We can commonly read about drag-and-drive competitors at the side of the road battling issues; that's par for the course. Unfortunately, we occasionally hear about crashes on the road as well, and one impacted this week's Rocky Mountain Race Week event.

There’s lots of ways to be successful, especially if you take time to develop a solid plan. Granted, plenty of competitors can survive a drag-and-drive with last minute thrashes and no testing. But the father-son team of Steven and A.J. Lloyd took a prepared approach for their first drag-and-drive appearance at Sick Summer.

The 8th stop on the Street Car Takeover event tour of 2024 was held at zMax Dragway in Charlotte, North Carolina. Always a well-attended event in multiple classes, a couple of Sick Week competitors found themselves as the top rides in the popular Street Racer class.

We first reported on Concho Valley Dragway’s concept in April, and just 34 days after ground-breaking, the track surface had been poured in concrete, and the return road, pit area and staging lanes has also been completed in asphalt.

Kevin Schweizer chose a different car for his efforts with a 1980 Mercury wagon, and he also skipped past traditional Ford options, instead landed on one of Ford’s newest engines, the 7.3L Godzilla pushrod engine. This not only allowed him to run the all-Ford NMRA series, including their popular True Street class, but also take part in the Godzilla Invasion special classes at the recent Norwalk event.

One year ago, Travis Larson was riding high after attending the inaugural Sick Summer; compiling an 8.56 average to secure the Street Race 275 class win. But just three months later at a race during Labor Day weekend 2023, things took a turn for the worse.

Larry Larson has been absent from the drag-and-drive world for a decade - is his newest ride signaling his return to it?

“My first ever drag-and-drive was Sick Summer 2023, when my husband Jerry Konstatos put us with my 1987 Cutlass, “She Gone” on the waiting list. As luck would have it, we got in, and survived in the Dial-Your Own (DYO) Class D. I made top 100 to earn my place for 2024.”

The Diehl brothers and Chris Merry appeared to be ready for Sick Summer 2024, but they decided that a little tune-up was needed. So they popped into a Street Car Takeover event at US 131 Motorsports Park, held just one day before registration and tech day at Sick Summer.

The trophy matters. It can be a standard award store trophy, or a 6-foot-tall check, but the cool thing is you get to have something to recall the experience and the memories. The money comes and goes, but the awards, trophies, memories and friendships are what to reflect on.

So what is “The Sickest Of The Sick” award? Just like the definition of a street car, it could have many different meanings to many different people. What I’ve had explained to me is this: it is who best embodies the spirit of a drag-and-drive.

Sick Summer Presented by Motion Raceworks finished just two days before Father’s Day. It made us a little more award of the fathers and sons, as well as the fathers and daughters that spent a week making memories, so we’re highlighting some of them today!

Thanks to our awesome designer Garrett Olsen, each and every track on Sick Summer Presented by Motion Raceworks has a limited edition t-shirt. Today, we reveal Day 5, and the overall theme. The only way to get these shirts is on site at each track on each day!

Some are tested and ready days, or even weeks in advance for this week’s Sick Summer event, while others are still busting their knuckles to make the 1 p.m. deadline to arrive in tech line to be able to compete. From last-minute turn signal wiring, to pulling out a transmission with the final hours ticking away, this is what we’ve seen on last minute work to get into competition.

Despite the lack of sleep and another year of thrashing, Jeff Kurczak is looking forward to spending time with his family on Sick Summer. Jeff will be piloting his Godzilla-powered ‘93 Mustang, while his son will wheel an ‘80 Fairmont. For daughter Aly Kurczak, she will participate as a competitor on her first drag-and-drive ever, after riding with Jeff on last year’s Sick Summer.

Offering a product catalog that is nearly 100-percent ‘Made in the USA’ sourced, Motion Raceworks has shown to be one of the companies in it for the long haul for not only the drag-and-drive community, but automotive enthusiasts in all walks of life.

Thanks to our awesome designer Garrett Olsen, each and every Sick Summer track have featured limited edition t-shirts for each day of the event. The only way to get these shirts? On site at each track on each day! They’re back for Sick Summer this year, and we’re ready to reveal days 3 and 4!

After a solid 2023 season that got Rob Courtney a third-place finish at Sick Week, and a win at Sick Summer, he comes into 2024 with new targets. “I want all 8-second passes, and try to get the record from my boy Tony (Niemczyk).”

With just 9 days to go before Sick Summer, the Diehl brothers rolled a pair of turbocharged Mustangs out to test at US 131 Motorsports Park. The test turned a bit hot for Merry, as the ’94 Mustang belched fire as Chris turned off the track after completing a pass.

After being on the sidelines for close to two years, what better time to bring back Uncle Sam than an election year? The 1991 Camaro got finished in time to participate in the first Sick Week Presented by Gear Vendors Overdrive in 2022, and Nick Taylor is ready to return to the drag-and-drive scene in 2024.