Going The Distance - Daniel Roberts Keeps Tradition of Exercising His Mustang Cobra on Sick The Mag Events, Will Do a 6,000 Mile Round Trip for His 4th DND Event at This Year’s Edelbrock Sick 66!
On the first Sick The Magazine’s ‘one-off’ event, Death Week in October 2023, the scenery changed, and so did some of the competitors. When you plan a drag and drive with over 2,000 travel miles, you see who is dedicated to ‘the adventure’ of a drag and drive, not just the competition.
One of the competitors on that epic event was Daniel Roberts, who brought out a rare 1996 Ford Mustang Cobra in the Mystic hue. And despite being one of just 2,000 originally built, Roberts has continued to modify and increase the Cobra’s performance over the last three years. With the Edelbrock Sick 66 event as his yearly drag and drive outing, Roberts has some new goals in mind, as well as an ongoing competition with friends.
Route 66 celebrates 100 years in use in 2026 - what better way to make memories of that anniversary than with hundreds of fellow enthusiasts on Edelbrock Sick 66, September 26th - October 3rd, 2026! Six days of street cruising, seven days of racing, a week of incredible experiences on tap. CLICK HERE for more information, and ticket availability, on Sick 66!
“My goal is to average a 6.40 in the stick shift class,” said Roberts. “The last three years, I have averaged 6.9, 6.7, and 6.7 seconds. I hope the new upgrades allow me to achieve that.”
Those upgrades don’t involve the original 281 cubic inch mod motor, as Roberts went the Coyote route a while back. “The motor was purchased as a core motor long block during covid, that my son and I took all the way down to bare block,” Roberts said.
The 2013 edition Boss five liter engine got the full treatment, including gapping the rings for boost, L & M intake cams, and stock boss heads and exhaust cams. It’s topped with a VMP Gen3R 2.65L supercharger, with a Department of Boost lower manifold, Super Single HE, and one of POWA’s intercooler pumps. It’s fed a steady diet of E-85 fuel thanks to a Fore Innovation fuel system.
Backing the modern 5.0 engine is Tick Performance level 2 Magnum 6-speed manual transmission, with a McLead RXT 1200HD clutch and flywheel in the bellhousing. A Ford 8.8-inch rear end packs 4.10 ratio gears.
Robert didn’t skimp on safety or keeping the car from twisting up on clutch drops, so a host of items were employed with those goals in mind. A Maximum Motorsports 6 point roll bar and FL subframe connectors combine for the safety and stiffness factors, while a UPR Products k-member sheds valuable pounds.
The suspension also got a host of upgrades, including Team Z control arms, a UPR Products anti-roll bar, and Strange Engineering shocks.
Despite the focus on performance, Roberts didn’t forget about the main goal on a drag and drive event: to finish. “The Cobra itself has a ton of R&D to make it a vehicle that can handle 5-6,000 mile trips on drag and drives with minimum issues,” he said.
Part of making the Cobra quick AND reliable is to enjoy his week with his friend group of Adam Burell, Jared Garcia, and Greg Overman, for their yearly meet-up. “This will be the fourth consecutive drag and drive vacation event I have done with Sick Magazine,” said Roberts. “It has become a best friend trip for all of my friends from Texas for the last 3 years. Being an active duty Navy Chief stationed in San Diego, we have stayed in contact over the years and done a race trip almost every year for last 20 years.
With a unique one-off event accomplished, and completed each year, Roberts is one of a small number of competitors to participate on Death Week in 2023, the first Edelbrock 66 in 2024, and last year’s Edelbrock Sick Smokies.
Last year, Roberts and Overman battled for the top spot in the group, before Roberts claimed the best average with a 6.74 result. Who will emerge victorious this time?
Edelbrock Sick 66 will be at Mo-Kan Dragway, Bonne Terre Drag Strip and Midstate Dragway from September 26th to October 3rd, 2026. Get your spectator tickets online now and save $5, kids 12 and under are free! For more event information head to www.sickthemagazine.com/sick-66.
Written by Derek Putnam. Photos courtesy of Sick the Magazine and Daniel Roberts.
If you have thoughts / feedback / ideas, please e-mail us at derek@sickthemagazine.com