The Unique Drag Racing Culture of Northern Michigan Dragway
Down a dirt road, among the trees, there’s a place to race.
Miles from the city lights, Northern Michigan Dragway has found its way into the hearts of those who yearn for a simpler way to worship acceleration.
The Ledford family has been running Northern Michigan for over 50 years. What was once a subsistence farm was turned into a drag strip in 1970, capitalizing on the mainstream popularity the sport was enjoying at the time.
Get Your Own Tire Crew Chief at Mickey Thompson Turn & Burn!
Buying parts that increase your horsepower is a surefire way to lower elapsed times, but what about optimizing what you already have?
Car setup can seem to be a dark art, influenced heavily by opinion. Practical experience, however, is unbeatable. There’s no-one better to offer experience than people who watch thousands and thousands of passes in any given year.
Mickey Thompson’s Turn & Burn event at Summit Motorsports Park on March 5-9, 2026 is going to be a unique opportunity for those of us who can’t afford a full-time crew chief.
Baber Scores Two Class Titles, Whitaker Backs Up 2025 Victory, and King Claims Richest Lil Gangsta’s Win as Street Car Bragging Rights Crowns Sixteen Class Winners at Rockingham Dragway!
Created in 2022 to give street cars an event in the southeast area to participate in, Street Car Braggin Rights (SCBR) has since evolved into a multi-day event with a combination of street car-based classes, as well as pure race classes.
The event returned to Rockingham Dragway in North Carolina for the second year in 2026, and after three days of qualifying and two days of eliminations, champions were crowned in sixteen classes.
Second Verse is Better Than the First – Tor Nupen Rebounds from First Sick Week Outing to Power ’68 Chevelle Through the 2027 Sick Week Presented by Gear Vendors Overdrive
Drag and drive events can be a rewarding experience, as the chance to meet, race and cruise with hundreds of fellow enthusiasts has grown to nearly 50 opportunities each year for the last two seasons.
But the track and street can also find a vehicle’s weak spots, and this means a number of first timers could fail to complete the event. Tor Nupen suffered this fate at his first drag and drive event, the 2025 edition of Sick Week presented by Gear Vendors Overdrive.
But he used it as motivation to better his 1968 Chevrolet Chevelle for a return appearance to Sick Week this year, with his son in the co-pilot seat.
Loud and Proud – William Jordan’s Dodge Dart Demands Attention on a Number of Levels!
Sleepers might get all the internet cool points, but there’s something to be said for looking fast. William Jordan’s Dodge Dart has an unmistakable stance that screams acceleration, and we’re here for it.
William arrived at Hot Rod Drag Week 2025 a newcomer to drag and drive, having been introduced to the sport as a spectator at Sick Week 2023 Presented by Gear Vendors Overdrive. The event inspired him to build a car of his own, and Drag Week was in the perfect location this year for the New Yorker to make his debut.
Back In the Game – Jason Wall Returns to Racing at the 2026 Sick Week Presented by Gear Vendors Overdrive!
After over a decade away from the drag racing game, Jason Wall decided it was time to get back into it. There’s a ton of options for a street and strip capable ride, and although Jason had recently piloted his wife’s Hellcat Charger on Hot Rod Drag Week, he had a different target.
“I always liked these Collector’s Edition C4’s when I was a kid,” said Jason about the silver Corvette he acquired. “That never changed,” and he debuted this 1996 Corvette at this year’s Sick Week presented by Gear Vendors Overdrive.
Land, Air and Sea – Navy Veteran Scott Brown Trade Air Traffic for the Drag and Drive Proving Grounds at Sick Week Presented by Gear Vendors Overdrive!
After four decades and two different careers in the Navy, Scott Brown made the transition to his third career in Florida, a state with weather that encourages year-round outdoor activities.
Scott spent time enjoying that weather by riding his Harley-Davidson motorcycle as recently as 2024. But later that year, he was ready for a change, and he’d embark on a fourteen month build to participate in his first drag and drive event at the 2026 edition of Sick Week Presented by Gear Vendors Overdrive.
