Gassers can be a window into how drag racing was for thousands of enthusiasts, both spectators and racers. The Gasser look, as well as the wheels up performances has become popular once again.

This unique Henry J is not the first one that Troy Lightner has owned, but represents his dive back into racing after taking a few years away from the sport.

Lightner made his first trip to a drag strip with his brother when he was fourteen years old, and the racing bug bit down hard. “I have been involved in drag racing since 1964,” said Rightner. That level of commitment usually means building a car, and Rightner was no exception.

We first saw Jack Weatherford and his classic Gasser Chevrolet at the opening event of the 2025 drag and drive season – Sick Week Presented by Gear Vendors Overdrive.

His second appearance at a Sick The Mag event in 2025 will be Edelbrock Sick Smokies, where Weatherford looks to not only improve his performance and compete with 70-plus Gasser rides, but possibly bring along a couple people that played a role in the iconic movie ‘Two Lane Blacktop.’

There plenty of ways to start an argument on social media, and one of the easiest questions to start with is “what is a street car?” Get the popcorn and set aside some time, as some believe air conditioning, cruise control and lack of a roll cage are requirements.

Not far behind the “what makes it a street car” question is “what is a fast / quick street car?” Granted fast and quick are different measurements, and for this story, we’ll focus on the elapsed time “quick” side.

Following the performances we’ve seen on the jam-packed 2025 schedule of drag and drive events, one could be forgiven for looking back at past year results and wonder just how quickly the cars and drivers have advanced.

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?

Trends can come and go, but some will show staying power. Gassers are seeing life in many areas of the country, but definitely have a strong showing in the southeast region.

This ’57 Chevy has seen life in a couple different configurations, but was almost left for dead and junked. Randy Quay breathed new into this classic, and will embark on his first drag and drive event as part of over 70 Gasser entries on Edelbrock Sick Smokies, October 12-19th, 2025.

There are those that decide to do this a little bit different, even if at first glance it doesn’t appear as such.

Although this 1966 Ford Mustang may appear to be a clean example of a Gasser build upon an initial inspection, the classic Ford hides a few secrets that will be on display as part of the 70-plus Gassers at the Edelbrock Sick Smokies event October 12th through the 19th.

A former street racer, Russell Grimes has turned to racing on the drag strip more in the last fifteen years, and decided to take on a new build. “While I was building a customer’s car, I decided to build a 60's themed drag car and here we are,” said Grimes.

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.

The Ford Thunderbird debuted as a 1955 model, just two years after Chevrolet 2-seater Corvette first hit. Combining some cool features, including style, comfort and speed, including a factory supercharged engine option in 1957, the T-bird was a hit with over 16,000 sold the first year.

Hard to imagine that one of those models, this green 1955 example owned by Dan Wiechowski, was sitting under a tree. Pushed aside by at least three owners for other priorities, Wiechowski saw it on social media, rescued it, and will embark on his first drag and drive with it at Edelbrock Sick Smokies next month!

On almost every drag and drive event we cover, there’s at least one vehicle with interesting stats, a cool back story, or some cool modifications that draws you in.

It stands as a good reminder that being interested in the car hobby is a blast, and that’s before we get to the racing and cruising together part!

The Ford Lightning pick-up truck that is the subject of this article, owned by Jason Long, has served numerous purposes over a two-plus decade ownership, and will serve as the key to his first drag and drive event appearance at the Edelbrock Sick Smokies next month.

Car and racing friends can just take things to the next level. They might encourage you to spend money on a part or upgrade, but they will be right there to help you install it when the time comes.

For Eric Bennecker, a love of Pontiac vehicles, combined with three close friends, resulted in the building of this unique Pontiac station wagon Gasser. It will join over 70 more Gasser entries at next month’s Edelbrock Sick Smokies!

Bryant Goldstone brings a wealth of not only drag and drive experience, but as the owner of an automotive shop, the knowledge that sometimes cars, repairs and timelines don’t always work out 100-percent.

When Goldstone debuted his new 1953 Chevrolet Corvette at the Performance and Racing Industry (PRI) show last December, it brought a lot of discussion about competing for the top of the pack in drag and drive.

