Heads Up Hustle Combines Drag and Drive Through Ohio and Michigan, with Eliminations Racing On the Final Day – Drag and Drive Vets Jon Moore, Jeremy Ortiz, and Jay Grabiak Among Eleven Class Winners
Getting their start in 2023, Heads Up Hustle blends the traditional ingredients of a drag and drive, with eliminations-style racing on the final day for competitors that survive the event. For the fourth edition of the event, eleven class winners would be crowned.
The 2026 edition of Heads Up Hustle would also be the first one to utilize a track outside Michigan, as the event would start at Dragway 42 in Ohio, before heading to the event’s original host track in 2023, Milan Dragway, then back to Dragway 42 for the final day’s activities.
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The quickest car on the property was the Mustang of David and Nick Diehl, but when transmission issues sidelined them on day two, Jon Moore’s Crown Victoria assumed the lead in the Street Car class. Completing the event with a 7.87 average for the top average in the class, Moore secured the win by winning the final round over Warren Hurt, his second Heads Up Hustle title.
The closest competition came from the newly-added 8.50-Second Index class, where familiar drag and drive names Jeremy Ortiz and TJ Linebaugh, a former Heads Up Hustle winner, led a class where the four competitors qualified less than seven hundredths of-a-second apart.
Linebaugh and Ortiz survived their first round match-ups with Rick Beem and Chad Smith, and the final round would be determined by a matter of inches. Ortiz grabbed a slight reaction time advantage, and combined with a close 8.520 to Linebaugh’s 8.521, Ortiz got the win light by just five thousandths of-a-second!
The Stick Shift class, requiring a ‘H-pattern’ manual transmission and a foot-operated clutch, saw Vance Cooper complete his average at 9.12 to lead the class standings, and the Cadillac CTS-V laid waste to the rest of the field in eliminations, using an 8.99 pass in the final round to defeat the second-quickest average of the class, and two-time finalist, Gregory Black.
The Naturally Aspirated Class is a staple of the event, and split into Small Block and Big Block categories. The Big Block side was dominated by Jeremiah Kirby with an 8.02 average, but when he couldn’t make the call for the final round, Jay Grabiak took the win in his 10-second ’67 Nova.
The Naturally Aspirated Small Block side of things also featured a Grabiak family member times two, as the top two class qualifiers, Tim and Riely Grabiak, staged a brother versus sister final round. Tim came in with the performance advantage, and his ’68 Camaro defeated his sister’s ’37 Chevy coupe in the final pairing via a 10.36 at 10.81 result.
The Daily Driver class has one of the bigger rules packages, where cars are required to have a factory interior including headliner, full carpet, stock dimension dash, door panels, and functional heat and air conditioning if factory equipped.
Brett McMillin qualified atop the field with a 9.99 average, but the final round featured a couple drag and drive veterans, with Frank Veneziano staging his Shelby GT-500 Mustang opposite the Dodge Charger of Chris Vanderwalker. What could have been a solid 10-second battle ended early when Vanderwalker red lighted, giving the win to Veneziano.
The Hard Tire class brings the unpredictability of regular street tires, as all competitors were required to use a 200 of greater treadwear on their drive tires. Three cars averaged in the 10-second range, and top qualifier Kevin Adams survived to the final round to defeat Zachary Schaaf.
For the first time in four years, the Full Size Truck class would crown a new champion. Ralph Rugg carded the best average for the class, and advanced to the final to run Jon Davis, where Rugg came out with the win in his Dodge pick up.
The 10-Second Index class had the top three qualifiers just .032 of-a-second apart, with Caleb Kars and Christopher Thomas Reiter in the top two spots. They survived to the final round, but the race was over by the 60 foot mark, as Kars red lighted, giving the automatic win to Reiter.
For the third time in three years, the 11.5-Second Index class celebrated a new winner. Zack Szczerba qualified in the top spot with an 11.543 average, and scored a final round victory over Scott Glassbrook.
The final index class, the 13-Second Index class, would also have the top two qualifiers, John Pranger and Tyler Adams, making a final round appearance. Pranger was looking for a second-straight class victory, but he left the starting line too soon to foul away his chances, giving the victory to Adams.
Written by Derek Putnam. Photos courtesy of Sick the Magazine, Heads Up Hustle, and competitors.
If you have thoughts / feedback / ideas, please e-mail us at derek@sickthemagazine.com