look forward to.  2 years ago, I approached the owner of Great Lakes Dragaway to pitch him the idea of allowing me to bring RC Drag Racing to his wonderful facility.  It was difficult to convince him to trust me as he did not know anything about me. I showed him examples of my 20+ years of organizing some of the largest RC events around the world and after a few more meetings, he agreed to allow us to bring RC to GLD. In our early meetings, I had suggested the idea that if he was happy with our production, maybe he would consider adding a dedicated RC Strip to his facility. Well after 2 wonderful Showdown events the past 2 years, We are proud to be part of the only full scale drag strip in the nation with its own dedicated RC Drag Strip. Great Lakes Dragaway RC is now a reality. 

GLD has invested huge in this project to give RC enthusiast a one of a kind track and experience and we are honored to bring the 2023 Straightline Showdown back to GLD and run on the new GLDRC Strip.  The Showdown will be held July 28-30.  Full event details are posted on the event website at www.straightlineshowdown.com 

For those of you who have never been to Great Lakes Dragaway, it is the perfect place to hold our event. GLD has a wonderful facility with clean bathrooms for both men and women, Shower facilities for those who choose to camp onsite, concession stands with great food and drink as well as a full service bar. But maybe the best thing about our event being at GLD is the chance to watch full scale drag cars just a few hundred yards away from the RC Strip. All of this plus the brand new GLDRC Strip built just for RC Racers makes it a win win for everyone to have a great time at the Showdown.  Entries will go live on Monday May 22nd at 7pm ct on the event website.  A deposit of $25 will be required at registration to confirm a spot into the event.  We will be running A & B Brackets, both will be single elimination. Racers will be allowed to enter 1 car into each bracket. Entry fee is $100 for each car which goes to the prize pool. Track fee will be $75 total. 

This includes: 

Entry into GLD for the entire event-  Normally $25 a day

Event T Shirt if signed up by July 4th 2023

Payout to the top 16

Commemorative lanyard badge, 

Raffle Ticket to giveaways and the opportunity to run on the new GLD RC Strip. 

Your $25 deposit will be deducted from the track fee total, remaining money due will be collected at registration.  We are so excited for the next evolution of racing at the Straightline Showdown and hope you will be able to join us for the event.  If you have any questions at all, please feel free to email me at scottyernst@gmail.com  

We look forward to having you join us for what will be an amazing event at Great Lakes Dragaway. 

Thank you, Scotty

April 1 2023:

The Long awaited news is finally here. Great Lakes Dragaway is building a dedicated RC Drag Strip! That is right, it will be the only dedicated RC Drag Strip in the World at an existing Full Scale Strip. We are so excited to hold this years Showdown on the new strip. Info coming soon on classes and entries. Entries will go live on May 22nd at 7pm CT here on this website. 

Jan 1 2023:

We hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. The New Year is upon us and we are busy makign plans for the 2023 Straightline Showdown. Dates have been proposed to Great Lakes Dragaway of July 27-30 2023. As soon as we have confirmation from them, we will make these dates official. Please stay check back here and our FB page for all updates.  We look forward to seeing everyone this summer in Wisconsin. 

July 1 2022

We are drawing close to what is going to be a fantastic event. A full entry of cars to battle it out at the legendary Great Lakes Dragaway. Gates open Thrusday July 28 at 9am for load in and setup. We look forward to seeing everyone at the Showdown. 

March 4 2022.

The interest in the evnet continues to grow and we are now taking waitlist entries. If you are wanting to join us, please make your entry and select Waitlist Outlaw. No payment is needed at this time.  Selecting Waitlist will get you on the waitlist and we will fill the open spots with names from this list. There will be racers who have signed up for the race but for some reasons will have to drop out. These opening will be filled from the waitlist. 

March 2 2022: 

What an amazing night of registration, Thank you to everyone who is planning on joining us for the Showdown. It is going to be a fantastic weekend of racing.  Keep an eye on this page and the FB page for updates. With the amazing interest in the Outlaw class, we have updated the schedule for the RTR classes.  The RTR classes will have their competition on Saturday and Sunday only. RTR Racers are welcome to come and setup and practice on Thursday and Friday and Saturday during practice times but the RTR competion will be held only on Saturday and Sunday. Check the schedule page for full schedule. 

February 8 2022:

It is time to make plans to join us for the Straightline Showdown July 28-31. Entries will go live on March 2nd at 7pm ct here on the website. A deposit of $20 will be due at registration paid via PayPal. Only 256 spots will be available and we are expecting the event to sell out. Make plans to be online at 7pm March 2nd to make your entry. You dont want to miss out on the exciting time you will have at the Straightline Showdown!

January 24 2022:

Big news for the Straightline Showdown. We are proud to announce that the RC Divas Queen of the Streets will be held in conjunction with the Straighline Showdown.  QOS will be held on Thursday July 28th at the Showdown. We are looking forward to having the fastest lady racers in the nation joining us for this exciding addition to the Showdown. 

September 16th 2021:

The inagural Straighline Showdown presented by Hobbywing is in the books and what an event it was. Amazing racing and great friendships made with racers from Coast To Coast.  We wanted to waste no time in getting things set for 2022 so we are set now. Dates for the 2022 Showdown are July 28-31 2022 again at the legendary Great Lakes Dragaway. More info to come but all the great things we had this year will be back. Racer Goodie Bags, Awesome event T shirts and the best run event in the country is what you can plan on for the 2nd running of the Showdown in 2022. We hope you can make plans to join us. 

