Right on the Number – Clocking the Perfect Pass in Hot Rod Drag Week, Rocky Mountain Race Week, Sick Week and Sick Summer 8.50-Second Limited Classes
If you’re a fan of drag-and-drive events, you’ve likely witnessed or heard about certain classes that are limited based on elapsed times due to a variety of factors.
Although Hot Rod Drag Week didn’t start out with the intention of making their Street Race classes into an index-based competition, that’s become the norm. And the competition to run that 8.500 perfect pass is heating up.
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Before we dive into who has accomplished the perfect pass, let’s take a step back in time to the 2012 edition of Hot Rod Drag Week. The Street Race class had been contested as part of Hot Rod Drag Week since the second year of the event, 2006.
Separated into four classes, the Street Race category was based around a small tire, stock suspension ride (with an exception for some Pro Touring, handling-style muscle cars with Corvette clips, truck-arm rear suspension, or Art Morrison-type G-Machine frames that were considered at the discretion of the race director).
The classes within the “Street Race” category were Street Race Small Block Naturally Aspirated, Street Race Big Block Naturally Aspirated, Street Race Small Block Power Adder, and Street Race Big Block Power Adder.
In 2012, Hot Rod Drag Week added three new classes, Super Street Small Block Naturally Aspirated, Super Street Big Block Naturally Aspirated, and Super Street Power Adder. The class is defined as: “Super Street is for small-tire cars with fewer restrictions than Street Race, but retaining stock concept rear suspension. Vehicles in Super Street must have modifications that prevent them from running in Street Race.”
The further separate Super Street from Street Race, the rules for Street Race would include a bullet point under the ‘Chassis’ section stating: “May not use a roll cage design that includes the use of a Funny Car–type protective structure around the driver.” Because of the absence of a ‘Funny Car–type protective structure’ car would be limited to the elapsed time spec of a standard roll cage, which is normally 8.50-seconds.
When Rocky Mountain Race Week appeared in 2015, their Limited Street class merely called out the 8.50 elapsed time limitation without mentioning any roll cage restrictions. Sick Week and Sick Summer events used a bit of each ruleset, with a Sick Street Race class forbidding a “Funny Car–type” roll cage, while the 275 Street Race class allowed for it. Either way, all five events give an impression to competitors: ‘let’s see how close you can run to an 8.500 pass each day.’
In the pursuit of that perfect 8.500 run, there have been hundreds of 8.49x-second runs, met with distain, anger, and even tears of emotion from competitors and their supporters. So close, but yet a pass too-quick for the rules can’t be turned in. There have been hundreds of 8.50X runs that don’t a magical zero in the thousandths of-a-second mark on the time slip. So, to accomplish a perfect run, is something of a ‘feather in the cap’ accomplishment.
It took seven years after the 2012 change to the Hot Rod Drag Week Street Race classes before the very first 8.500 pass was produced. But in a two and-a-half year span from Sick Week 2022 to Sick Summer 2024, the ‘perfect pass’ became more frequent, happening eight times to eight different drivers, one of which had previously accomplished the feat. After nearly two full years of the list remaining at twelve drivers, the 2026 season added a new pair of names to the tally, bringing the list to fourteen.
1. Rick Steinke – ‘67 Chevrolet Chevelle – Street Race Small Block Power Adder
The first competitor to accomplish the perfect 8.500 run has been a staple in the drag-and-drive community for a while. Rick Steinke clocked the run at the 2019 edition of Hot Rod Drag Week with his ’67 Chevelle known as ‘Honk if Parts Fall Off.’
The turbocharged small block did the deed on day two that week, and to make it a bit more impressive, he did after four attempts to make a solid pass. “I went 8.441, then spun, then an 8.491, and then spun again,” said Steinke.
But the 8.500 didn’t come on a full throttle pass. “It left on a mission, and when the tires landed my brain went into math mode.” Steinke ended up on the brakes at the finish line, only going 149 mph on the pass, about 12 mph down from a full pass. Although he didn’t win the class that year (finished second with an 8.539 average), Steinke will forever be known as the first to accomplish the perfect run.
Steinke showed no signs of rust when he scored a long-awaited Street Race Small Block Power Adder title in 2025, clocking 8.50-second passes each day, and tying the class record at 8.5048. This was only the second time someone had run an 8.50 pass each day (see Dustin Trance at the #6 spot). He also clocked a perfect 8.500 in qualifying to start his march to the 8.50 class title at the Yellowbullet Nationals in 2026.
2. Jim Braun – ’12 Ford Mustang – Street Race Small Block Power Adder
Just two days after the first perfect run was posted, it happened again. This time, it would be the 2012 twin-turbo Mustang of Jim Braun from Florida ringing up the magic run on day four of Hot Rod Drag Week. Although Jim was strong in the 8.5-second range on days three, four and five that week, the first two days were completely the opposite.
