Ned Dunphy Claims the Throne as the Quickest Average in Drag and Drive – Sick The Magazine Breaks Down the Top Ten Averages of All Time
A lot has happened in the twenty-one years of competition of drag-and-drive since Hot Rod Drag Week got the train rolling in 2005.
Since that first year when Carl Scott averaged an 8.581 at 157.13 mph after five days and over 1,000 miles on that first Drag Week event, the community has expanded, more events added, and the averages continue to improve.
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Ned Dunphy’s winning average at the recently-completed Hot Rod Drag Week, a 6.175-second performance, takes the top spot from Jeff Lutz, who held it for nine years!
That got our minds chugging – just how quick are the best ten averages in drag and drive history? We break it down below (we’re listing the top ten averages, and a driver can appear more than once).
1. Ned Dunphy – 2013 Dodge Viper – 6.175 at 247.08 mph – Hot Rod Drag Week 2025
After a couple years of plugging away and the drag and drive game, Ned Dunphy completed his first event at the 2025 edition of Hot Rod Drag Week 2025. But he did so much more, breaking the nine-year reign of Jeff Lutz at the top of the sheet.
The 2013 Viper, packing a twin-turbo SMX-based engine built by Proline, nearly clocked 6.1-second time slips at each and every stop during the week, settling for a 6.203 on the final day. But the resulting average of 6.175 at 247.08 mph gave Dunphy the class win, as well as the top spot on averages. How long will he hold onto it?
2. Jeff Lutz – 1969 Chevrolet Camaro – 6.191 at 240.01 mph – Hot Rod Drag Week 2016
Although he might be associated by many as a no prep racer, Jeff Lutz spent several years running drag and drive events before he ever appeared on an unprepped surface. He first competed in a 1957 Chevrolet, snagging his first Hot Rod Drag Week win in 2014.
Just two years later, Lutz made headlines with a 1969 Chevrolet Camaro dubbed ‘Mad Max’ that featured Pro Mod styling, and had previously scored a championship on the National Muscle Car Association.
Lutz proved it could also survive the drag and drive test of man and machine, as he guided the big block twin-turbo ride to his second win at Hot Rod Drag Week in 2016, with a 6.191 average. Considering the 6-second zone had only been broken six years earlier, it sent shockwaves through the racing world.
3. Brett LaSala – 2011 Ford Mustang – 6.241 at 231.47 mph – Sick Week 2025
After dominating the Modified class at Sick Week 2024, Brett LaSala tasked fellow drag and drive competitor Matt Moore and the team at Moore Race Chassis to build him a new S197-based Ford Mustang.
The “new” 2011 Ford Mustang, known as ‘Snot Rocket 3.0’, sporting a 25.1-SFI tag to legally run into the 5-second zone, debuted at the 2025 edition of Sick Week Presented by Gear Vendors Overdrive.
Powered by a Fast Forward Racing Engines Coyote with twin Precision Turbo & Engine turbos, LaSala put together a 6.241 average, becoming the quickest average in drag and drive competition on drag radials.
4. Tom Bailey – 1969 Chevrolet Camaro – 6.299 at 228.81 mph – Hot Rod Drag Week 2019
After having success with the ‘Sick Seconds 1.0’ Chevrolet Camaro, Tom Bailey debuted a sleeker, and ultimately quicker, ’69 Camaro out of Skinny Kid Race Cars in 2015.
Bailey stuffed the stretched front end with a Steve Morris twin-turbo mill to make the steam he needed for quick laps, and captured the title on his debut year with the Camaro in 2015.
At the 2019 edition of Hot Rod Drag Week 2019, Bailey made the drag and drive community stand up and take notice of the first, and only, 5-second pass in competition. That final day 5.99 pass brought his average down to a 6.299 at 228.81 mph, the fourth-quickest average in history.
5. Brett LaSala – 2012 Ford Mustang – 6.340 at 227.23 mph – Sick Week 2024
Lasala is one of two drivers to make the top ten average list by wheeling two different cars. His second entry to the top ten wasn’t the original ‘Snot Rocket’ LaSala started with, but version 2.0 brought LaSala a lot of eyeballs.
