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.

When discussing the needs of drag-and-drive competitors, the need to fuel your ride properly is near the top of the list, as is the need for traction to get the best time slip possible. Tom Bailey put an emphasis on both these items when constructing the first Sick Week event in 2022, and VP Racing was on board right from the start.

“Tom recognized the need to take the drag-and-drive experience to the next level,” said Jason Rueckert of VP Racing. “We wanted to do our part to help that vision, and that started at Sick Week two years ago.”

The Summit Racing Equipment name brings decades of experience in the performance and racing landscape. But their introduction to the drag-and-drive community was through one of their valued employees. “I’ve always been a fan of drag-and-drive since the first year of Hot Rod Drag Week,” said Tommy Dupree of Summit Racing. “I went a few times when it was close to my home base.” That love for cars and trucks that could handle street and strip duty took the next step when Tommy encouraged Summit to get involved.  

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.

After putting together a Chevrolet Colorado a couple years back, Josh Reich made himself a little more well known in 2024. The single turbo pick-up scored a win and a top five finish from a pair of drag-and-drive events, and although some might have expected Reich to continue to refine the Colorado for 2025, he’s changing direction with a new build and new goals.

“My good friend Rodney Geist was building it for himself to show off his fabrication skills, and promote his business. Rod isn't a drag racer, or one to do a drag-and-drive, so we decided to partner up.”

To come out with a product or service endorsed by a big name can get you attention, but to have people talk about your products without the endorsement is the ultimate goal. Doug Cook realized this vision when he started Motion Raceworks, and the commitment to continue making products that work better and last longer has expanded into three more companies as they headed into 2024.

After getting Motion Raceworks off the ground and successful, the TBM Brakes and Rife Sensors product lines came aboard the train a few years back. Fluidworks is the most recent company added to the Motion line up in 2023, and all four continue to pump out new products while listening to the market on what’s needed to be made.

The inaugural Sick Summer Presented by Motion Raceworks in 2023 proved to be an immediate hit, with competitor spots selling out within a matter of minutes. Combine that with epic attractions / check points and the great routes, the fans that got to witness all the competitors and the Summit Racing Equipment Sick Ward presented by PEAK Performance participants visit four race tracks between Illinois, Wisconsin and Iowa.

As the drag-and-drive community continues to expand, the number of events has also increased. Sick the Magazine takes our events like Sick Week and Sick Summer a step further than others, putting more emphasis on track prep, and having companies like Mickey Thompson on hand. 

“2024 has been an exceptional year for Mickey Thompson,” said Jason Moulton, Director of Motorsports. “The drag-and-drive scene continues to show growth. These events are among our favorites to go to.”

Heralded each year for cool temperatures and killer track prep, which combined result in amazing runs and sold-out crowds, the World Cup Finals Import vs. Domestic event at Maryland International Raceway got underway yesterday. A total of eleven classes got their first look at the track in qualifying, and started the work towards possibly earnign a share of two-hundred thousand dollars in payout, plus the coveted World Cup Finals trophy.

As an epic 2024 season of racing winds down, so does the drag-and-drive calendar. Only six events remain on the 2024 event listings, with Australia hosting a trio of them, and the other three remaining in the United States.

But that isn’t stopping some familiar names from getting out to other drag racing events and putting in work before much of North America gets too cold to continue racing, and we count the days until Sick Week Presented by Gear Vendors Overdrive starts on January 27th, 2025.

Sick Summer presented by Motion Raceworks has proved to be an amazing way to kick start your summer time fun with hundreds of fellow enthusiasts. The third installment of the event, scheduled to take place from June 15th through June 20th 2025, will again visit Illinois, Wisconsin and Iowa for an amazing six days of drag-and-drive action.

Although the news of tracks opening and closing in 2024 has been favoring the re-opening / new tracks side of things, news broke today that California will lose another track at the end of this season. Irwindale Drag Strip and sister half-mile circle track Irwindale Speedway will close their gates at the end of 2024.

The newest build for the Cleetus McFarland camp started at Cameron Johnson Race Cars in May this year, as a new ‘69 Camaro takes aim at the 5-second zone.

Yesterday, the latest build out of CJRC hit the track at Bradenton Motorsports Park to get Cleetus ready for World Cup Finals at Maryland International Raceway this week.

Well known in the small tire and no-prep circles, the ‘Beater Bomb’ Ford Mustang has been winning on practically every surface for over a decade. Joey Hiykel’s Mustang is an eighth-mile rocket, and although he usually keeps things under wraps on engine combination and performances, he recently dropped a new record and revealed times.

Just one day after Doug Cook dropped the news that he owned a 6-second time slip, Sick the Mag heard that another Super Street class competitor had joined the 6-second club. David and Nick Diehl have been working towards getting the 2000 Ford Mustang into not only the 6-second zone, but also wanting to be the first in the sixes in the Super Street class at a drag-and-drive event. This week, they accomplished one of their goals.

After two-plus years away from the scene, Doug Cook and his storied 1972 Chevrolet Nova came into 2024 with some goals. By October, the Nova has already put in a bunch of street miles, delivered a chunk of solid runs on the track, and even won a Sick Summer class. But Doug and the crew aren’t done yet, but recently they checked off a big box during a test session.

Unless rules dictate otherwise, it’s becoming more common to see turbochargers at the top of the drag-and-drive playing field. Now, granted there are plenty of supercharged and nitrous-assisted hot rods as well, and even a few quick naturally-aspirated combinations. It wasn’t much of a surprise to see a majority of the top ten spots on the recent Edelbrock Sick 66 going to turbo entries, but looking a little closer reveal some parity.

After two years of hosting their own annual event, the Braggin Rights events once again hosted their ‘Street Car Braggin Rights’ (SCBR) at the Duck X Productions No Mercy event at South Georgia Motorsports Park.

Combining street car requirements with radial prep and over ten thousand in payouts, SCBR Extreme and SCBR Elite classes got some notable names and impressive performances.

Just over a month ago, we revealed the new ‘Snot Rocket 3.0’ Ford Mustang of Brett LaSala. Fresh from a three-month build at Moore Race Chassis, after about a dozen test runs, LaSala took it to a 6.38 at 221 mph blast at the FL2K event north at Bradenton Motorsport Park in Florida.

Now, he’s taking the car to the next level, as he prepares for the World Cup Finals at Maryland International Raceway next month.