Round Three Complete – Edelbrock Sick 66 Hits Midstate Dragway for Third Day of Racing, Where Some Competitors Survive and Thrive, While a Few Find the Limits of Their Rides!
Edelbrock Sick 66 visited the third new track in as many days, as the pack of competitors, Sick Ward Cruisers and spectators traveled to Havana, Illinois for a date with Midstate Dragway and the third day of competition.
This would be the final day of racing for the ‘first wave’ of Sick 66 race tracks, and competitors knew a good run early could set them up nicely for the shorter 145-mile drive, followed by a drive day on Wednesday, September 30th.
There’s still time for YOU TO JOIN US on Edelbrock Sick 66, September 26th - October 3rd, 2026! We’re celebrating 100 years of Route 66 with multiple days of street cruising, as well as racing at three different tracks! CLICK HERE for more information and tickets for Sick 66!
Lamar Swindoll Jr. needed three runs to find the necessary time slip to keep him and his 1966 Chevy Nova in the lead at Bonne Terre Dragstrip. But one day later, he blasted to a 4.837 at 149 mph clocking on his first run at Midstate, his quickest and fastest of the event, bringing his average to a 4.99. That keeps Swindoll in the overall top spot, as well as Quickest Nitrous category.
Dan Dinan followed in the footsteps of Swindoll, cooking up a 5.189 at 140 mph in his turbo’d LS Chevy Monte Carlo, a personal best run for Dinan for the second-straight day, lowering his average to a 5.33 and keeping him atop the Quickest Small Block category.
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The leader in the Stick Shift category, Robbie Kellerhals, also found some improved performance at Midstate Dragway. A 5.491 at 131 mph shot lowered his tally for the week to a 5.545-second average, and the ’91 Camaro hit the road for some street miles.
A pair of 1998 Camaros found their best performances of the event thus far at Midstate Dragway, as Taylor Lambeth piloted the gray Camaro to a 5.513 at 130 mph for the fourth spot overall, and the lead in Quickest Chevrolet / GMC.
James Short also found the 5.5-second range in his ’98 Camaro with a 5.571 at 127 mph pass, but it came with a price for the Quickest Radial category leader. Short lost first and second gear in the Turbo 400 transmission, so instead of the 145-mile jaunt that afternoon, James and wife Angel would trek to RPM Transmissions in Indiana for needed repairs.
The Shorts hit the road back to Illinois to complete the 500 mile ‘extra stage’, and rejoin the Sick 66 tour just before midnight on Tuesday, September 29th, with all three forward gears back on duty in the transmission for the Quickest Radial category leader.
Mechanical woes also hit a pair of competitors in the engine department, as Cameron Hatfield and Justin Nunley found holes in their LS engine blocks that didn’t exist before visiting Midstate. Both drivers staged their rides before the damage occurred, so they are both still in competition as of this time.
Because neither driver has a replacement engine, and this is an emergency situation, if they can find a replacement short block, we might see if the drive day finds Hatfield and Nunley swinging a fresh bullet into their rides to continue on with Edelbrock Sick 66.
The Gasser classes remained in control of Phil Haack (A/Gasser), Matt Donovan (B/Gasser) and Michael White (Outlaw Gasser), with the biggest improvement pass going to Zach Cloutier in the ‘Sno Miser’ Oldsmobile, a 7.593 at 97 mph, an improvement of over a full second from his 8.76 efforts from Day One.
Jesse Madaffari celebrated his 71st birthday on Tuesday, September 29th, and all he asked for was a photo of his two vehicles on the starting line at Midstate Dragway. Danny Grubaugh is wheeling the Chevrolet pick-up for the week after his main vehicle plans fell through.
Quickest on mere fuel and air alone, Dean Tepen’s recently debuted ’64 Chevy Nova wagon is at the top of the Quickest Naturally Aspirated category, thanks to a 6.703 average.
Mike Ellis worked through some tire shake and traction woes to stay at the top of the Quickest Big Block category, as his ’55 Chevy has amassed a 6.399 average.
The Quickest Mopar continues to be Mike Clark, as the driving forces of Smokies Garage navigated Midstate at 5.86-seconds at 123 mph to keep the 2019 Challenger atop the pack.
Smokies Garage also claimed the top spot in Quickest Pontiac on Day Three, with Timothy Pouw clocking a 6.48 at 110 mph for a three-day average of 6.758.
Quickest Buick belongs to Adam Kary thus far, with a 7.509 average from the turbocharged V6-urged ’86 Regal.
Tom Barkauski keeps the Streetcar Shenanigans Performance-tuned ’62 Olds at the helm of the Quickest Oldsmobile, thanks to a 6.789 average.
A trio of AMC rides have survived to the midpoint, and the ’65 Rambler wagon of Larry Haile is the quickest average thus far with a 7.601 tally.
The Quickest 4-Cylinder thus far is Samuel Farance’s 2013 Dodge Dart, Steve McNair is atop the Quickest 6-Cylinder category, and Donovan Meyers leads the Quickest Diesel category.
Chase Egan has Ray Dougherty’s 1969 Chevy Nova at the front of the Junior Street category.
After covering close to 550 miles on the first two days of street driving, Day Three throttled back to about 145 miles and a pair of checkpoints. The first would be the town of McLean, where a trio of buildings house dozens of arcade and pinball games. Sick The Mag print editor Luke Nieuwhof took a few minutes away from work to show off his master pinball skills.
The second checkpoint would be Wally’s gas station, featuring some cool nods to the past, and a touch of nostalgia towards National Lampoon’s Vacation (the address is 1 Holiday Road).
Thursday, September 30th is a drive day, with our first checkpoint of the morning being Joliet State Prison. Enthusiasts are encouraged to join us anywhere along the route or checkpoints, but keep in mind we are not running anything on a strict time table.
We’ll return to Midstate Dragway tomorrow, October 1st, to resume racing. 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, Angel Short and Cameron Hatfield.
If you have thoughts / feedback / ideas, please e-mail us at derek@sickthemagazine.com