At the 2024 edition of Sick Week Presented by Gear Vendors Overdrive, LaSala broke the idea that only big tire rides had a chance to run the quickest passes. Running the Modified class with a 2012 Mustang, LaSala clocked a trio of 6.2-second passes to earn a 6.340 at 227.23 mph average.
6. Michael Westberg – 1991 Chevrolet S-10 – 6.464 at 214.42 mph – Sick Week 2023
Making the trip from Sweden, Michael Westberg made the most of his final chance to wheel the 1991 Chevrolet pick-up. With the truck sold, and the ACE Racing Engines LS combination destined to power his next ride in Sweden, Westberg and ACE boss Stefan Rossi decided to tackle Sick Week as their last hurrah in 2023.
The truck delivered four runs in the 6.4-second zone to get Westberg the victory in Unlimited on the truck’s final drag and drive appearance.
7. Bryant Goldstone – 1973 AMC Javelin – 6.519 at 223.03 mph – Sick Week 2024
Bryant Goldstone has firmly etched his name in drag and drive history, capturing several wins on multiple drag and drive events. Although he got his start in a ’70 Chevy Chevelle, Goldstone’s most familiar car is his second entry into drag and drive, this 1973 AMC Javelin.
The twin turbo big block Chevy powered ride had already collected several class wins by the time Sick Week 2024 Presented by Gear Vendors Overdrive rolled around, but Goldstone put the Ultimate Iron class on notice.
Using a best single run of 6.42 at 228 mph, Goldstone compiled a 6.519 at 223.03 mph average in route to winning his first Sick Week orange helmet.
8. Josh Davis / Devin Vanderhoof – 1993 Ford Mustang – 6.577 at 191.49 mph – Sick Week 2025
Pushing a convertible Fox Mustang to limits others wouldn’t dare to try, the team of Josh Davis and Devin Vanderhoof have made their mark on the drag and drive spectrum.
Starting life as one of a small number of Limited Edition 1993 Mustang convertibles, Vanderhoof converted the Fox to a turbocharged big block Chevrolet from PAR Racing Engines. After setting the Rowdy Radial record for both single run and average with Jordan Tuck at the 2023 Sick Week event, Vanderhoof upgraded to twin turbos and a pair of 275 radials for 2025.
Despite transmission trouble in testing, and a broken windshield at the end of a run at Bradenton Motorsports Park, Davis and Vanderhoof captured their first Sick Week title in 2025 with a 6.577 at 191.49 mph average.
9. Tom Bailey – 1969 Chevrolet Camaro – 6.583 at 187.68 mph – Hot Rod Drag Week 2022
The second entry on the Top Ten Averages for Tom Bailey almost didn’t include a class win. Sick Seconds 2.0 started Hot Rod Drag Week 2022 with a solid 6.03 at 249 mph pass, giving fans the ammo to suggest Bailey could be ready to uncork some 5-second performances again.
But it was not to be, as Bailey struggled with a pair of 6.8-second runs at the Indianapolis, Indiana and Cordova, Illinois stops, giving Michael Westberg a chance to chew into his lead. On the final day back at World Wide Technology, weather forced the staff to cancel day five, and a four-day average found Bailey on top by just .002 of-a-second.
10. Michael Westberg – 1991 Chevrolet S-10 – 6.585 at 207.30 mph – Hot Rod Drag Week 2022
Our second top ten entry for Sweden-based driver Michael Westberg nearly came with a second win, as we got a glimpse of how tough Westberg and his LS-swapped S-10 truck would be at Hot Rod Drag Week 2022.
Despite Tom Bailey opening the week with a stout 6.03 run, Westberg used a steady and consistent approach to chip away at Bailey’s lead. By the end of day four at Cordova Dragway, the averages between Bailey and Westberg were merely two thousandths of-a-second apart!
That set the stage for what should’ve been a solid final day at World Wide Technology Raceway, but Mother Nature rained on Hot Rod Drag Week’s parade, and the averages would be based on four days of time slips, leaving Westberg to wonder what could have been.
Written by Derek Putnam. Photos courtesy of Sick the Magazine, Jeff Lutz, and Michael Westberg.
If you have thoughts / feedback / ideas, please e-mail us at derek@sickthemagazine.com