“When is the Cars & Stripes Drag Day at Meinerzhagen airfield, and who is allowed to run?”
Eighty cars, one quarter mile.
The Drag Day at Meinerzhagen airfield is a quarter-mile fun race for 80 road-registered US cars. The date is a Saturday in May.
The short answer
- The Drag Day runs at Meinerzhagen airfield, Marienheider Straße 2, as a quarter-mile fun race on a Saturday in May.
- The field is capped at 80 cars, and only road-registered US cars may run: no trade plates, no historic 07 plates.
- The organiser counted around 650 US cars, some 4,000 visitors and about 40 exhibitors in 2026; the 2027 date had not been announced as of November 2026.
The Drag Day at Meinerzhagen airfield in the Sauerland hills is not a championship and does not want to be. It is a quarter-mile fun race for road-registered US cars, with a car meet of several hundred vehicles and a few dozen traders around it. It is run by the magazine Cars & Stripes, which bills it as "DRAGDAY powered by Cars&Stripes".
What happens at the Drag Day
Two cars, a quarter mile, the quicker one goes through. The field is small — 80 cars, no more — and that is exactly what makes the day readable for spectators: you see every car several times rather than once in a blur. The meet fills the space around the strip. For 2026 the organiser counted around 650 US cars on site, some 4,000 visitors and about 40 exhibitors.
There is a practical reason the airfield is the stage: a runway is straight, wide and has run-off. A one-day fun race does not need drag-strip infrastructure, it needs a closed piece of tarmac.
The date: a Saturday in May
Care is needed here, because the day moves. Two years are documented, and they sit three weeks apart.
| Year | Date | Weekday |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 10 May | Saturday |
| 2026 | 30 May | Saturday |
| 2027 | not announced | — |
The rule you can read out of that is thin: a Saturday in May, one day only. Whether it lands on the second or the last was not knowable in November 2026 — the organiser had no 2027 date out. Our event calendar therefore carries the entry as provisional, at the end of May. Check dragday.de before you book a hotel.
Who may run
The eligibility rule is narrow, and it is why the day works: road-registered US cars run. German trade plates and historic 07 plates are excluded, so unregistered race cars are too. Add the 80-car cap and the message is simple — enter early.
The field is capped at 80 entrants, and only road-registered US cars may run — no trade plates, no 07 plates.
The four classes
Cars are split by displacement, with a class of its own for the old ones.
| Class | Range |
|---|---|
| 1 | up to 4,700 cc |
| 2 | 4,701 to 6,500 cc |
| 3 | from 6,501 cc |
| 4 "Alteisen" (old iron) | vehicles more than 30 years old |
One detail sorts forced induction honestly: cars with a supercharger or turbo start in the next class up. A blown five-litre therefore does not run against naturally aspirated engines of the same size.
What the day costs
The organiser publishes prices openly, split by role. The "Wheeler" rate is pre-sale only and brings the car onto the site with you.
| Ticket | Price | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Visitor, 18 and over | €20 | admission |
| Young visitor, 13–17 | €10 | admission |
| Children up to 12 | free | — |
| Wheeler (pre-sale) | €25 | one US car including the driver, access and parking on site |
| Additional passenger, 18 and over | €20 | admission |
| Racer | €139 | one racing vehicle including all occupants, driver plus four at most |
A family with two children under 13 therefore pays €40 to get in. Putting your own car on the field costs €25 instead of €20 — the cheapest way to see a US car meet from the inside.
Getting there and what to pack
The address is Marienheider Straße 2, 58540 Meinerzhagen. Listing sites give the opening times as 10:00 to 18:00; the organiser's own page states none, and at a one-day race the finish moves with the schedule. If you want to see the finals, stay to the end.
Bring ear protection — a big-displacement V8 at full throttle on open tarmac is louder than you expect — sun or rain cover, because an airfield delivers both unfiltered, and cash. The organiser does not mention camping; the Drag Day is a day out, not a weekend.
Where the Drag Day sits in the US car year
The May date makes it one of the season's early meets. If you live in the Sauerland it is a good opening to the year; if you travel for the quarter mile, the next dates are in the event calendar — the braking zone at Hindenberg and the airfield weekend of Race 61 at Finowfurt fall in the same part of the year. For the winter indoor programme the Essen Motor Show and the Bremen Classic Motorshow are the counterparts.
FAQ
When is the Drag Day Meinerzhagen in 2027? The date had not been announced as of November 2026. In 2026 the Drag Day ran on 30 May, in 2025 on 10 May — both Saturdays in May.
Where does the Drag Day take place? At Meinerzhagen airfield, Marienheider Straße 2, 58540 Meinerzhagen.
What does admission cost? €20 for visitors 18 and over, €10 for young people aged 13 to 17, free for children up to 12.
Which cars are allowed to run? Road-registered US cars only. Trade plates and 07 plates are excluded, and the field is capped at 80 cars.
How long is the run? A quarter mile. The organiser explicitly calls it a fun race, not a championship.
What does an entry cost? €139 per racing vehicle, including the driver and up to four more occupants. If you only want your own car on the site, it is €25 in pre-sale.