On almost every drag and drive event we cover, there’s at least one vehicle with interesting stats, a cool back story, or some cool modifications that draws you in.

It stands as a good reminder that being interested in the car hobby is a blast, and that’s before we get to the racing and cruising together part!

The Ford Lightning pick-up truck that is the subject of this article, owned by Jason Long, has served numerous purposes over a two-plus decade ownership, and will serve as the key to his first drag and drive event appearance at the Edelbrock Sick Smokies next month.

Car and racing friends can just take things to the next level. They might encourage you to spend money on a part or upgrade, but they will be right there to help you install it when the time comes.

For Eric Bennecker, a love of Pontiac vehicles, combined with three close friends, resulted in the building of this unique Pontiac station wagon Gasser. It will join over 70 more Gasser entries at next month’s Edelbrock Sick Smokies!

Bryant Goldstone brings a wealth of not only drag and drive experience, but as the owner of an automotive shop, the knowledge that sometimes cars, repairs and timelines don’t always work out 100-percent.

When Goldstone debuted his new 1953 Chevrolet Corvette at the Performance and Racing Industry (PRI) show last December, it brought a lot of discussion about competing for the top of the pack in drag and drive.

The drag and drive community has grown significantly since the first Hot Rod Drag Week in 2005, and every year, dozens of first-time participants join the community.

Unfortunately, we have some members depart the drag and drive community earlier than expected, and we’ve recently learned that multi-time winner Randall Reed has passed.

Reed first jumped into the drag and drive with an appearance at Hot Rod Drag Week in 2017, competing in the popular Street Race Small Block Power Adder class. Over seven years, Reed competed in nearly a dozen drag and drive events, scoring multiple wins.

Drag and drive events are a great way to enjoy your vehicle and see new race tracks, cruise routes and create new memories. When you add in doing a drag and drive with friends or family, that experience goes up a few notches.

For Erik Luttner, this 1971 Chevrolet Camaro has provided the medium for him to enjoy several drag and drive events, including some with his daughter Paige. Last year on Sick 66, they took Paige’s 1987 Chevrolet Corvette; this year on Sick Smokies, Erik’s Camaro will get the nod.

With nearly eight months and two-thirds of the 2025 drag and drive schedule in the rear view mirror, some competitors are getting some testing in for the final stretch of the year, while others are making changes and looking towards 2026.

A couple of drag and drive competitors recently visited Muncie Dragway and left with class wins, while a pair of station wagons found new personal bests tuning up for a Sick Week Presented by Gear Vendors Overdrive appearance in 2026.

When Brett LaSala revealed his new Mustang build from Moore Race Chassis, Snot Rocket 3.0, about a year ago, one of the talking points was the ability to take the new car further than Snot Rocket 2.0, which was sold just a month earlier.

In expanding on that outlook, LaSala discussed the ability to run the car in drag and drive events, as well as 28-inch tire classes at FL2K and World Cup events.

This year, LaSala also added the Limited Drag Radial heads-up class to his roster, and on his third event appearance in the class, LaSala scored a win!

You always remember your first time, and although Rick Steinke has done a lot of drag and drive events, he made sure to not miss the first time to do Route 66 at Sick The Mag’s Sick 66 event in 2024.

For 2025, the Steinke family will once again take Rick’s storied 1967 Chevrolet Chevelle 4-door known as ‘Honk If Parts Fall Off’ on a drag and drive, but this time it will be son Troy behind the wheel for Junior Street at the upcoming Sick Smokies Presented by Edelbrock Performance.

A lot of the drag and drive community knows about Tom Bailey and his accomplishments in both the original ‘Sick Seconds’ ’69 Camaro, as well as the upgraded ’69 Camaro known as ‘Sick Seconds 2.0.’

But Tom’s son Aydan has been slowly ironing out his own ride, a 1957 Chevrolet station wagon that has competed in a handful of events since its debut at Sick Summer 2023. Just over two years after that first event, Aydan scored his first overall victory at the recent Sick Michigan Miles Presented by Driven Racing Oil.

To fully understand the success of Aydan’s recent win in Michigan, let’s take a trip back to the first Sick The Mag drag and drive event, Sick Week 2022 Presented by Gear Vendors Overdrive.

A little over two years ago, news hit about Sunflower Rod and Custom Association (SRCA) Dragstrip in Great Bend, Kansas closing for the season because of concerns about the recently constructed track surface. The concerns have led to the track not holding a race since April of 2023.

