Braggin Rights Stick Shift Class Brings a Wide Variety of Serious Competitors to Next Week’s Speedfest Event at Beech Bend Raceway Park May 28-30th, 2026 – Who Will Emerge the Champion?
The fields are starting to shape for the inaugural Speedfest, taking place May 28th through the 30th, 2026 at Beech Bend Raceway Park in Bowling Green, Kentucky. This unique event combines the class structures of Sick The Magazine, Street Car Takeover and Braggin Rights together for the first time.
Braggin Rights creator and promoter Nate Prater has showcased some great competition in multiple classes at his annual event Street Car Braggin Rights (SCBR), with Stick Shift being one of the highlights. Following in this year’s event roster, the Braggin Rights Stick Shift class list for Speedfest has a solid collection of quick rides and past winners.
300 of America’s best street cars, a TOP FUEL dragster, JET CARS, and a laser light show are just some of the reasons YOU should be at Speedfest at Beech Bend Raceway in Kentucky, May 28-30th, 2026! Braggin Rights and Street Car Takeover join Sick The Mag for this unique event, and you won’t want to miss a minute of the action! For more information and details, including schedule and tickets, visit the Speedfest event page by CLICKING HERE!
One of the quickest rides rolling into Kentucky will be Josh Manning and his twin turbocharged Corvette. Currently sitting in the third slot on the Stick Shift Elite H-pattern Stick Shift Top 10 list with a 6.55 time slip, Manning looks to continue a solid showing from this year’s SCBR.
Another solid competitor with a lengthy stick shift resume is Jon Rodgers. The Nissan 240SX had thrown down some serious numbers with a 2JZ combination under the hood, but made the switch to the Nissan VK56 V-8 and a barrage of 6-second runs followed.
Another ride with a slew of 6-second runs on the entry list is Al Reinke. The fourth-gen Pontiac Trans Am has made a big impression in the last six months, making solid runs at the World Cup Finals in Maryland last year, as well as TX2K and SCBR this year, with a 6.78 at 209 mph pass at TX2K in March.
Leading the charge of drag and drive rides is Darin Hendricks. A two-time Sick Week Stick Shift class winner, the ’93 Mustang Cobra with a Coyote-swapped engine made the switch from supercharger to twin-turbo at Streetcar Shenanigans Performance over the winter, and shows 7-second potential based on 2026 outings thus far.
A second teal ’93 Mustang Cobra, belonging to Heath Maxwell, will also be on site for Speedfest. The car known as ‘Real Teal’ is always a threat to win, and the nitrous-assisted small block Ford always ‘signals’ when a gear change is happening!
These are just some of the competitors in the Stick Shift class, which should be an ‘on the edge of your seat’ experience with the H-pattern transmission meaning that one missed gear could change the outcome of a match-up, and the entire class.
Speedfest is the first of its kind, as Sick The Mag, Braggin Rights and Street Car Takeover combine together at Beech Bend Raceway Park for a three-day event like no other. 300 competitors will tackle the Kentucky track, and competitor spots are going fast!
We also have spectator tickets, as well as VIP packages, now available. Don't miss your chances to witness it all – May 28th through the 30th, 2026. CLICK HERE to visit the Speedfest event page!
Written by Derek Putnam. Photos courtesy of Sick the Magazine, Motion Raceworks and Josh Manning.
If you have thoughts / feedback / ideas, please e-mail us at derek@sickthemagazine.com