Right on Red – Wade Owens Brings Two-Plus Tons of Fun With a Big Block Gasser Vibe Chevy Impala Wagon for Edelbrock Sick Smokies!
The iconic Route 66 has a way of showcasing the past, with both restored and abandoned structures along a 2300-mile road that can also show how things once were, starting in late 1926.
This stretch of road would provide the basis for our Edelbrock Sick 66 event in October 2024, and introduced us to Wade Owens and his cool 1967 Chevrolet Impala station wagon. Owens returns in the fall this year to join Sick The Mag for another drag and drive, this time at the Edelbrock Sick Smokies.
There’s one more chance to join Sick The Mag on a drag and drive for 2025 - Sick Smokies Presented by Edelbrock, on October 12-19th, 2025! We’re doing seven days cruising the South, including Tail Of The Dragon, and four great drag strips! Discounted advanced spectator tickets, as well as Sick Ward / Sick Spit Show & Shine entries are available - CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT MORE about Sick Smokies!!
“We did it. We drove an old school 1967 model car, with a carbureted small block, no overdrive unit and 4.56 gears for over 1300 miles,” Owens said of Sick 66. “I got to drive it with two friends, and at the end, we’re still friends.”
After seeing daily use for a coal miner for several years, the Impala station wagon would be the subject of a restoration project. “It had two new NOS (New Old Stock) front fenders and two new, extremely rare, NOS quarter panels already installed,” said Owens.
When we saw the red-windowed Impala wagon known as ‘Scarlett Harlot’ on Sick 66, it sported a cool vibe all its own. “If you look at this car, it has a bunch of rare or hard to find items on it,” said Owens. “I scour the internet looking for race parts from the 50s and 60s to collect.”
For 2025, Owens decided the classic Chevy needed a few changes. The biggest one would be a simple one: Four hundred and twenty-seven cubic inches of big block, packaged with a real-deal ZL1 Chevrolet aluminum block. That should move the 4425-pound wagon around a little quicker, but adds the element of uncertainty.
“I’m trying to be prepared for about anything,” Owens said. “We had a pretty good, trouble free race last year. I hope our luck holds out.”
Can Wade Owens survive his second-straight epic drag and drive amongst 70-plus Gassers entered for Sick Smokies? Don’t miss your chance to see over 200 competitors, and the largest gathering of street-legal Gassers, tackle some classic tracks, and awesome cruise routes, on the Edelbrock Sick Smokies event, October 12th-19th! CLICK HERE for more details!
Written by Derek Putnam. Photos courtesy of Wade Owens.
If you have thoughts / feedback / ideas, please e-mail us at derek@sickthemagazine.com