Stick to the Plan - Edelbrock Sick Smokies Day Three Found Some Competitors With Renewed Energy, But Nick Cryer Continues to Lead the Pack
With over 300 miles on the odometer after the first two days of driving, Edelbrock Sick Smokies started Day Three at Fitzgerald Motorsports Park. The revamped track alongside I-40 highway had just changed owners for 2025, with Blake Fitzgerald at the helm for his first full year of operation in 2025.
With a new game plan and renewed sense of energy, Blake and team welcomed the Edelbrock Sick Smokies competitors, Sick Ward and Sick Spit Show & Shine to Crossville, Tennessee, and a steady stream of spectators made the trip to check out the action.
Read more about Blake and his efforts to renew the drag strip by CLICKING HERE!
After struggling on his first two runs, Nick Cryer came back in the All Run session determined to make his third 4-second pass of the week. The flamed ’33 Ford coupe didn’t disappoint, as Cryer clicked off a 4.68 at 157 mph to retain the top spot.
Robbie Wysuph made the quickest pass of all the Gassers on Day Three, guiding his blown ’65 Chevy Nova ‘Disorderly Conduct’ to a 5.59 at 124 mph pass. That chewed into A/Gasser leader Mike Finnegan lead a little, as they left Fitzgerald Motorsports Park separated by less than five hundredths of-a-second.
Making the biggest move in performance in Crossville was the ’65 Corvette of Chase Harvey. The turbocharged Corvette knocked a full second off Harvey’s Day One time slip, with a 5.18 at 141 mph blast, moving him into the fifteenth spot with a 5.68 average.
There is a stick shift battle brewing between Richard Guido and Kyle Buntley. The ‘Canadian Chuck Norris’ took the early lead via a 5.63 to 5.78 Day One shot in his ’65 GTO, while Buntley overcame issues by swapping in a new engine overnight. Buntley got the better run on Day Three with a 5.60 at 125 mph in his teal ’88 Mustang, but rumor is it cost him a head gasket to do so.
Also making strides in Crossville was Jack Brooks and the ’64 Chevy Nova known as ‘Dirt Nasty.’ After clocking a 4.83 in testing, Brooks struggled a bit on Day One. But he’s starting to turn the corner, as on Day Three the turbocharged Nova delivered a 5.51 at 131 mph run, keeping him in the top twenty.
Mike Smith put his ‘six-week plan’ into play with this ’62 Buick Skylark Gasser. One of the unique touches to carry the slicks from track to track is the recessed trunk lid, which uses a cut-up 55-gallon drum section to negate the use of a roof rack or a trailer. A big block Chevy combination gets the Buick to low 8-second time slips.
The Grabiak family always comes to a drag and drive with multiple members, and Jay Grabiak is leading the charge on Edelbrock Sick Smokies. Running a big block ’55 Chevrolet in the A/Gasser category, Jay got some extra direction and encouragement from wife and ‘back up girl’ Tonya before collecting a 6.30 at 107 mph time slip, putting his average at 6.31 for the week thus far.
Zachary Blausey drove his unique 1923 Ford T-bucket over 500 miles to participate in Edelbrock Sick Smokies, and if Blausey was a little road weary after the trip, he has shown no signs of it yet. Doing big burnouts for the crowd at each track, the supercharged LS engine has also lit up the night sky at multiple checkpoints, including this show outside Loakr Performance Products, our second check point of the day.
For their last event of the 2025 season, Fitzgerald Motorsports brought out a steady stream of spectators, and they lined the fence to not miss a moment of the action.
For Thursday, October 16th, the Edelbrock Sick Smokies event will visit our third and final track in Tennessee, Knoxville Dragway. Gates open for competitors and Sick Spit Show and Shine at 8 am, while the spectator side and Sick Ward gates open at 9 am. Racing action is set to start at 10 am, and should conclude around 2 pm.
Spectator tickets are available in advance by CLICKING HERE, or they can also be purchased at the gate.
For more details on the Edelbrock Sick Smokies event, held October 12th-19th - CLICK HERE for more details!
Written by Derek Putnam. Photos courtesy of Sick the Magazine and Kyle Buntley.
If you have thoughts / feedback / ideas, please e-mail us at derek@sickthemagazine.com