A First Time for Familiar Names - Alex Taylor, Steve Morris and Val Morris Lead the Winner List from the First Annual Mickey Thompson Turn & Burn!
The Mickey Thompson Turn & Burn, presented by Summit Racing Equipment and powered by Sick The Magazine, closed the book on its first chapter.
Combining two days of testing that also featured the unique Mickey Thompson ‘try and buy’ tire program, with a three-day format drag and drive, the Turn & Burn event had the racing action take place at the legendary Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park in Ohio.
Just a month from now - it’s the start of summer - Sick Summer presented by Motion Raceworks that is, June 14th-19th, 2026. 3 states, 4 tracks, 5 days, and hundreds of enthusiasts on a road trip and drag race that checks all the right boxes! For more information, including track dates, Sick Ward and Sick Spit Show & Shine options, CLICK HERE to visit the Sick Summer event page!
Day One of the drag and drive program had five cars collecting 6-second time slips, led by Alex Taylor’s 6.636 at 220.87 mph pass. She’d be joined by husband Nick Taylor, Steve and Valerie Morris, and David Diehl with a 6-second run on day one.
The first of two checkpoints for the day was the Ohio State Reformatory in Mansfield. The castle-like prison officially halted housing prisoners in 1990, but the location has been used for filming six different movies, including the popular Shawshank Redemption film.
Stop number two would be title sponsor for the Norwalk-based drag strip, Summit Racing Equipment in Tallmadge. Drivers were encouraged to display their rides, and a meet and great gave enthusiasts a chance to talk to several of the competitors, get autographs, and check out the massive inventory on hand at Summit Racing Equipment.
The morning of Day Two would start at the final checkpoint, the All-American Soap Box Derby, with all competitors and enthusiasts offered a chance to make a pass in a soap box derby car. Then the competitors would return to Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park for lunch.
Mother Nature would be the news of the day, with multiple showers forcing a cancellation of racing action before anyone could try and navigate the surface. This would mean each competitor would require a pair of time slips from the final day of competition.
Day Three would find Alex Taylor still the quickest car on the property, as she backed up her 6.63 on Day One with an even quicker 6.614 at just 209.23 mph, a result of a boost leak at the top end.
After a little time to get everything buttoned back up, the ’55 Chevy returned to the staging lanes for Alex’s third run, and the scoreboard would reflect the quickest and fastest pass of the event, a 6.56 at 223.28 mph. Alex’s second-quickest run in drag and drive competition would solidify her average at 6.604, and the Unlimited Iron class title. This marks a rare occurrence where the Unlimited class wouldn’t yield the quickest average at a drag and drive.
The Unlimited class would be a 6-second battle between Steve Morris, Shaun Skipper and Nick Taylor. This event marked the first drag and drive with Steve Morris on a drag radial, and with one of the quickest runs with the ‘Boostmaster’ wagon, a 6.650 at just 203.12 mph, Steve would compile a 6.835 average to capture the title and trophy in the Unlimited class.
Shaun opened his trio of runs with a 7.06 at 200.32 mph, and then dipped into the 6-second range for the first time, 6.99 at 202.91 mph, and then capped his trio with a 6.94 at 198.93 mph for a 7.0000 average and second place.
Keeping the hot hand she had from winning the Modified class at Sick Week presented by Gear Vendors Overdrive, Valerie Morris and her 2010 Camaro would score a pair of firsts at the Mickey Thompson Turn & Burn. She clocked her first 6-second time in a drag and drive, a 6.9545 at 206.35 mph, on Day One, and completed a trio of 6-second runs on the final day with a 6.96 at 207.91 mph, followed with a 6.889 at 205.47 mph runs.
That gave Valerie a 6.93 average, her first 6-second average, for the Pro Modified Radial win. Tom Bailey slid into second with his first outing in the Hellcat-powered ’76 Dodge Dart and a 9.13 average, and Jake Hansen rounded out the top three with a 10.52 average from his F-150 pick-up.
The 275 Radial class, based on the 8.50-second limited ruleset in most drag and drive events, started on Day One with a trio of competitors less than four hundredths of-a-second apart. Rick Russell led with a personal best 8.609 at 153.98 mph, followed by Eric Foght and a personal best 8.610 from his Oldsmobile Cutlass, and Bill Spangler third with an 8.647 at 157.74 mph.
Fast forward two days, and Spangler would surrender his chances when problems arose. That would narrow the class win to Rick and Eric, and they would trade 8-second blows back and forth. Their second runs would be one thousandth apart, 8.637 for Eric and 8.638 for Rick. The third run had Eric with the advantage via an 8.626 to an 8.659, giving him an 8.627 average to get the victory over the close 8.635 average of Rick.