News broke over the weekend that State Capitol Dragway in Louisiana may not have a 2026 racing season, putting over 55 years of continuous operation at risk.

The Louisiana track opened in 1969, and operated under both NHRA (National Hot Rod Association) and IHRA (International Hot Rod Association) sanctioning, and had even posted about events coming up as part of a 2026 season. And while the track hasn’t elaborated much on the January 17th announcement, racers and fans can’t help but worry if this could lead to a permanent track closure.

When we first saw Calvin and Andrew Nelson on Sick Week in 2023, it was in a 1959 Volvo running in the Sick Week Freaks class. Although the car didn’t survive the week, the 9-second performance put the Nelsons on a path for future builds outside the norm.

They continued that path at Sick Summer in 2025, where Calvin scored the win in the Sick Week Freaks class with a 9.07 average in a relatively rare Pontiac Sunbird.

But instead of bringing the Sunbird to Sick Week and aiming for the 8-second zone, Calvin and father Andrew are thrashing on a pair pf new builds. Will they make it in time?

After years of racing a classic third-generation Chevrolet Nova, Bill Hoskinson took a step back and focused on helping his sons Billy and Tommy race more. Both spent time behind the wheel of a Junior Dragster before they held their Ohio driver licenses, and the two’s transition to racing success in S-10 pick-ups and beyond has been well documented.

In the last couple years, Bill started getting the itch to drive and race something again, and when the chance to buy a clean 1979 Chevrolet Malibu came up, Bill jumped at the opportunity. In a few weeks, he’ll venture south for some Florida sun and fun, at Sick Week Presented by Gear Vendors Overdrive.

There are always competitors that will push the envelope, wanting more from their performance for a number of possible reasons. Drag and drive events are not immune to this, and after a half-dozen Hot Rod Drag Week events were in the books, we started to see the next level of ‘street car.’

Granted, the definition of ‘Pro Mod’ is thrown around as much as some do with ‘street car,’ but there was no denying when Dave Ahokas rolled out his crazy ’68 Camaro, the meaning behind the ‘Unlimited’ class was fully on display. Now, after a ten-plus year absence, the former Ahokas Camaro has re-appeared, with a ‘For Sale’ tag on it!

After participating in drag and drive events for over a decade, 3-time Sick The Mag event winner Mike Finnegan decides to go next level on his drag and drive trailer game, getting together with B&P Manufacturing for a truly unique build.

Now, just over a year later, Finnegan is paying it forward by putting that trailer up as a prize at this year’s Sick Week Presented by Gear Vendors Overdrive!

Getting more than its share of double takes, the ‘4 x 4 Crown Vic’ of Jon Moore has gotten the last laugh on several people, clocking single digit times as several drag and drive events since he acquired it.

Since his drag-and-drive debut at Sick Week Presented by Gear Vendors Overdrive in 2023, where Moore clocked a 10.14 average, Moore has continued to step up his performance. Now, he looks to up his game again for the 2026 edition of Sick Week.

The first drag and drive event, Hot Rod Drag Week, was held in 2005. Although nearly 50 competitors embarked on this historic journey, only 32 survived, with Carl Scott’s 8.58 average capturing the overall title.

The top three finishers of the first Hot Rod Drag Week, Carl Scott, Phil Cooper and Larry Larson, completed the event with 8-second averages.

Since then, over three hundred more competitors have completed a major drag and drive event with an 8-second average, and we’re celebrating them in our third segment of recognizing drag and drive performances.

Following in the footsteps of his father, Billy ‘The Kid’ Hoskinson has been drag racing since before he possessed a driver license. He also mixed things up on the street as well, documenting not only his results, but others as well, on the popular ‘Street Racing Channel’ YouTube channel.

In the last few years, street racing has fallen off in certain areas, but Billy has evolved with the times, racing his well-known S-10, as well as a first-gen Camaro and third-gen Nova, in several no-prep events. He’s even tried his hand at drag and drive events, and will return to the scene of his first drag and drive, Sick Week presented by Gear Vendors Overdrive, with a new ride for 2026.

After a decade plus of racing multiple venues, including the popular Street Outlaws and No Prep Kings series, Jeff Lutz took an opportunity to get back to another chapter of street cars in his life in 2024, participating in his first drag and drive event in seven years at Sick Week presented by Gear Vendors Overdrive.

In the two years since that return to first drag and drive, the iconic ’69 Camaro known as ‘Mad Max’ has lived up to its name, returning some solid runs, but also leaving Jeff frustrated at times.

As before, he finds himself busy with plenty of work and projects, but ready to start the season at Sick Week, with some goals to accomplish, in what could be his final ride.

At Sick The Magazine, we’re all about reporting the latest happenings, giving you detailed event coverage, and celebrating the people and their accomplishments in drag and drive.

But with drag and drive history crossing the two-decade mark since it officially started in 2005, we’re also about recognizing the performances that have gotten us to this point. Last week, we celebrated the twenty-two drivers that have achieved a 6-second average. Now we’re jumping into the 7-second range for averages.

Route 66 has become a highway that many travel and automotive enthusiasts are familiar with, even if just for its significance to United States history.

One of the original highways to be used in the US Numbered Highway System, it was established on November 11th, 1926 with road signs in place the following year.

