Alex Taylor, David Diehl, and Frank Webb Lead the Highlights of Day Zero Testing at Sick Summer Presented By Motion Raceworks at Byron Dragway in Illinois!
We know it’s summertime when the drag and drive community ramps up in June, and Sick Summer presented by Motion Raceworks celebrates its fourth year by returning to the site of last year’s host track, Byron Dragway, to get the festivities underway!
Day Zero means the majority of the day is competitors arriving at the track for the tech-in process, as well as Sick Ward and Sick Spit Show & Shine participants getting their bonuses and materials for the week. But there’s on track action as well, and the testing session provided some eye-opening results and competitors to keep an eye on leading into Day One of racing.
The start of summer - Sick Summer presented by Motion Raceworks, starts TODAY, June 14th, and goes through June 19th, 2026. Don’t miss your chance to join us in 3 states, at 4 tracks, for 5 days of sun and fun with hundreds of enthusiasts on a road trip and drag race that checks all the right boxes! For more information, CLICK HERE to visit the Sick Summer event page!
Leading the day in the performance column is Alex Taylor and her familiar 1955 Chevrolet. Coming off a win at last month’s Mickey Thompson Turn & Burn event, Alex posted the best run of the day with a 6.64 at 220 mph.
The small tire contingent has defending Super Street champion David Diehl in the top spot after testing. David and brother Nick cranked the boost up on the Steve Morris SML engine and delivered a 6.73 at 195 mph, their best run at a Sick event ever! We’ll see how David and Nick do in the Modified class this time around on Motion RaceworksSick Summer.
Lamar Swindoll made the quickest and fastest nitrous run in testing, guiding his 1966 Chevrolet Nova to a 7.43 at 182 mph. That’s within a tenth of-a-second of the best time he made in Sick Week in much cooler conditions, and the Texas-based ride looks to collect another 7-second average for the week.
Past Motion RaceworksSick Summer winner Corey Thompson made the trip from Oregon with son Logan in the co-pilot seat to compete with his ‘67 Chevy Chevelle. The small tire ride laid down a 7.67 at 186 mph, a new personal best on speed for Corey, who will be competing in the Super Street class.
The familiar Ford Fairmont Futura of Frank Webb returns to Sick Summer looking for a second Sick The Mag orange helmet, but the former Pro Street class winner has downsized to the 26-inch x 8.5-inch width tires for Rowdy Radial. His opening shot is not far off the single run record, as Frank produced a 4.64 at 164 mph!
Making his first Motion RaceworksSick Summer appearance, but no stranger to drag and drive events, is Chuck Stefanski and his zoomie-quipped Pontiac Lemans station wagon. The ProCharger-fed big block was spinning enough to deliver some power to get Chuck a 7.40 at an early shut off 142 mph pass!
After a stint in the 8-second range, Jon Moore decided to upgrade his unique 4x4 themed Crown Victoria. He converted the roll cage to 6.5-second legal frame work, then turned up the BTR packed LS. The result was his first 7-second run, a 7.87 at 164 mph!
After a pair of top three class finishes, Cameron Alley claimed the Sick Street Race orange helmet from Sick Summer presented by Motion Raceworks in 2025. He’s back with this ProCharger-boosted 1997 Mustang Cobra, and clocked the best run of all the 8.50-based Sick Street Race and 275 Street Race rides, an 8.51 at 162 mph.
Bob Gruber will be trying for a third-straight stick Stick Shift class win, but a revamped Bryan Crane is coming to try and spoil the party. The 2003 Mustang Cobra returns to Sick Summer after a year away for upgrades, and Bryan lit the scoreboard with an 8.39 at only 131 mph, showing he has the power to contend for the Stick Shift orange Sick The Mag helmet.
The 2026 edition of Sick Summer Presented by Motion Raceworks will officially get underway today, Monday, June 15th, with Day One at Byron Dragway! Over 300 drag and drive competitors look to prove their rides, and themselves, over hundreds of street miles and five days of racing action. For more details, a schedule and our routes each day, visit https://www.sickthemagazine.com/sick-summer. And we’ll be live-streaming the racing action on FRDM+ all week – CLICK HERE to watch!
Written by Derek Putnam. Photos courtesy of Sick the Magazine.
If you have thoughts / feedback / ideas, please e-mail us at derek@sickthemagazine.com