The first day had rain water in the Mustang’s rocker panels come out just after launching off the starting line, causing tire spin and a 9.93 pass. An improved 9.33 was the result on day two, but Braun discovered the culprit that would lead to better performance on day three. “My aluminum muffler collapsed in on itself and clogged the exhaust,” said Braun. “It took the whole day to figure it out.”
The result of Brain efforts was an 8.96 average and a seventh-place finish. This was the lone appearance for Braun behind the wheel, but we’ve seen him plenty in the co-pilot role for fellow Mustang man Brett LaSala. Jim’s car has recently seen a bunch of chassis updates, and now powers to mid 6-second time slips. Will the Mustang known as ‘Great White’ return to drag-and-drive in the future?
3. Aaron Shaffer – ’98 Chevrolet Camaro SS – Limited Street / Sick Street Race
About a year after the first perfect run was posted, we were in the midst of a COVID-limited race season of 2020. Hot Rod Drag Week was not contested that year, but Matt Frost at Rocky Mountain Race Week decided to add a second helping to his already successful event in its sixth season. At that second Rocky Mountain Race Week of 2020, Aaron Shaffer became the third competitor to clock a perfect 8.500 run, doing the deed in the Limited Street class.
But he not only did it on the fourth day of competition, he backed it up with another 8.500 run on the final day, winning the class by a scant .0008 of-a-second over Randall Reed, a former Hot Rod Drag Week Street Race Small Block Power Adder class winner.
Oh, did we mention that Shaffer did the deed again a little over two years later? Yup, Shaffer clocked a perfect 8.500 run once again at the 2023 edition of Sick Week Presented by Gear Vendors Overdrive in route to winning the Sick Street Race class.
4. Randall Reed – 1993 Ford Mustang - Street Race Small Block Power Adder
Randall Reed had competed in Hot Rod Drag Week, winning in 2018 and 2019 in the Street Race Small Block Power Adder. And although he had clocked 8.50 laps in his appearances before, it took until 2021 at the Midwest Drags before he would nail the perfect lap.
In a tight competition with fellow Mustang runner Tim Flanders, Reed produced the perfect lap on day three at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park, and it contributed to an 8.518 average. That held off the single turbo Coyote-swapped ’86 Mustang of Flanders by a mere .002 of-a-second for the class win.
5. Richard ‘RC’ Flint – 2000 Honda S2000 – 275 Street Race
Before he stepped up his game, and made some big changes to move into the rare air of 6-second street legal rides, and the Super Street class, Richard ‘RC’ Flint did add his name to the perfection list with his efforts at the 2022 edition of Sick Week.
Employing a single turbo LS-swapped Honda S2000, the Florida native gave fellow Florida runner William Lujan everything he could handle in the 275 Street Race class. Flint opened the week with an 8.500 run at Bradenton Motorsports Park, and although he came up second to Lujan in the final standings by less than one thousandth of-a-second, Flint became the first driver in a Sick the Magazine event to clock that perfect run.
6. Dustin Trance – 2005 Ford Mustang - Street Race Small Block Power Adder
After a 2021 when no one hit the 8.500 number, Dustin Trance added a third name to the list of drivers to do the deed at Hot Rod Drag Week. Wheeling a turbocharged LS-swapped 2005 Mustang, Trance put together the perfect run on day three of a weather-shortened Drag Week that got him the class win over another known name in the 8.50 ranks, Brian Acton.
One year later, Trance added a couple of firsts to the record books at Hot Rod Drag Week, becoming the first to run 8.50x-second passes at every stop, and lowered the record average mark to a staggering 8.5048 on his way to repeating his 2022 class win.
7. Tim Flanders – 1986 Ford Mustang – Sick Street Race
On a day when most were finding traction and a good run tough to accomplish, Tim Flanders put together the shot most had to look at the scoreboard twice to believe. On day four of the 2023 edition of Sick Summer Presented by TBM Brakes, Flanders staged up at Tri-State Raceway chasing Cameron Alley in the Sick Street Race class standings.
But a perfect 8.500 run would be the ticket for Flanders, pushing him to the top of the standings by a mere two thousandths of-a-second. Flanders secured the deal on the next day at Cordova Dragway, using an 8.523 average to narrowly edge Alley for the class title.
8. James Taal – 2005 Chevrolet Corvette – 275 Street Race
It didn’t take long to add a eighth name to the list in 2024, as ‘Jackstand’ James Taal did the deed on day one of Sick Week presented by Gear Vendors Overdrive. Behind the wheel of the Cleetus McFarland auction-find Corvette known as ‘Ruby’, Taal used the perfect run at Orlando ‘Sick’ World Dragway to take the early lead in the 275 Street Race class.
Taal put together an 8.532 average, not bad for his first completion of the class at Sick Week. But noted 8.50-second runner Randy Seward chipped away at Taal’s lead during the week, and eventually took the top spot with an 8.512 average, pushing taal into the second-place spot in the class.
