A brand-new event to the drag and drive community in 2026, the 4D: Down and Dirty Drag and Drive event brought a completely different format to the stage. From the mind of automotive enthusiast and the man behind the ‘Stay Tuned’ YouTube channel, Tony Angelo announced the event in mid-September, and it was sold out within two days.
Based on a four-day format with three northeast tracks, the event started in Pennsylvania at Maple Grove Raceway on Monday October 26th, then rolled to Maryland and Cecil County Dragway on Tuesday, October 27th. The competitors pointed their rides to New Jersey, visiting Island Dragway for racing action on Wednesday October 28th, before hitting the road back to Maple Grove Raceway to finish off racing on Thursday, October 29th.
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Classes were based on time groups of intervals of one-second between them, the quickest class being the 10-Second Index, and the slowest being the 15-Second Index. Competitors were required to hand in a time slip dead on their index, or slower, at each track, to compile their average. A bonus bracket race would accompany the final day’s racing action at Maple Grove.
The 10-second class found the wheelstanding Chevelle of Joe Guinta clocking the best runs on the first two days, but his lead would disappear when rear end breakage surfaced at Island Dragway on Day Three. Guinta got it fixed and managed a 10.41 pass, surrendering the lead to Joseph O’Cone.
O’Cone would keep that lead in the 10-Second Index class to the end, running a near-perfect 10.002 on the final day, and tallying a 10.029 average for the event, for the win. Dylan Hoffman, Michael Rice and Stew Hill all finished with 10.06 averages, with Hoffman’s 10.06000 landing second, Rice in third with a 10.06050 average, and the 10.06450 average of Hill in fourth.
The 11-Second Index class would also see the lead swapped between a pair of drivers on Day Three. Brian Davis used a best of an 11.033 at 114.83 mph on Day Two to lead the class, but an 11.18 pass on Day Three knocked him back to third.
On Day Three, Jansen Kelchner assumed the lead by a mere two thousandths of-a-second, and nailed down the title with an 11.020 pass on the final day, to finalize an 11.0675 average. Davis’ 11.0775 average would scoop up second, with Chuck Zeek’s average just .0005 of-a-second behind Davis for the third spot.
The largest class of the event, the 12-Second Index class, started with the ’95 Chevy Impala SS of Bill DeBlasio in the lead after Day One with a 12.011 pass. But on Day Two, fellow Impala runner Glen Koenig used a 12.006 pass to get an average of 12.011, just .0015 of-a-second in front of DeBlasio.
Fast forward two days, Koenig would solidify his lead for the event, using a 12.040 final day pass to get an average of 12.018 to put his ’96 Impala on top of the standings. Matthew McDade landed second thanks to a 12.02975 average, and Brandon Ball earned third with a 12.03625 average.
Rob Wipplinger started off Day One with a perfect 13.000 pass at Maple Grove Raceway, giving him the lead after one day in the 13-Second Index class. But on Day Two, Joe Focarino would assume the top spot thanks to a 13.022 pass, and a two-day average of 13.0115 seconds.
The lead changed hands again on Day Three, as Scott Franks Jr. dropped a 13.006 run, moving his average to 13.01267 to move ahead of John Zupka’s close 13.018 average. On Day Four back at Maple Grove Raceway, Franks posted a best of a day 13.002, solidifying his win with a 13.01 average. Zupka’s 13.018 average claimed second, and Harley Parson’s 13.01925 average earned third place.
The 14-Second Index class had Brandon Sheffer in the lead for the first two days, but his 14.057 average was just ahead of Randy Cresci’s 14.06 average. On Day Three, Cresci would take the top spot thanks to a 14.016 pass, and his average improving to a 14.04533 tally.
Day Four found Cresci slowing to a 14.28 pass, opening the top spot to the 1978 Buick Skylark of Mark Kirkauskas, who captured the class win with a 14.06175 average. Sheffer would finish the event just eight thousandths of-a-second back in second, and Summer Storm earned the third spot with a 14.0745 average, separating the top three competitors by just .01275 of-a-second.
The closest finish of the event came from the 15-Second Index class, and also the only class where one competitor lead from start to finish. Frank Moses used four runs between 15.019 and 15.071 to compute a 15.0425 average for the win.
But Moses was nearly caught by Jeremy Holt, who used a nearly-perfect 15.001 run on the final day to earn a 15.0455 average, just three thousandths behind. Dave Frantz rounded out the top three.
On the final day, an optional bracket race gave the competitors a chance to determine the King or Queen of the 4D: Down and Dirty Drag and Drive event, and 13-Second Index winner Scott Franks Jr. put his 1969 Chevrolet Impala in the winner’s circle at Maple Grove Raceway.
Written by Derek Putnam. Photos courtesy of Dustin Ulrich, Jarrett Durgin, Jansen Kelchner, Bill DeBlasio, and Karen Moses.
If you have thoughts / feedback / ideas, please e-mail us at derek@sickthemagazine.com