Several events, as well as movies, tours, even just some friends on spirited drives, have enjoyed the many unique characteristics of Route 66.

In 2026, the cross-country road will celebrate 100 years of use, and the Detroit Auto Show is among the first to honor it with ‘The Drive Home VII: Route 66 – A Century of Adventure’ by traveling the entire length of the road.

Just over six months after Brett LaSala captured his first drag and drive victory at the 2024 edition of Sick Week presented by Gear Vendors Overdrive, news broke that his 2012 Mustang known as ‘Snot Rocket 2.0’ had been sold.

The Modified class winning average of 6.34 ranks amongst the top ten averages of all time, and it came as an overall victory for LaSala as well.

Anyone that thought the new ‘Snot Rocket 3.0’ might take a while to get ironed out, LaSala eliminated those doubts at Sick Week in 2025, clocking an improved 6.24 average for the week, and a 6.07 at 236 mph run on the final day, the second quickest run ever in the drag and drive community.

That would be just the start of a storied year for LaSala in 2025, and he’s gearing up for 2026 with plans for Sick Week again.

As the drag and drive community continues to expand and evolve, we can’t help but look at the results and wonder just how far we’ve come since the first Hot Rod Drag Week in 2005. It took ten years before there were two drag and drive events, and in 2025, over fifty events were scheduled!

At Sick The Magazine, we’re all about celebrating the people and their accomplishments in drag and drive, and we felt it was time to go to the next step in recognizing performances over the two-plus decades of drag and drive history. We'll recognize one of the 5 / 6 / 7 / 8-second sections each week leading up to Sick Week Presented by Gear Vendors Overdrive, and we're starting with the quickest group: 6-second averages!

Although a few drag race tracks did close in 2025, a few new ones are under construction, or have been reported as coming back to life. The IHRA (International Hot Rod Association) made headlines in late December 2025 by announcing a pair of tracks, Memphis International Raceway and Heartland Motorsports Park, would have new life after sitting closed for a couple years.

But the IHRA wasn’t the only one to end the 2025 calendar year with track news, as in North Carolina, a deal was quietly being put together to acquire a track that had sat unused for over two years. Now, news has broken that it has been sold to a new owner, with plans to re-open for racing in 2026!

A lot of us likely dreamed of doing things with cars when we were kids. Whether it was with a family member, or participating with friends, some of us get a chance to carve a little time of each year to experience the fun, and extended family, that the car community can bring.

For Tom Gunner (a.k.a. Jimmy Dale), his 2025 season was a reflection of a lot of hard work to drive race cars as much as possible. His infectious smile was only matched by the enthusiasm he and good friend Michael Poland share in bringing the popular Lil Gangstas class to many an event.

His 2025 also included his first chance behind the wheel of a car during a drag and drive, when Mike Finnegan tossed him the keys to the popular Datsun 240 known as the ‘Rotsun’ for the Edelbrock Sick Smokies event. The impression it left confirmed to Jimmy Dale that he wanted to attend another Sick event in 2026, and he will do so at Sick Week presented by Gear Vendors Overdrive.

After having four tracks closed in the last decade, Florida finally got a win light when information was relayed about a pair of tracks in the planning stages, or starting construction, in early 2024.

One of those tracks, Lead Foot City, was completed on the west side of the state in Brooksville in time to see racing action by December of 2024. Today, it was announced that Hicken Power Drag Strip had broken ground to start construction on a track in northeast Florida.

There lots of traditional things to do around Christmas time, but until recently, most wouldn’t say “drag racing, jets cars or big burnouts” as something associated with Christmas. But, the crews at Bradenton Motorsports Park and the Freedom Factory are working to change that, with the increasing popular Christmas Tree Drag Racing World Championship.

Originally the brainchild of Cleetus McFarland and good friend Victor Alvarez, partners in Bradenton Motorsports Park, the Christmas Tree Drag Racing World Championship has grown from a small gathering of friends, to a full-tilt sold-out show in 2025. The sixth edition of the show would include two new classes to the original Christmas Tree Challenge class, as well as a pair of jet-powered dragsters, and a twin-engine jet truck.

Mike Finnegan has been around racing in multiple forms in his personal and professional life. In the drag and drive community, Finnegan has experienced a few different roles, from a pit reporter to competitor.

After experiencing various forms of success, mostly behind the wheel of his 1955 Chevrolet gasser known as ‘Blasphemi’, Finnegan is gearing up for the 2026 edition of Sick Week with a new vehicle build, a twin turbo 1961 Cadillac, and is determined to make it to the event.

After selling his well-known Fox Mustang convertible in the summer of 2025, Devin Vanderhoof set a timeline in motion to have a new car ready for the 2026 edition of Sick Week presented by Gear Vendors Overdrive.

Dubbed ‘Reddi Whip’, the Mustang debuted in the Holley booth at the recent PRI Show in Indy, with the front clip removed so everyone could see the new twin turbo PAR Racing Engines mill. But with Sick Week 2026 just over six weeks away, Devin wasted no time after springing the Mustang from the show in Indy, to focusing on finding a track for testing.

Stefan Gustafsson has redemption on his mind for Sick Week 2026 Presented By Gear Vendors Overdrive (February 1-7), as the former champion prepares for a return to form.