9. Brian Acton – 1970 Chevrolet Nova – Sick Street Race
Just one day after James Taal posted a perfect 8.500 pass, Brian Acton snagged one of his own on day two of Sick Week 2024. The LS-swapped turbocharged Nova of Acton catapulted to the top spot in the standing in Sick Street Race after the magical run.
Acton added another 8.50 run during the week, this one with a ‘4’ at the end, and at the end of the week he found himself with an 8.523 average. That would put him at the top of the Sick Street Race class, earning the win and the coveted Sick The Mag orange helmet, one of two Acton secured in 2024, along with his victory at Sick Summer.
10. Jeremy Ortiz – 1995 Nissan 240SX – 275 Street Race
Following a 2023 Sick Summer appearance where he finished in the second spot, Jeremy Ortiz returned to the 2024 edition of Motion Raceworks Sick Summer hoping to earn the coveted top spot. Despite a good amount of testing before the event on his turbo LS-swapped Nissan, Ortiz was only able to turn in an 8.60 pass on day one.
Feeling a little dejected, Ortiz rebounded nicely on day two with an 8.503 to get him a little closer to the class frontrunners. But on a Wednesday at Tri-State Raceway, where the density altitude soared above 3000 feet and warm conditions, even Ortiz was in shock when he got a time slip with the 8.500 time on it. Two days later, the awards ceremony found Ortiz in second place by a mere .0008 of-a-second, but he was happy with the final result.
11. Chris Merry – 1994 Ford Mustang – 275 Street Race
Although he originally planned to have his Pontiac G8 at the 2024 edition of Sick Summer Presented by Motion Raceworks, Chris Merry instead tapped the Diehl brothers for access to their LS-swapped 1994 Mustang.
A top three finishing ride at Hot Rod Drag Week in 2023, Merry came into Sick Summer fresh from a thrash to fix fire damage sustained in a testing accident just a week before the event. After the first two days, Merry rolled into day three tied for third place in the 275 Street Race class, but his confidence got a boost at Tri-State. Merry posted a perfect 8.500 pass, less than two hours after fellow 275 Street Race runner Jeremy Ortiz did the same.
“For us both to do it on the same day was insane,” said Merry. The two battled it out until the final runs on day five, with Merry getting the class win by less than one thousandth of-a-second over Ortiz in the final averages.
12. Barry Cook – 2002 Pontiac Trans Am - Street Race Small Block Power Adder
Three years after the first 8.500 was recorded at Midwest Drags, Bobby Cook added a second name to the list. The turbocharged Trans Am recorded a pair of 8.50 runs on day two at Beech Bend Raceway Park in Bowling Green, Kentucky, to keep close with Street Race Small Block Power Adder class leader Randy Seward.
On the final day at Kentucky Dragway, Barry Cook got the 8.50 run with a zero at the end to push his average to 8.544, just eleven thousandths of-a-second behind Seward for the class title.
13. Eric Bjerketvedt – 2000 Chevrolet Camaro – Sick Street Race
Although several competitors came close, it would be almost two years between the twelfth and thirteenth competitors to clock a perfect 8.500 pass. Motion Raceworks Sick Summer would be the event, with Byron Dragway taking center stage for what would be an epic day one of Sick Street Race competition.
A total of four 8.50 passes would be clocked by a trio of competitors, but Eric Bjerketvedt was the only one to do it with a zero at the end, taking the early lead for the week. Brian Acton battled back with a pair of 8.50 time slips in the first two days, but Bjerketvedt would earn his first Sick The Mag orange helmet as class champion with an 8.508 average.
14. Blaine Thiessen – 1991 Isuzu pick-up – Limited Street
The name Thiessen has been around drag and drive events for a while, with father Brad and son Blaine bringing a pair of single-digit rides into competition. While Brad is normally clocking 7-second times, Blaine has been zeroing in on the 8.50-second competition.
After finishing just seven thousandths of-a-second off the leader at Sick The Mag’s Speedfest, Blaine rebounded quickly by winning the Limited Street class at Rocky Mountain Race Week. He came back for the possible double up at Rocky Mountain Race Week 2.0 (a.k.a. RACEWEEK), and traded blow back-and-forth with multi-time 8.50-second class winner, Randy Seward.
On Day Three at Tulsa Raceway Park, Blaine faced a timing malfunction, then a heartbreaking 8.498 pass, then spun the next two passes. Randy was holding an 8.507 run, threatening to take away Blaine’s lead. But the multi-colored ’91 Isuzu pick-up delivered the perfect pass, an 8.500, making Blaine the fourteenth driver to clock a perfect 8.5-second lap.
That run gave him an 8.515 to 8.518 average lead over Randy, which at the end of the event became a narrow 8.514 to 8.516 average margin, giving Blaine the rare RMRW double up.
Written by Derek Putnam. Photos courtesy of Sick the Magazine, Motion Raceworks, Rick Steinke, Randall Reed, Barry Cook and Blaine Thiessen.
If you have thoughts / feedback / ideas, please e-mail us at derek@sickthemagazine.com