The motorplex, which also has tracks for motocross and all-terrain vehicles, has an overwhelmingly local feel. These aren't your average Pabst Blue Ribbon-drinking spectators — and it's not simply because there's no drinking allowed on the premises.
The crowd is mostly a sea of white dishdashas, the long robes worn by Emiratis, and brightly colored baseball caps. Juice boxes and sunflower seed shells litter the stands. Applause for the winning drivers is genuine, and spectators enjoy the spectacle, especially when a car blows an engine at the starting line or bursts into flames at the far end of the track. The track draws about 60 cars on qualification day and 40 on race day.
Ahmed al-Kamda, another Skyline driver from Dubai who races on the track, said he thought the popularity of the track was a good demonstration of the demand for a track among young street racers.
"As you can see, there is a huge market and demand for this sport, for drag racing," he said, gesturing to the cars and the crowd. "For them to open something and give us the opportunity so they can see our demands — you know, basically, if you have money to invest in a race car, you're not going to drag it on the street, you're going to bring it here."
Khaled al-Matrooshy, a mechanic from the nearby emirate of Ajman, agreed. His garage has been helping local drivers customize their hot rods since before the track opened six years ago. He said that one of his cars, a purple replica of a 1941 Willys with a Chevrolet engine, was jacked up to 2,300 horsepower.
"We have some young racers here, and they are doing well," Matrooshy said. "We were before racing in the street, but when they opened this track, we don't go anywhere outside anymore, all our races are inside the track. It's much safer."
Translating street bravado into safer behavior has been gradual, and racing as a proper sport still has not become established here. Ryan Trutch, an English emigre based in Dubai, who has been supplying safety equipment including helmets, fire-retardant suits and rollbars to drivers in the region for the last four years, said that the transition had been slow.
"In drag racing mostly, they have been very reluctant to wear the correct gear mainly because it's hot," he said.
Officials at the track said it operated according to international racing safety standards.
Obaid al-Ghawi, the track's general manager for the last two years, said he took great pride that this was a local operation. And it is one that, over the years, has managed to attract young fans and drivers from all over the region.
"Our own guys know how to do these things, and they are capable to run international races," he said, pointing out the racing marshals, the track safety and maintenance crews, the announcer and the drivers, almost all of whom were local. "This is when I feel happy."
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