Stefanski takes $4k Pay Day, Ausmus claims Second-Straight Pro Stock Victory at Sick On the Green
Sick On The Green attracted almost 200 entries from the worlds of drag-and-drive and class racing alike for three days of solid action at Beech Bend Raceway in Kentucky on May 29, 30 and 31.
Three new classes were added to the Sick On The Green line-up, with the popular Lil Gangstas class getting the most attention. Sick Summer regular Jeremy Ortiz reeled in the $3000 check on Friday, defeating first time finalist Steven Johnson’s Malibu.
Saturday’s Lil Gangstas action would bring the stakes even higher, with a $10,000 payout to the winner with no entry fee for the class! The final pitted Ford versus Chevy with Jimmy Dale staging opposite Bill Schwarz, and Jimmy Dale would get the final win light for the ten large.
The second new class to be added to the roster was a popular one, Stick Shift sponsored by Tremec Transmission. The H-pattern shifter, clutch pedal and small tire ruleset brought race cars and street cars alike, and Thomas West qualified his LS swap Honda S2000 on the pole. The roadster laid down nothing but seven-second runs in eliminations, including a 7.82 pass in the final, to dismiss Adam Buntley‘s Mustang.
Dwight Ausmus stayed undefeated in Sick The Mag competition, as the Small Tire Pro Stock class record holder advanced to his second straight final against John Langer. Langer‘s Pontiac Trans Am qualified number one with a 7.67 pass, but in the final it would be all Ausmus, getting the better reaction time and running a 7.73 pass to handle Langer‘s 7.80 run.
The second naturally-aspirated class in Kentucky was Coyote Stock. All competitors must employ a sealed crate Coyote engine and spec EFI tune up direct from Ford. Aaron Worstell made his second-straight Sick The Mag final round a winning one, clocking a 9.85 in the final round to dismiss the 9.93 from Tom Matherly.
The final NMRA Street Race 8.60 champion was Gavin Black, and Black continued his winning ways in Kentucky, claiming the final round victory over fellow Mustang runner Cody Poston via a close 8.62 to 8.63 final round result.
Building on the success of Street Race 8.60, the Sick on the Green event added a third new class, Street Eliminator 10.10 Index, to the mix. Keith Vaughn was the top dog in an all-Corvette final round, using a 10.11 pass to defeat the 10.17 from fellow Corvette driver Tim Poston in the final by a narrow twelve thousandths of-a-second margin.
The Driven Racing Oil sponsored Nostalgia Super Stock / Nostalgia Muscle Car Combo brings a wide variety of 1960-1985 rides, and the final had David Mormann‘s small tire 1970 Mustang getting a double-breakout victory over Jim Netherland’s big tire 1967 Buick.
The second largest class at Bowling Green was Open Comp, and top qualifier Will McKay parlayed solid reaction times with a consistent car to make the final round, but a narrow red light cost him the trophy against fellow Ford racer, Terry Haynal.
Sick The Mag’s drag-and-drive feature, the Sick Street Car Challenge, got a sizable bump in attendance at Sick On The Green. A few familiar names were joined by some new faces when results were tabulated and checks were handed out Saturday night.
The big winner of the night was Chuck Stefanski, claiming four categories with his zoomie-header equipped 1981 Pontiac Lemans station wagon. They were Quickest Big Block, Quickest Supercharger, Quickest 4-Door, and Quickest 275 Radial. He took home $4000 ($1000 for each category) and four giant checks!
Seven racers claimed two checks for their efforts. They include Stefanski’s Ohio neighbors Bob Hess Jr (Quickest Turbo and Quickest Small Block), and Rick Trunkett (Quickest Mopar and Best Reaction Time).
Lamar Swindoll Jr, who picked up Quickest Chevrolet and Quickest Nitrous titles, and Sick Summer enthusiast Cole Rymarz (Quickest Naturally-Aspirated Small Block and Young Guns) took his biggest ever payout in drag racing. Mike Finnegan doubled up by claimed the Quickest Stick Shift and Quickest Gasser categories, just as he did at Sick At The Rock.
Two-time Sick Week competitor Kevin Schweizer picked up two checks with his unique Godzilla Ford-powered Mercury station wagon, Quickest Ford and splitting the Most Consistent category with fellow Ford runner Jason Wagoner. Newly-married Jacob Davis won Quickest AMC and Quickest Naturally-Aspirated big block.
Barry Cook put together the best average to win the highly-contested Best Street Race 5.35 Average category.
For a full list of winners from Sick On The Green, check out our results page.
Written by Derek Putnam. Photos courtesy of Sick the Magazine.
If you have thoughts / feedback / ideas, please e-mail us at derek@sickthemagazine.com