The drag and drive community has grown significantly since the first Hot Rod Drag Week in 2005, and every year, dozens of first-time participants join the community.

Unfortunately, we have some members depart the drag and drive community earlier than expected, and we’ve recently learned that multi-time winner Randall Reed has passed.

Reed first jumped into the drag and drive with an appearance at Hot Rod Drag Week in 2017, competing in the popular Street Race Small Block Power Adder class. Over seven years, Reed competed in nearly a dozen drag and drive events, scoring multiple wins.

Drag and drive events are a great way to enjoy your vehicle and see new race tracks, cruise routes and create new memories. When you add in doing a drag and drive with friends or family, that experience goes up a few notches.

For Erik Luttner, this 1971 Chevrolet Camaro has provided the medium for him to enjoy several drag and drive events, including some with his daughter Paige. Last year on Sick 66, they took Paige’s 1987 Chevrolet Corvette; this year on Sick Smokies, Erik’s Camaro will get the nod.

With nearly eight months and two-thirds of the 2025 drag and drive schedule in the rear view mirror, some competitors are getting some testing in for the final stretch of the year, while others are making changes and looking towards 2026.

A couple of drag and drive competitors recently visited Muncie Dragway and left with class wins, while a pair of station wagons found new personal bests tuning up for a Sick Week Presented by Gear Vendors Overdrive appearance in 2026.

When Brett LaSala revealed his new Mustang build from Moore Race Chassis, Snot Rocket 3.0, about a year ago, one of the talking points was the ability to take the new car further than Snot Rocket 2.0, which was sold just a month earlier.

In expanding on that outlook, LaSala discussed the ability to run the car in drag and drive events, as well as 28-inch tire classes at FL2K and World Cup events.

This year, LaSala also added the Limited Drag Radial heads-up class to his roster, and on his third event appearance in the class, LaSala scored a win!

You always remember your first time, and although Rick Steinke has done a lot of drag and drive events, he made sure to not miss the first time to do Route 66 at Sick The Mag’s Sick 66 event in 2024.

For 2025, the Steinke family will once again take Rick’s storied 1967 Chevrolet Chevelle 4-door known as ‘Honk If Parts Fall Off’ on a drag and drive, but this time it will be son Troy behind the wheel for Junior Street at the upcoming Sick Smokies Presented by Edelbrock Performance.

A lot of the drag and drive community knows about Tom Bailey and his accomplishments in both the original ‘Sick Seconds’ ’69 Camaro, as well as the upgraded ’69 Camaro known as ‘Sick Seconds 2.0.’

But Tom’s son Aydan has been slowly ironing out his own ride, a 1957 Chevrolet station wagon that has competed in a handful of events since its debut at Sick Summer 2023. Just over two years after that first event, Aydan scored his first overall victory at the recent Sick Michigan Miles Presented by Driven Racing Oil.

To fully understand the success of Aydan’s recent win in Michigan, let’s take a trip back to the first Sick The Mag drag and drive event, Sick Week 2022 Presented by Gear Vendors Overdrive.

A little over two years ago, news hit about Sunflower Rod and Custom Association (SRCA) Dragstrip in Great Bend, Kansas closing for the season because of concerns about the recently constructed track surface. The concerns have led to the track not holding a race since April of 2023.

Just over a month ago, the popular Thunder Valley Raceway Park (TVRP) in Noble, Oklahoma would close their gates after the lease expressed tough times and monthly loses were too much to bear.

Recent news has hinted that both tracks are making strides to come back to racing soon, with construction under way at SRCA Dragstrip, and three events scheduled at TVRP.

Since the first Sick Summer event in 2023, Tom Kuepper has made an appearance with his former farm truck, a 1994 Ford F-150, on our yearly visit to Illinois, Iowa and Wisconsin in June.

Tom missed out on bringing his truck to this year’s Sick Summer Presented by Motion Raceworks, but made up for it with a solid week on the recent Sick Michigan Miles Presented by Driven Racing Oil event.

And based on last night’s results at a Great Lakes Dragaway test and tune, Tom isn’t done finding new levels of performance from his pick-up.