Just over a month ago, the popular Thunder Valley Raceway Park (TVRP) in Noble, Oklahoma would close their gates after the lease expressed tough times and monthly loses were too much to bear.

Recent news has hinted that both tracks are making strides to come back to racing soon, with construction under way at SRCA Dragstrip, and three events scheduled at TVRP.

Since the first Sick Summer event in 2023, Tom Kuepper has made an appearance with his former farm truck, a 1994 Ford F-150, on our yearly visit to Illinois, Iowa and Wisconsin in June.

Tom missed out on bringing his truck to this year’s Sick Summer Presented by Motion Raceworks, but made up for it with a solid week on the recent Sick Michigan Miles Presented by Driven Racing Oil event.

And based on last night’s results at a Great Lakes Dragaway test and tune, Tom isn’t done finding new levels of performance from his pick-up.

Since the very beginning of the drag and drive event structure, change has been part of the plan. Each and every year, Hot Rod Drag Week has changed tracks, routes and in some cases, classes.

Since that first event in 2005, over 50 more drag and drive events have been created, and while some follow the same plan of changing tracks at a minimum each year, some have held true to the same tracks, to the appeal of the competitors and spectators alike.

After attending several drag and drive events, Evan Uerkwitz and Frank Webb have been burning the midnight oil in an effort to get their 7-second rides ready in time for next week’s Sick Michigan Miles Presented by Driven Racing Oil.

Although both rides have clocked several 7-second passes on the quarter-mile format, and been in the running for class wins, will either of them overcome recent changes and contend for the overall title at Sick Michigan Miles?

One week from today, Friday, August 15th, Sick Michigan Miles Presented By Driven Racing Oil will be on Day Five of the week, Day Four of competition, and our fourth race track, The Ubly Dragway.

This also means our fourth and final track shirt, tying together The Ubly Dragway and a Michigan-based business, for the fourth in our limited-quantity design shirts for Sick Michigan Miles.

As we originally reported in March of 2025, the International Hot Rod Association (IHRA) sanctioning body was making some serious moves to reclaim their standings in both national and sportsman level racing.

The IHRA also planned to purchased several race tracks, and between March and May of 2025, they acquired four. The fifth, Piedmont Dragway, announced it was purchased by the IHRA on Thursday, August 7th, 2025.

Getting a chance to drive a car that has set class records for several drivers, at seven different locations, can hit a prospective driver with high levels of excitement.

But it can also come with pressure, wanting to deliver a solid performance on the given opportunity.

Two drivers that have participated in numerous drag and drive events for over a decade got the chance to trade the streets and the quarter-mile drag strip for Utah and the Bonneville Salt Flats this year.

Could Tom Bailey and Dave Schroeder make the most of the opportunity, with both drivers possibly earning a class record, as well as joining the 200 MPH club?

In the last month, three race tracks have either gone up for sale, changed hands or closed in the United States.

Chilton County Motorsports Park is for sale, Darlington Dragway changed hands to new owner John Dougherty, and Thunder Valley Raceway Park closed their gates.

Now, a fourth track has joined the list, as the morning of August 7th, Eddyville Raceway Park joined the ‘for sale’ listings.

As Sick Michigan Miles Presented By Driven Racing Oil rolls into the third day of competition, we hit the northernmost track on our route, Northern Michigan Dragway.

With four tracks and five days of racing, we’re also introducing our third track shirt, and providing the details on the track, as well as a Michigan-based business, that made the shirt.

In one week, we’ll be on the second day of the ‘one-time-only’ Sick Michigan Miles Presented By Driven Racing Oil.

Based in Michigan, Sick The Magazine is showcasing our home state with a drag and drive event entirely in Michigan.

After two days at the revamped Darana Dragway in Milan, Sick Michigan Miles moves to Mid-Michigan Motorplex in Stanton.

This is the second of five stories about Michigan, the track we’re visiting on that day, and showcasing the official shirt for each track that incorporates the track, as well as a Michigan business.

Tom Bailey and David Schroeder have been over 200 miles per hour multiple times in drag and drive competition. Yesterday, Tom joined the 200 MPH club during a record run in Keith and Tonya Turk’s 1980 Chevrolet Camaro at Bonneville Speedweek.

After making his license runs, and an engine swap, David Schroeder of Schroeder-Ens Racing will make his first record attempt in the Turk’s Camaro today