Day Two of Sick Summer Presented By Motion Raceworks would prove to be just as hot as the first, in both temperature in the air and action on the race track.

The crowds have always been massive at Great Lakes Dragaway, and the drag and drive faithful would once again flock to Wisconsin for all the action on track, along the drive, and at the checkpoints.

Once a year, the National Hot Rod Association visits Joliet, Illinois and Route 66 Raceway for their Gerber Collision and Glass Route 66 NHRA Nationals presented by PEAK Performance.

Part of this event is the PEAK Street Car Shootout, showcasing some of the quickest rides in the drag and drive community, and for the third year in 2025, eight contestants rolled into Illinois to determine the champion.

Leading the eight rides would be the defending champion Schroder-Ens team, with David Schroeder at the wheel of the nitrous-fed C7 Corvette. 2023 event winner Bryant Goldstone returned at the wheel of his ’73 AMC Javelin, looking for a second title in three years.

The remaining six spots included Tom Bailey with the ‘Sick Seconds 2.0’ 1969 Camaro, Craig Groebner and his twin-turbo ’71 Chevrolet Nova, Alex Taylor’s ’55 Chevrolet, the ’82 Camaro of Nick Taylor, Tom McGilton and his 2013 Camaro, and the lone naturally-aspirated ride, the ’85 Ford Mustang of Ed Ensor.

“This is the show where we play with cars, and you point and laugh. We call it Roadkill.” Those words were stated by David Freiburger in Episode 1 of the popular MotorTrend show ‘Roadkill’ which hit YouTube in early 2012. 

Nearly thirteen years and thirteen seasons after that first show was recorded, Mike Finnegan broke the news on Reddit that ‘Roadkill’ will not record a fourteenth season.

Racers and automotive enthusiasts can be resourceful in more ways than one. If something isn’t available or built to tolerate a vehicle’s demands, there is normally another option. Even if that option is doing it yourself, where there’s a will, there’s a way, and that’s exactly how Isky Racing Cams got its start.

Now, over 70 years alter, ISKY Racing Cams continues to support enthusiasts, including in the drag-and-drive community.

Peak Auto is all about getting customers what they need to use their vehicles every day, and that same philosophy is brought them into the drag-and-drive world to see how products stand up to the torture tests competitors and Sick Ward participants put them through. “We’ve been involved in many forms of motorsports for decades,” said Peak’s Brian Bohlander. “One of the things that’s great about drag-and-drive is the ‘back-to-basics’ and grassroots feel of the sport, since hot rodders are building cars and trucks in their garages and then taking them out to enjoy them in multiple ways.”

The drag-and-drive community started with one event, Hot Rod Drag Week, in 2005. That event has grown into a movement with a large community of participants and fans, over 40 different events across multiple countries, and influenced thousands of car and truck builds to prove they can survive the street and the strip torture tests known by many as drag-and-drive.

There are a only a select few that have seen it all since the beginning, and Rick Johnson with Gear Vendors Overdrive is one of those people.

Bryant Goldstone has been a player in the drag-and-drive game for over a decade. 2024 was playing out like a dream for Goldstone leading up to Hot Rod Drag Week, with a trio of major event victories.

Could he keep the 6-second 200+ mph laps coming at Drag Week and earn another title, or would a nightmare Did Not Finish await him at the twentieth running of Hot Rod Drag Week?

“It’s almost weird not having to thrash (for Sick Summer), but at the same time we thrashed a little for the NHRA race. I’m looking forward to Sick Summer and completing it this year.”

After four days of fun with drag-and-drive rides, including some road miles on Thursday, a pair of time runs Friday, and eliminations on Saturday and Sunday, a winner has been crowned in the second annual PEAK Street Car Shootout as part of Gerber Collision and Glass Route 66 NHRA Nationals presented by PEAK Performance at Chicago’s Route 66 Raceway.

Showcasing eight ride from the drag-and-drive community takes place for the second-year as part of the Gerber Collision and Glass Route 66 NHRA Nationals presented by PEAK Performance at Chicago’s Route 66 Raceway this weekend.