August 20th 2021:

We are excited to continue bringing news of more great sponsor who will be joining the Straightline Showdown. We are proud to welcome Tekin Electronics to the family of sponsors. Tekin who has been in the racing game for many many years has taking that experience and brought it to the Drag Racing World. Tekin -is- high-performance racing. With over 30 years in the industry, Tekin pushes the boundaries of RC Racing innovation with world class products and customer service. Tekin is Smarter-Smaller-Faster. We thank them for their support of the Showdown. Make sure to check them out at www.teamtekin.com

August 19th 2021:

One of the biggest names in the World of RC is joining the Showdown and we are very excited to welcome Traxxas to the Straighline Showdown. Traxxas "the fastest name in Radio Control" Will be in attendance at the Showdown and displaying some of their latest and greatest products. Part of the Showdown is the Traxxas Drag Slash RTR class and they will there to support all the racrers in the class. Tech support and tunning advice will be available to ensure you get the most out of your Drag Slash. Make sure you stop by the Traxxas booth and check out all Traxxas has to offer. www.traxxas.com

August 18 2021:

August 17 2021:

Sponsor announcements continue as we build up to the Showdown. We welcome Team Losi and Proline as sponsors of the event. Losi came into the Drag Race world with thier fantastic scale looking 22s and will be in attendance supporting all their Losi Customers and showcasing the latest products from Losi. Racers who are running in the Losi 22S RTR class have lots to look forward to. Not only having the factory support from the Losi Team, Losi will be giving each 22S RTR class participants a specail goodie bag including a Limited edition number print of the 22S by artist Jeff Yonkers. Along with a cool Losi hat, and a pair of 22S Rims and Tires. www.teamlosi.com

Proline is also going to be a big part of the Showdown. We have talked a lot about the racer goodie bag each entrant will receive.  Proline has really stepped it up and will be giving each entrant a Proline 1978 Malibu body.  These are beautiful looking bodies that everyone will love and included with your entry. www.prolineracing.com

August 1 2021:

As things continue to roll for the inagural Straightline Showdown, We are proud to announce that Hobbywing will be our Title sponsor for the Showdown.  Hobbywing has been a long time supporter of R/C Racing and continues
by joining the Straitline Showdown.  Hobbywing will be attending the event to assist any and all racers with their needs for the weekend. Need a hot soldering Iron? Have some tuning questions? Swing by the Hobbywing Booth to chat with Hobbywing and their Team.  From our friends at Hobbywing - We are extremely excited for the Straightline
Showdown and look forward to meeting many of the R/C Drag Racing worlds fastest racers. See you all there! www.hobbywingdirect.com

June 17 2021: 

     Entries for the Straightline Showdown will go live on July 6th at 7pm CT here on the site. Our entry maximum is 512 and we may sell out. To gurantee a spot in the event and to get the event T Shirt included with your entry a deposit of $25 will need to be paid via Pay Pal. ALL ENTRIES WITH A PAID DEPOSIT BY JULY 31 WILL INCLUDE AN EVENT T SHIRT. 

June 16 2021:    

     What once was a secret underground community of RC racers is now the #1 growing segment of the hobby, RC Drag Racing! We have watched the growth of this exciting form of racing grow over the past year and we are ready to take RC Drag Racing to the next level and bring it to the masses and showcase it in front of die hard Drag Race fans.  

Welcome to the home of the Straightline Showdown RC Drag Race. My name is Scotty Ernst and I will be the organizer and director of the Showdown. I have been organizing and commentating at RC Events around the World since 2001 and I will be bringing my decades of experience to this event to give everyone an event like they have never experience before.  The Showdown will not be just a parking lot event. it will be an extremly well run event with daily time schedules and information to keep both participants and spectators well informed througout the course of the event.  

The Showdown will be held at Great Lakes Dragaway, the longest running Drag Strip in the USA. The Showdown will be held on the drift pad located only a few hundred yards from the drag strip. The racing surface will be asphalt and we have ample room for pitting and everything will be laid out very organized to ensure a good experience for everyone. . 

Your entry will gain you access to Great Lakes Dragaway to watch racing at this legendary Drag Strip. GLD is located in Union Grove Wisconsin 4 miles west of the I 94 Freeway. It is about 20 minutes north of the Wisconsin Illinois border and 30 min south of Milwaukee.  Major hotel chains and resturants are only a short drive away so it makes for a perfect location to hold our event. 

The Showdown will consist of a Double Elimination format meaning you will have to lose twice to be eliminated from the event. We will have a designated practice track to give racers a place to safely tune and ensure there is no driving in the pit area between tents. Your entry fee includes access to GLD and entry into the Showdown, Event T shirt, Goodie bag with items from our sponsors as well as Raffle tickets for giveaways. 

The RC industry will be out in full force for the Showdown with many of the industries biggest companies like Traxxas, Team Losi and Team Associated planning on attending the event to give full support for their customers and showcase their latest products for everyone to see. 

The Showdown will be run with state of the art timeing and scoring software that will keep everyone well informed during the entire event. Live scoring on your mobile device, instant results sent via text message to your phone immediatly after your run is finished, no more wondering how fast you went, what your reaction time was, it will all be there on your phone.  In the past, spectators have watched the races but never knew what happend, who won, etc. We will have display screens that will display info about the run as well as informative announcing to let everyone know what is going on. 

We will have payouts in all classes with the Outlaw Class being the premier class. Top 16 in Outlaw, Top 8 in Super Sport and Top 4 in all RTR Classes. Payouts will be determined at event based on entries.  Full rules for all classes are located on the Rules page.

We are very excited to give RC Drag Racers this premier event and look forward to seeing racers from coast to coast join us in August for the 2021 Straightline Showdown. If you have any questions at all, please fee free to email me at scottyernst@gmail.com and I will be happy to help how ever we can. 

Thank you, 

Scotty