“It’s almost weird not having to thrash (for Sick Summer), but at the same time we thrashed a little for the NHRA race. I’m looking forward to Sick Summer and completing it this year.”

It’s a slippery slope; prep less and racers could (and normally will) complain about the track. Prep to the level that quick elapsed times demand, and the casual observer will wonder why all the time is spent watching tractors on the live feed or from the grandstands.

The Spring 2024 edition of Sick The Mag dropped in my mailbox this week in all its metallic bubble-wrapped glory, and I was bursting with pride to see that editor Luke had chosen to use one of my black and white film photos on the cover. It’s an honor I hardly felt worthy of.

This weekend - the final weekend in May / first weekend of June, a pair of first-time drag-and-drive events get under way, joined by the second drag-and-drive exhibition at a National Hot Rod Association event for the 2024 season.

Nick Cole-Mann, the first LS H-pattern stick shift in the sixes in January last year, set his sights for 2024 on the overall record. A month ago, the twin-turbo `91 Chevrolet S-10 pick-up clocked a 6.64 at 209 mph. “The only thing that separates me and that number one spot is a warmer race track,” Cole-Mann stated. Today, that track appeared.

This week’s “For the Adventure – Stories from the Road” comes from Dylan Peacock, co-pilot on Jordan Boudreaux’s 2002 Ford Mustang that competes on Sick Week’s 275 Street Race class. Sidelined on day one of Sick Week Presented by Gear Vendors Overdrive 2022, Dylan and Jordan thought their week was over, until fellow competitor Eric Cowell got them back on track with an unusual fix.

Since the crash at this year’s Sick Week, we’ve waited and wondered when the 6-second station wagon of Steve Morris would see the light again. The answer: this weekend at the new Drop the Hammer drag-and-drive event, put on by fellow drag-and-drive runner Carl Stancell. It starts at US 131 Motorsports Park in Martin, Michigan Friday, May 31st.

The world of drag racing has been obsessed with the number 300 since the early 1990s. It was during that time frame when top fuel dragsters began to flirt with 300mph quarter mile runs and it captured the imaginations and attention of gearheads the world over.

“My first drag-and-drive experience was in 2021, and I was instantly hooked.” That set the wheels in motion for a car of his own to participate, and he almost hit his goals last year at Sick Summer. “My goals were to try and win both the fastest 6 cylinder and over all class winner. We got close, but we needed more for 2024.”

This Pontiac Fiero is a true time capsule of the 1980s. A mid-engine, 4-cylinder, 2-seater still sporting an all-original look and layout, and we recently handed over the keys in our fourth car giveaway!

Both Rocky Mountain Race Week and Sick the Mag event rules for the Rowdy Radial class are simple: 235 sized tire (26-inches tall and 8.5-inches in width), and an eighth-mile distance format. No suspension requirements, no weight minimum, run what ya brung and hope you brought enough. But with increased performances and shrinking fields at some events, is it time for an updated ruleset?

With just over 4,000 miles on a new C8 Corvette, Larry Hofer is trading the factory-installed LT2 small block for over 8-liters of Chevrolet big block power in what is reported to be the first-ever big block swapped C8 Corvette.

“Sick Week 2024 was my first time competing (in a drag-and-drive) and it was truly a dream come true. Probably back to middle school, I used to drive my teachers insane for a week out of every September where I would do nothing but watch the Hot Rod Drag Week live feed. I’ve followed this stuff forever, and always wanted to build something to compete.”

So if you made it through part one of this series of this series then I assume you’re intrigued about the swap to a manual transmission. Well, that’s kind of the point, so good for you for sticking with it!

With just a couple weeks to go until Sick Summer Presented by Motion Raceworks, most figured Devin Vanderhoof and Josh Davis were preparing for a trip to Illinois to defend their overall win. So you can imagine the shock and surprise when Devin posted a video yesterday with the ’93 Mustang convertible stripped to a bare shell and roll cage!

Drag-and-drive’s best dive bars, as reviewed by Matt Reekie.

In 2015, Paul Mangelsdorf and the Green 707 electric vehicle team at the University of Hartford converted a Chevrolet S-10 truck into an all-electric racer, so it’s fair to say that led to his current drag-and-drive ride, a ‘40 Chevrolet Coupe. “I was looking for a pre-1955 car to show that EV swaps can work with old school hot rods, and old school hot rodding methods (stripped down and pieced together for speed).”

Kevin Jackson was "that guy" who used to sit and watch drag-and-drive as a fan online. Now, he’s not only participated in them, he’s getting his 16-year-old son Carter involved by competing at this year’s Sick Summer.

When Tom Bailey made the decision to allow a random team the chance to command the Sick BBQ - Ice Cream truck at Sick Week, it proved to be a popular decision. The offer was also advertised for Sick Summer, and we received over 50 submissions to wheel the truck for the six days of Sick Summer fun. From those submissions, the field was narrowed, and the job will go to Leticia and Abbey Hughes from Kentucky.

A scene that I have referenced previously happened at a hotel in Michigan on a Thursday evening in 2005. This was the night preceding the last day of Drag Week. There was a good group of guys sitting around this table and the conversation was about when the hotel would run out of Corona and the future for an event like Hot Rod Drag Week.