Drag Week Day Zero Wild Then Wet
Hot Rod Drag Week is back for its 21st year with the OG drag and drive event hitting up Route 66 Raceway, Byron Dragway, Cordova Dragway and World Wide Technology Raceway in St Louis with hundreds of cool street cars.
Today was for tech and testing, with the day starting out beautifully before finishing earlier than planned due to spitting rain.
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The Unlimited class is certainly at the peak of its revival and looks super strong this year. Last year’s champion Ned Dunphy is back to try and improve on the record average he set last year at 6.17 seconds. The Dodge Viper left hard in its only test pass of the day but got out towards the wall, snapping wildly as Ned corrected on the wheel, and crossing the center line briefly.
Jeff Lutz has had changes aplenty in his Mad Max Camaro since its last drag and drive appearance at Sick Week 2026 Presented By Gear Vendors Overdrive. A Noonan Hemi now sits up front of the car, which is also now owned by Rick Ware Racing! Lutz also looked good early until the car worked its way to the center line and got way loose. A 6.37 came up on the boards but it would have been a disqualified pass.
Returning five-times Drag Week champion Larry Larson made one test hit, with the Chevy S10 leaving with the wheels up before shutting down shortly before the 330.
One car that made an impact without even hitting the track was Joel Kerr’s Aston Martin. Like Lutz, Kerr has gone for the Noonan Hemi in this beautiful car. We’ll have a lot more about this one in our next issue of Sick The Magazine!
Quickest officially for day zero was Nick Cryer at a 7.19 with the LS-powered ‘33 hot rod.
Unfortunately we got just a few hours of action on track before rain started spitting at Route 66 Raceway, so we will have to wait until tomorrow to see everybody at their best. Enjoy a few more pics below and keep an eye out for our daily wrap video on the Tom Bailey YouTube channel!
