Aydan Bailey Bounces Back at Northern Michigan Dragway to Reclaim the Lead After Day Three of Sick Michigan Miles Presented by Driven Racing Oil in Michigan
After Mother Nature spoiled our plans for racing at Mid-Michigan Motorplex on Tuesday, August 12th, Sick Michigan Miles Presented by Driven Racing Oil made its way north through Michigan to Kaleva and Northern Michigan Dragway.
Although we were greeted by some fog to start the morning, some great racing action took place. We witnessed some shuffling in the top ten, including a new leader, some personal bests, as well as some competitors making their case for not only a category title, but also the Pure Michigan Award.
Sick Michigan Miles Presented by Driven Racing Oil is underway, but it’s not too late for you to join the fun! We have two track days and two drive days left on our checklist, including a visit to The Ubly Dragway, Darana Dragway and Woodward Dream Cruise! Discounted spectator tickets are still available - CLICK HERE for more info on Sick Michigan Miles!
Consistency is the name of the game for Aydan Bailey, and the twin-turbo ’57 Chevrolet wagon rang up its second ‘one-and-done’ day of competition with a 5.26 at 127 mph pass at Northern Michigan Dragway.
That gave Aydan the overall lead after two days of competition, and Aydan along with father Tom riding in the co-pilot seat were able to get on the road for a four checkpoint day. They even managed to stage this epic shot going over the Mackinac Bridge before nighttime hit on Wednesday.
Evan Uerkwitz came into Northern Michigan Dragway the leader of the pack, but lack of needed traction slowed the radial-equipped ’79 Malibu from its 5.11 pace at Darana Dragway to a 5.52 at Northern Michigan Dragway. That puts Evan about seven hundredths of-a-second behind Aydan Bailey, but there are still two more days of competition left.
The best car on drag radials to negotiate the Northern Michigan Dragway surface was TJ Linebaugh, who clocked a 5.46 at 130 mph to slide into the third spot in the standings with a 5.42 average. The light blue ’78 Fairmont wagon has done several Sick events, and normally competes in the 8.50-second Sick Street Race class.
Jonathan Chmura made the trip from Connecticut to join us for Michigan Miles with his Raspberry colored ’96 Chevrolet Beretta. Packing a V-6 augmented with a little nitrous assistance, Jonathan clocked a 7.61 at Northern Michigan Dragway before him and wife Amy hit the road to St. Ignace.
Frank Webb rolled into Michigan on Day Zero with little sleep and a freshly repaired ’78 Fairmont after an incident at Sick Summer, but Webb and co-pilot Thomas Jones are making their way through Sick Michigan Miles.
Powered by a small block 408 cubic inch Ford and a single turbocharger, Webb was able to get a 5.67 at 128 mph pass on Day Three. He lost the rear suspension wishbone less than 30 minutes from his hotel, but thanks to the efforts of Jones and Uerkwitz, they were back on the road with time to spare for a steak dinner.
The family that races together, stays together, and the Wiegand family brings all Pontiacs to the table as well. Christine Wiegand prefers to regularly exercise her real-deal 1971 Trans Am, and the 455 cubic inch powered ride has a 7.69 average after two days of racing.
The views around Michigan this week have been intensified by the work to get routes near as many lakes as possible. We snapped Stephen Donahue’s ’55 Studebaker Commander on the road after he turned in a 7.85 time slip at Northern Michigan Dragway.
We’re at the halfway point of Sick Michigan Miles, with Day Four putting us on the road for a drive day from St. Ignace to The Ubly Dragway for Day Five racing! CLICK HERE to view our Ride With GPS route map on where we will be traveling today, and you can join us for our next day of racing at The Ubly Dragway, Friday, August 15th! Spectator tickets are available in advance for a discount on our website, or at the gate! CLICK HERE for more details for Sick Michigan Miles Presented by Driven Racing Oil!
Written by Derek Putnam. Photos courtesy of Sick the Magazine.
If you have thoughts / feedback / ideas, please e-mail us at derek@sickthemagazine.com