As one of the participants that’s attended every year of Sick Week presented by Gear Vendors Overdrive, Matt Lamphier has experienced the highs and lows of a drag-and-drive event. He won the hotly-contested 235 Outlaw Street Race class at Sick Week in 2022, but had the reversal of fortune the last two years of Sick Week. But Matt and his wife / co-pilot Meg have a plan for 2025 to return to winning ways.
One year after scoring a coveted Sick the Magazine class-winning orange helmet, Matt and the LS-swapped 1992 Mazda Miata known as “The Turtle” had the engine lock up less than an hour from his day two destination – Bradenton Motorsports Park. Last year he exploded an engine.
Can Matt and Meg find the magic from their 2022 Sick Week and collect a second helmet in 2025?
The BoostedBoiz have built several cars and trucks that can make most people do a double take. From constructing a 7-second Honda engine-swapped MR2, to the ‘Rowdyssey’ Honda Odyssey van sporting a turbocharged Honda 4-cylinder and clocking mid 9-second times, the crew has come up with some crazy builds.
But their latest creation, merging a Tesla Plaid S chassis with a Dodge Challenger body, could prove to be one that gets even more attention, and might change a few opinions on muscle cars as well.
With a rich history that dates back over six decades, it may surprise some that Milan Dragway has hit the ‘for sale’ market. The track has played host to a number of big events over its history, including stops on this year’s Hot Rod Drag Week and Heads Up Hustle drag-and-drive events.
But unlike most tracks with ‘for sale’ signs in the window, Perry Merlo and co-owner Harold Bullock have plans for an active 2025 season, whether a buyer comes along or not.
The world of drag racing has been obsessed with the number 300 since the early 1990s. It was during that time frame when top fuel dragsters began to flirt with 300mph quarter mile runs and it captured the imaginations and attention of gearheads the world over.
While we did write about several track closures in 2023, it was refreshing to hear and see about a few tracks coming back to life as well. It’ll be just a few weeks before a popular track in Alabama re-opens with a new name, Rocket City Dragway, this spring.
“I’ve never run a seven-second pass, and if I can get one, I’ll leave a happy man.” Considering Kyle Williams finished second in the small tire class at the 2023 Miles of Mayhem event, TX2K would give him a solid chance for that 7-second blast.
The World Cup Finals Import vs. Domestic event at Maryland International Raceway is a highly anticipated event each year. Maryland in November normally means cooler temperatures, and combined with Jason Miller’s track prep, normally results in personal bests and racing in front of packed grandstands.
After three days of intense qualifying in eleven class, round one of eliminations got underway on Saturday afternoon for the classes that featured 32-car qualified fields, and by Sunday night, all eleven champions were crowned.
Day five of Edelbrock Sick 66 meant we had officially crossed the halfway point of the eight day trip spanning five states and six tracks. After covering Missouri, Kansas and Oklahoma, Sick 66 had made its way into Texas after a drive day on the fourth day. Amarillo Dragway hosted racing on day five, and then the tour would roll into New Mexico for street miles on day five and six.
After three days in Missouri, Edelbrock Sick 66 hit the road on day two to Oklahoma for day three and racing at Tulsa Raceway Park, then a nearly 300 mile drive day to Texas for day five action. Route 66 provided some amazing sights, as well as some good memories to reflect back on.
This week’s submission comes from Wyatt Nejdl, who joined father Doug for the second time on a drag-and-drive at this year’s Sick Summer with their 1988 Ford Mustang.
“My first ever drag-and-drive was Sick Summer 2023, when my husband Jerry Konstatos put us with my 1987 Cutlass, “She Gone” on the waiting list. As luck would have it, we got in, and survived in the Dial-Your Own (DYO) Class D. I made top 100 to earn my place for 2024.”
This week’s “For the Adventure – Stories from the Road” comes from Dylan Peacock, co-pilot on Jordan Boudreaux’s 2002 Ford Mustang that competes on Sick Week’s 275 Street Race class. Sidelined on day one of Sick Week Presented by Gear Vendors Overdrive 2022, Dylan and Jordan thought their week was over, until fellow competitor Eric Cowell got them back on track with an unusual fix.
It’s the 10-year anniversary of Australia’s longest-running and most prestigious drag-and-drive event, Street Machine Drag Challenge. Big high-fives to Scotty Taylor and Simon Telford and the rest of the Street Machine team as they set off this week for another five-day tour. I wish I could be there in person to help blow out the candles on the cake.
I’ve been in mourning this week along with the rest of the drag-and-drive community after the deaths of my friends Harry Haig and Andrew Baumgartner. These two fine Australians lost their lives in a single-vehicle accident in rural Victoria just under a week ago. Another of our drag-and-drive brothers, AJ John, thankfully survived the wreck but is in hospital with extensive injuries. The first thing AJ said to me when we made contact in the days after was: “It still doesn’t feel real.” You took the words right out of my mouth, bud.
The slowest car in drag-and-drive history was also one of the greatest. And not in any kind of ironic sense, either. You know how sometimes in competitive endeavors you get somebody who is so bad at a particular pursuit that they invariably make a name for themselves, like that kooky Australian breakdancer at the recent Olympics? Well, Jim Eby’s 1919 Franklin Series 9B Touring is a totally different story, and it’s a story that perfectly highlights the way drag-and-drive can challenge different people in different ways.
It’s been said that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Australia’s Darren Parker could not have flattered Chevrolet any more with the passion behind his COPO-inspired Holden Commodore.
“I could feel in the car on that run, it was a drastic change. It was one of the best feelings of my life.”
One of the newest competitors to Sick Week in 2024 is Kolby Bouck, who made the trip from Edmonton, Alberta Canada to Orlando. Kolby has owned a few Mustangs, but this 2017 model showed up ready to party in the Rowdy Radial class.