Mystic Dreams – Twenty Years After Seeing His First Drag and Drive Event, Jeremy McMillian Battles the Odds to Participate at the 2026 Sick Week Presented by Gear Vendors Overdrive!
All it takes is one experience to set a chain of events in motion for a new enthusiast to make an event or the car community a part of their life going forward.
In the case of Jeremy McMillian, the 2026 edition of Sick Week Presented by Gear Vendors Overdrive would be his third Sick Week appearance, but his first behind the wheel as a competitor, marking the next step in the drag and drive path he started down two decades earlier.
First Impressions - Gary Brown’s Hot Rod Turns Heads at Hot Rod Drag Week 2025!
Few cars at Hot Rod Drag Week 2025 turned as many heads as Gary Brown’s ’33 Ford Tudor. Roof-chopped to within an inch of its life and barking with centrifugally supercharged combustion, this radical machine had us pining for the Bonneville salt flats.
Gary is a street rod builder and restorer by trade at Browns Metal Mods, which made him the perfect man to take a ‘rusted out hulk of a shell’ and turn it into something special.
“I built the car ground-up to do drag and drives three years ago,” he said. “And I finally made an event!”
Tim Ford’s Nissan 240SX might be having an identity crisis. But whether it’s drag, drift or street, success and fun seem to be in the DNA.
“I tell as many car enthusiasts as I can about drag and drives, specifically Sick hosted events,” he said. “It’s such a great community to be involved in, in any capacity. We’re looking forward to the next one!”
Sick The Mag Brings Their Own ‘Great 8’ To The AutoRama – One of America’s Largest Indoor Car Shows, Starting Today in Detroit, Michigan
For over seven decades, the Detroit AutoRama in Michigan has showcased tens of thousands of amazing rides, including hot rods, muscle cars, truck and motorcycles. It is a true plethora of automotive gatherings, with one of the big attractions of the AutoRama being The Ridler Award,
The drag and drive community has enjoyed a presence at the event in recent years, with Sick The Magazine bringing an ‘8-pack’ of cool and quick rides to our display at the AutoRama.
Niklas Linrin Becomes Third Swede to Capture Overall Title, Nick Rinehart and Les Smith Round Out Top Three As 5th Annual Sick Week Presented by Gear Vendors Overdrive Wraps Up In Gainesville, Florida
In a season when most places are too cold to enjoy drag racing, Sick Week presented by Gear Vendors Overdrive has provided a place for competitors and enthusiasts to participate in the first drag and drive event of the year since 2022.
For the fifth edition of Sick Week, the weather would dip into near or below freezing temperatures for the majority of the week. And although the cold temperatures would require adjustments to track times and waredrobes, the resulting air qualify would bring out some amazing performances, some new records, and the first Sick Bounty claimed.
The 2026 Edition Sick Week Will Have One Lucky Competitor Winning Mike Finnegan’s All-Aluminum Drag and Drive Style Trailer!
After participating in drag and drive events for over a decade, 3-time Sick The Mag event winner Mike Finnegan decides to go next level on his drag and drive trailer game, getting together with B&P Manufacturing for a truly unique build.
Now, just over a year later, Finnegan is paying it forward by putting that trailer up as a prize at this year’s Sick Week Presented by Gear Vendors Overdrive!
Brett LaSala Looks to Build on a Solid 2025 Season by Prepping Popular ‘Snot Rocket 3.0’ Mustang for Multiple Events and Classes in 2026
Just over six months after Brett LaSala captured his first drag and drive victory at the 2024 edition of Sick Week presented by Gear Vendors Overdrive, news broke that his 2012 Mustang known as ‘Snot Rocket 2.0’ had been sold.
The Modified class winning average of 6.34 ranks amongst the top ten averages of all time, and it came as an overall victory for LaSala as well.
