When a bunch of turbo four, boxer engine, AWD family sedans come together at Great Lakes Dragway.... well, we have something called the Subaru Shootout. This year the event featured The Subaru Speed Expo and Chitown Subaru's. The weather couldn't of been more gracious and I couldn't of been more excited for some racing.

My first "tuned" car I ever got to ride along in was a buddies 500whp hawk eye STI. That night was my introduction into the boxer power world and I was entranced with the street nightlife. Not only by the entertaining sounds from the turbo but more so from the rumble that the flat four boxer engine produces. I was hooked.

It was that ride along that changed my opinion on four door sedans and the subaru brand itself. So I began to do my research on the WRX. It was the 22b STI that boosted subaru to the rally icon status we all know them as today. The rally world acted as the proving grounds for subaru's turbo four door sedans.

This weekend though, Great Lakes Dragway will be the proving grounds for these boy racers. From bugeye wrx to brz, the competition field was quite diverse. Which made for some interesting battles down the strip. Although Subaru hasn't changed it's motor configuration in over a decade, the boxer engine really became a battle of tuning and chassis.

For the most part of the day the rumble of the boxer engine echoed throughout the dragstrip with an occasional 2jz being heard in the mix. In particular a corolla swapped with a 2jz put in a few quick test passes before narrowingly missing catastrophic failure. Something blew and a fire broke out in the engine bay and the driver still managed to keep it off the wall.

That was pretty wild I'll admit, so while the track was being cleaned up I headed to the pits to check out more closely these subaru's. I love hatchbacks and there was no shortage of wagons around. A quick walk through the pits lead me to the concession stand.

After devouring a bacon, egg and cheese sandwich, I headed back to catch a few more rounds of racing before setting off back to Illinois. All in all, the day was quite relaxing and the rumble from the boxer engines oddly enough kept me at ease all day. The unique engine platform, chassis and underdog status the subaru brand holds can only be a testament to the countless rally championships they have won.

Thank you to the Subaru Shootout guys for putting together an entertaining family event.

BONUS IMAGES

For all the info in regards to the competition classes and the winners, I was able to find this on The Subaru Shoot Out facebook page.