Two fan-favorite tracks have been added to the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series schedule for 2026 — South Georgia Motorsports Park and Maryland International Raceway.

For the fourth year of the Cruise and Lose event, the event made a few changes from the previous events. The biggest move was the event being held in spring time to late summer, on the fourth weekend of August.

The event would put in play two of the three tracks used in 2024, with Kearney Raceway Park in Kearney, Nebraska as home base for Day One and Day Three activities, with a trip to I29 Dragway in Pacific Junction, Iowa for Day Two racing.

More than a dozen new drag and drive events have been announced or hosted in 2025, and this past weekend had two of them.

The I57 Drag and Drive, centered on a three-day format and based at Coles County Dragway USA in Charleston, Illinois, would do just over 330 miles on the street between Coles Cunty Dragway and I57 Dragstrip.

Originally scheduled to be two days of racing, Coles County jumped into the mix for Saturday, August 23rd, upping the fun to three days of racing.

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.

Sick The Magazine has given away nine vehicles in a little over two-and-a-half years, and we’re continuing to offer some desirable, and in some cases rare, rides for you to win!

In the past, we’ve tossed the keys to new owners on a variety of unique automobiles, with everything from a cool patina’d dually pick-up to a street and drag strip-ready Pontiac GTO.

But as we cross the mark into double digits for giveaway rides, we decided something that was not only rare, but proven on drag and drive events as well, would be the ticket for a vehicle giveaway.

Since the very beginning of the drag and drive event structure, change has been part of the plan. Each and every year, Hot Rod Drag Week has changed tracks, routes and in some cases, classes.

Since that first event in 2005, over 50 more drag and drive events have been created, and while some follow the same plan of changing tracks at a minimum each year, some have held true to the same tracks, to the appeal of the competitors and spectators alike.

Sick The Magazine started in mid-2021 with the first print magazine dedicated to the drag and drive community, and although most featured an event would follow at some point, Sick Week Presented by Gear Vendors Overdrive in 2022 caught some by surprise.

Since then, we’ve added Sick Summer Presented by Motion Raceworks as an annual event starting in 2023, and a one-off event each year as well.

2025 marked the opportunity for Sick The Magazine to showcase our home state of Michigan, and Sick Michigan Miles Presented by Driven Racing Oil was held over the last seven days.

After reaching the northern most point of the week at St. Ignace, then traveling over 280 miles south along the coastline on our Thursday, August 14th, we reached our fourth new track of the week at Ubly Dragway for racing action on Friday, August 15th.

Ubly Dragway first opened in 1963, and a solid crowd of enthusiasts came out to watch the rides that had survived nearly 900 miles to this point on Sick Michigan Miles Presented by Driven Racing Oil.

Two days of racing, and over 550 miles on the street completed by Wednesday night, August 13th, Sick Michigan Miles Presented by Driven Racing Oil moved into the first of two days without racing.

Thursday, August 14th would have the competitors, as well as Sick Ward participants, set to prove the streetability of their rides with over 280 miles to travel, mostly on State Road-23. We would get started at the final checkpoint of Wednesday, August 13th, Mackinac Grille & Patio Bar.

After Mother Nature spoiled our plans for racing at Mid-Michigan Motorplex on Tuesday, August 12th, Sick Michigan Miles Presented by Driven Racing Oil made its way north through Michigan to Kaleva and Northern Michigan Dragway.

Although we were greeted by some fog to start the morning, some great racing action took place. We witnessed some shuffling in the top ten, including a new leader, some personal bests, as well as some competitors making their case for not only a category title, but also the Pure Michigan Award.

After a solid first day of competition on the Sick Michigan Miles drag and drive event, and the drive from Milan to Stanton, Michigan complete, we caught rumblings of Mother Nature looking to rain on the activities on Day Two, August 12th, at Mid-Michigan Motorplex.

Despite the best efforts of the Ledford family to give us a solid surface, rain hit the track just minutes before we were about to call competitors to the staging lanes.

So, instead cars and trucks were changed back to street mode, before visiting a trio of checkpoints over 191 miles to prep for Day Three at Northern Michigan Dragway.

With Day One of the Sick Michigan Miles drag and drive event leading into a week-long exploration of Michigan and four different tracks, some woke on Monday morning, August 11th with high hopes, and maybe even calm nerves.

Then, there are those that barely got their rides buttoned up in time to roll through the Darana Dragway gate, lacking sleep, test time, and possibly a functioning credit card due to all the last-minute parts ordering.

No matter which way a competitor got to Sick Michigan Miles Presented by Driven Racing Oil, Day One started with our traditional drivers meeting, before the Darana Dragway crew let the enthusiasts loose on a freshly-prepped surface to see who would gain the quick time slips and early momentum for the event.

After two years with three drag and drive events under the Sick The Magazine banner each year, 2025 marks the first time Sick The Mag expanded to a pair of ‘one-off’ events versus one each year in 2023 and 2024.

Based in Michigan, Tom Bailey and the Sick The Mag crew talked about putting together an event in our home state. They got together and came up with the details to arrive at Sick Michigan Miles Presented by Driven Racing Oil, August 10-17th, 2025.

Sunday, August 10th was Day Zero, which is normally tech and check-in, as well as a test session for competitors to have a chance to iron out any last-minute details on their rides before Monday, August 11th, when the laps would start to count towards their averages.

After attending several drag and drive events, Evan Uerkwitz and Frank Webb have been burning the midnight oil in an effort to get their 7-second rides ready in time for next week’s Sick Michigan Miles Presented by Driven Racing Oil.

Although both rides have clocked several 7-second passes on the quarter-mile format, and been in the running for class wins, will either of them overcome recent changes and contend for the overall title at Sick Michigan Miles?

One week from today, Friday, August 15th, Sick Michigan Miles Presented By Driven Racing Oil will be on Day Five of the week, Day Four of competition, and our fourth race track, The Ubly Dragway.

This also means our fourth and final track shirt, tying together The Ubly Dragway and a Michigan-based business, for the fourth in our limited-quantity design shirts for Sick Michigan Miles.

As we originally reported in March of 2025, the International Hot Rod Association (IHRA) sanctioning body was making some serious moves to reclaim their standings in both national and sportsman level racing.

The IHRA also planned to purchased several race tracks, and between March and May of 2025, they acquired four. The fifth, Piedmont Dragway, announced it was purchased by the IHRA on Thursday, August 7th, 2025.

Getting a chance to drive a car that has set class records for several drivers, at seven different locations, can hit a prospective driver with high levels of excitement.

But it can also come with pressure, wanting to deliver a solid performance on the given opportunity.

Two drivers that have participated in numerous drag and drive events for over a decade got the chance to trade the streets and the quarter-mile drag strip for Utah and the Bonneville Salt Flats this year.

Could Tom Bailey and Dave Schroeder make the most of the opportunity, with both drivers possibly earning a class record, as well as joining the 200 MPH club?

In the last month, three race tracks have either gone up for sale, changed hands or closed in the United States.

Chilton County Motorsports Park is for sale, Darlington Dragway changed hands to new owner John Dougherty, and Thunder Valley Raceway Park closed their gates.

Now, a fourth track has joined the list, as the morning of August 7th, Eddyville Raceway Park joined the ‘for sale’ listings.