Anyone that thought the new ‘Snot Rocket 3.0’ might take a while to get ironed out, LaSala eliminated those doubts at Sick Week in 2025, clocking an improved 6.24 average for the week, and a 6.07 at 236 mph run on the final day, the second quickest run ever in the drag and drive community.
That would be just the start of a storied year for LaSala in 2025, and he’s gearing up for 2026 with plans for Sick Week again.
A Mean Buzzing Half Dozen – Morgan Evans and Jason Kastner Cap a Solid 2025 Season with the First 8-Second Pass from Dodge’s Direct Connection HurriCrate Turbo 6-Cylinder Crate Engine!
There are times when life throws you a curveball, and despite having zero experience with an engine design, let alone a single run down a drag strip, you make the choice to seize the opportunity and run with it.
Morgan Evans had that kind of curveball early in 2024 with a chance to participate in the popular Roadkill Nights Powered by Dodge event, specifically the Direction Connection Grudge Race. It led to her first drag strip runs, her first drag and drive event, and nearly two years later, becoming the first to collect an 8-second time slip with the HurriCrate engine.
The Circuit’s Second Event of 2025 – Short Circuit – Provides a 2-Day Drag and Drive Experience Around Racing at Tulsa Raceway Park
After successfully hosting ‘The Circuit – A Charity With Horsepower’ drag and drive events, Michael Narx and Eric White decided to up the ante for 2025 and add a second event to the brand, ‘Short Circuit.’
Based on a two-day format, Short Circuit would employ Tulsa Raceway Park for the drag racing element, incorporating racing on Friday night and Saturday afternoon / evening. A Saturday morning cruise with a goal of 100 miles would provide the ‘drive’ portion of the event, and awards would take place Saturday night.
Third Time’s the Charm – Nick Cryer Dominates Edelbrock Sick Smokies with a Trio of Personal Best Runs, the Overall Victory, and a Sick The Mag Orange Helmet!
After several years of entertaining audiences, and completing several drag and drive events in his family’s wheelstanding 1963 Divco (Detroit Industrial Vehicles COmpany) Milk Truck, Nick Cryer made the switch to a more serious 1933 Ford Coupe at the 2025 edition of Motion Raceworks Sick Summer.
Nick’s drag and drive debut came up a single day short of completion, but Nick would rebound at his next two drag and drive events, Hot Rod Drag Week and Edelbrock Sick Smokies. And we got a glimpse at what the ’33 Ford could deliver for performances in 2026.
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.
On that first year, Carl Scott averaged an 8.581 at 157.13 mph after five days and over 1,000 street miles, and the community has expanded, more events added, and the averages continue to improve over the next 2 decades.
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?
Sixt Sense – Jeff Sixt to Debut This ‘63 Studebaker Gasser on Its First Drag and Drive Event at Edelbrock Sick Smokies in October 2025!
With over 70 Gassers currently signed registered for Edelbrock Sick Smokies coming up October 12th through the 19th, 2025, a good chunk of them have cool back stories, even if it will be the competitor’s first drag and drive event.
This ’63 Studebaker Lark carries a good bit of racing history, and owner Jeff Sixt does have a good bit of drag and drive experience. Sick Smokies will mark the first event Sixt and the car he calls ‘Stu Debaker’ will embark on the adventure of an event that involves street drives and drag racing, and he is excited about it.
Working For the Weekend – Jason Hurley Leads Winner List From First Rocky Mountain Race Weekend Event at Pueblo Motorsports Park
Following their successful MEGAWEEK Presented by Sick The Magazine with over 500 competitors, Rocky Mountain Race Week hosted their second different event of 2025 - Rocky Mountain Race Weekend, September 5th through the 7th.
With a slightly different format than event's week-long format, the Rocky Mountain Race Weekend event centered around Pueblo Motorsports Park.
Two days of racing would compile the averages, and two separate cruises would be held from the track. Sunday would bring the traditional Rocky Mountain Race Week Shootout, with additional titles on the line for competitors.