With the racing season winding down across much of the USA due to colder weather, hundreds of thousands of enthusiasts are forced to the sidelines, setting aside automotive and drag racing fun for the next five to six months.
But Tom Bailey, the man behind Sick The Magazine, wasn’t ready to call the season done quite yet. With Sick Town Hall celebrating its first anniversary, and the restaurant that combines great food and drinks with an automotive and drag and drive atmosphere, Tom thought of a way to make for a fun monthly get-together for racers and enthusiasts alike at the Lake Orion location: a practice tree series. With our first of seven dates complete, we got the details, as well as the winners!
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“I would go south in the colder months to test my cars for the upcoming season,” said Tom. “Not many people can do that, so with the work progressing on our attempt to re-open Lapeer International Dragway (which will now be know as Sick Dragway), I thought we needed something fun to do in Michigan in the ‘off-season.’”
The concept of the practice tree race is simple: a pair of competitors will walk up to a Christmas Tree (usually full sized), and stage up a match by using a button similar to a transbrake button in a car. Once both competitors are staged, the Christmas Tree activates just as it would on a race track, with the quicker-reacting green light from each match-up advancing to the next round.
The practice tree events will be held the first Wednesday of each month at Sick Town Hall, and the first event on November 4th was a success! “We had 45 entries, and we had a few double entries (people that entered more than once), and 26 paid to be in the series point race,” Tom said.
The winner of the first event was Bryan Campbell, who took out Jeff Wistinghausen in the final round to claim the big Sick The Mag check and prizes. But because Campbell won on his second entry, which he was not claiming points on, Michael Ball currently leads the points with a total of 30. JJ Johnson won the second chance race, and a $25 gift card towards Sick Town Hall.
The overall point series, which will be scored from each event attended, is based on the best five events a competitor attends. For each event you show up to, you get 10 points to starts, and 5 points for each round won.
A competitor can choose to run up to the full seven events we have scheduled, and Sick Town Hall will count your best five finishes toward the series championship. “It’s the same concept most heads up and bracket racing series use,” said Tom. “If you miss an event, or go out early one night, you still have a chance to rebound.”
“Speaking of rebounding, we are going to make a few changes for the rest of the season, including allowing buybacks or re-entries that lose in round one, giving themselves another chance to get back in the game.”
Want to join us for the next round of the Sick Practice Tree Race? Join us on December 2nd at Sick Town Hall in Lake Orion, Michigan! Racing starts at 7 p.m.
Written by Derek Putnam. Photos courtesy of Sick the Magazine.
If you have thoughts / feedback / ideas, please e-mail us at derek@sickthemagazine.com