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.

Although the popular Street Race / Limited Street classes were not originally designed to be index-limited classes, the competition pushing performances to the edge of the 8.50-second roll cage limits has made them into some of the toughest classes to compete in.

It’s not unheard of to see car counts north of 30-50 competitors, and twice in Hot Rod Drag Week event history, a competitor has clocked all 8.50-second runs during the week. And although Eric Burroughs and his Monte Carlo are not strangers to the Sick Summer event, 2026 will mark the first time he’ll dive into the thick of the Street Race class competition at a Sick The Mag event.

Every year, there’s conversations about performances, and in some cases records, for a class or engine platforms in racing. Drag and drive competition isn’t immune to this, and one of the points that constantly comes up is the lack of import-based vehicles in drag and drive events.

Although there is a growing number of import vehicles competing in events, most of them average in the 9-second and slower range. The current record holder for Sick the Mag events is Trevor and Erin Branden’s 2010 GT-R, and although the car has proven itself with multiple wins at numerous events, the Brandens are coming to Sick Week with a new goal in mind.

It was a little over four years ago that Sick The Magazine was introduced in print, and in December 2021, the Performance and Racing Industry (PRI) Show was not only exposed to Sick The Magazine for the first time, but also the hype of the first Sick Week Presented by Gear Vendors Overdrive.

Since then, the drag and drive community, and the event calendar, has exploded. For the 2025 season, Sick The Magazine also expanded to host more events than ever before, and at the recent PRI Show, Sick The Mag has ramped things up for the 2026 season.

The Performance and Racing Industry (PRI) Show is just one day away from getting under way, with three days of performance and racing parts and service on deck to overload the senses.

Indianapolis doesn’t just host the PRI Show, as for the fourth time, Sick Kart Kaos brings racing and performance enthusiasts together at Fastimes Indoor Karting on December 11th for the fastest winter party in Indiana.

Sick Kart Kaos will showcase 80 drivers for qualifying, “auditioning” to be one of the lucky members to join a team for final competition. The eight teams consist of Sick The Magazine's group of great partners, and PEAK Performance is one that’s been with us since we started the Sick Week event in 2022.

There’s a new name in motorsport event services, set to bring professionalism and passion to tracks and series around the globe: Sick Prep.

Led by experienced track specialist Thomas Bemis, Sick Prep will be offering a range of services covering the event management spectrum including track surface preparation, track equipment sales, track safety, race directing, event staffing, ticketing and more. 

From humble beginnings, Sick has evolved into a motorsports phenomenon. Whether it’s the industry-leading print magazine, the ever-expanding range of events, or now motorsport event services, Sick has innovated and brought new energy to the automotive world and beyond.

The 2026 edition of the PRI Show will see some massive announcements from the Sick Team, and we’re outlining

The Performance and Racing Industry (PRI) Show brings a large contingent of racing and performance enthusiasts together for a trio of days to see the latest and greatest parts and services in Indianapolis up close.

Sick Kart Kaos uses that same recipe to bring racing and performance enthusiasts together, but with helmets and karts instead, as we’ll invade Fastimes Indoor Karting on December 11th for the fastest party in Indianapolis.

Starting with eight teams, made up of Sick The Magazine's group of great partners, will battle on the track, and one of them will be Gear Vendors Overdrive.

Created as a way to kick off the first night of the Performance and Racing Industry (PRI) Show in Indianapolis, Sick Kart Kaos brings drag and drive enthusiasts together on a different type of track. And for the fourth time since 2022, Fastimes Indoor Karting will host a party like no other on December 11th, 2025.

The invite-only event will take on a new look in 2025, as eight teams will be made up of Sick The Magazine's group of partners. Those teams will play witness to the largest gather of competitors ever, as Sick The Mag opens the doors to 80 hopefuls to attempt qualifying.

Sick Kart Kaos is THIS WEEK, Thursday, December 11th, as we host the fastest party during the Performance and Racing Industry (PRI) Show in Indianapolis.

Eight teams will duke it out at Fastimes Indoor Karting, created from Sick’s great group of sponsors and supporters. One that will be competing in Sick Kart Kaos for the first time in 2025 is Melling Performance, who hopes to bring as solid an effort to karting as they do to the PRI Show.