Mother Nature Wins at Midstate – Edelbrock Sick 66 Gets Rained Out at Midstate Dragway, Canceling the 4th Day of Racing, But We Find the Cruising Hot, as Sick 66 Makes Its Way Back to Bonne Terre!
Following a rain-soaked drive day on Wednesday, September 30th, Edelbrock Sick 66 returned to Midstate Dragway to start the second half of drag racing at three tracks over three days.
But Mother Nature would once again reign supreme, as persistent sprinkles turned into heavier drizzles, halting the action several times, until the track surface was wet enough to gives us an unrealistic time window to complete the first session.
Although we did get some runs completed in a couple of the groups, because not all competitors got a chance at the drag strip, the day was deemed a washout and no runs would be recorded towards anyone’s average.
The leader in the A/Gasser category, Phil Haack, takes off in his blue 1955 Chevrolet against fellow ’55 Chevrolet owner Troy Wittusen. Haack clocked the quicker Gasser time of the session at a 6.05.
B/Gasser leader Matt Donovan (far lane) did the full Gasser treatment with a big burnout alongside Jeffrey Sixt. The ’38 Chevrolet, ‘Garbage That Barfed’, clocked in another low 6-second time, while Sixt’s 1963 Studebaker Lark was in the 7-second range.
Justin ‘Danger’ Nunley had the connecting rods leave their homes during Day Three competition, but found another LS engine and are back together for the second half of Edelbrock Sick 66. “It was cheaper than renting a U-Haul to get back to M-Kan,” said Nunley, who endured a late-night run to complete the Day Three and Four checkpoints, and had to overcome an engine bay fire as well. Nunley and crew are survived on mere will and caffeine to Day Six.
Chase Egan is leading the Junior Street class, but it hasn’t been easy. After a radiator patch didn’t hold up well enough on Ray Dougherty’s 1969 Chevy Nova, they were pressed to figure out a feasible solution since the local auto parts store didn’t have access to a radiator. They’re still rolling with us into Day Six.
We have a trio of AMC machines on Edelbrock Sick 66, and Larry Haile’s 1965 Rambler wagon is the quickest, clocking in with a 7.601 average thus far.
Brian Lueck’s 1964 Ford F100 pick-up navigates the bricks, an original section of Route 66, and our first planned checkpoint of the day.
The turkey ‘marks the spot’ for James and Angel Short, which is the second checkpoint. The Shorts are currently in the Top Ten with their turbocharged 1998 Chevrolet Camaro.
David Brown’s reef blue 1993 Ford Mustang takes center stage at the final checkpoint of the day, Route 66 Creamery. Competitors could choose here, or Weezy’s Bar across the street, for their final checkpoint photos of the day.
Friday, October 2nd points the pack of Edelbrock Sick 66 enthusiasts to Bonne Terre Dragstrip and what we hope will be a good day of racing action. Gates open for racers at 7 a.m., spectators at 8 a.m. and we should be on track for racing action starting at 9 a.m. Tickets can be purchased in advance to save some coin, or purchase directly at the gate.
Written by Derek Putnam. Photos courtesy of Sick the Magazine.
If you have thoughts / feedback / ideas, please e-mail us at derek@sickthemagazine.com