Cleetus and Team Reveal the Return of the Cheap Car Challenge to This Year’s Sick Summer Presented by Motion Raceworks – New Rules, New Builds – Who Will Emerge the Champion?
After competing in the first three Sick Week presented by Gear Vendors Overdrive events, with familiar cars like ‘Mullet’, ‘Ruby’ and ‘McFlurry’, Cleetus McFarland and crew switched things up for 2025 with their ‘Cheap Car Challenge’ for Sick Week 2025.
The premise was a $7500 budget for each two-person team, and with less than 48 hours to acquire a ride, each of the three teams was at South Georgia Motorsports Park for Sick Week Day Zero.
This time, the basic Cheap Car Challenge idea remains the same, but with a few more rules, and a new starting point: Sick Summer presented by Motion Raceworks. There’s a little more to the budget, more time to get the builds right, and possibly more than just bragging rights on the table.
Could the Cheap Car Challenge Become the Next Big Class at Drag and Drive Events?
Although not the first time drag racing has seen a ‘cost-limited’ or ‘budget-build’ style of car / class, Cleetus McFarland brought the latest round of his popular ‘Cheap Car Challenge’ to the 2025 edition of Sick Week Presented by Gear Vendors Overdrive.
Although we’ve seen Cleetus, James Taal and Tye Braun compete in quicker and nicer rides in drag and drive events, this idea was met with enthusiasm from not only Cleetus and crew, but also the fans and FRDM+ stream viewers.
By the final day of Sick Week, all four cars survived the week, and Cleetus started that the cars will be back for our Sick Summer Presented by Motion Raceworks event, held June 15th through June 20th, 2025.
The question is: could this style of build / class be the next big thing for a drag and drive event, or in general for drag racing?