In a day when cars continue to get quicker, the demands on tracks to raise their game on surface prep and management of an event also move up a few notches.

With the knowledge base of working a variety of events, on different tracks and different conditions, Sick Prep brings a complete team to make a successful event from the track surface to the tower.

In a season when most places are too cold to enjoy drag racing, Sick Week presented by Gear Vendors Overdrive has provided a place for competitors and enthusiasts to participate in the first drag and drive event of the year since 2022.

For the fifth edition of Sick Week, the weather would dip into near or below freezing temperatures for the majority of the week. And although the cold temperatures would require adjustments to track times and waredrobes, the resulting air qualify would bring out some amazing performances, some new records, and the first Sick Bounty claimed.

Following an eventful Day One of Sick Week presented by Gear Vendors Overdrive at host track Gainesville Raceway, more than 300 competitors, and hundreds of Sick Ward enthusiasts, rolled northward to South Georgia Motorsports Park for Day Two action.

We were once again greeted with cool temps, and for the first time in three days, the temperatures started to warm up a bit into the afternoon, but nowhere near as hot as the race track.

Sick The Magazine has learned that Tri-State Raceway in Earlville, Iowa is official for sale. The facility, which has hosted a stop on Sick Summer presented by Motion Raceworks since 2023, now faces uncertainty after the 2026 season after hosting races for more than a quarter-century.

Bryant Goldstone has accomplished a lot over fifteen years in drag and drive event competition. From scoring his first victory at the 2012 edition of Hot Rod Drag Week with a ProCharger-boosted small tire 1970 Chevelle, to owning the Unlimited Iron class on both Hot Rod Drag Week and Sick The Mag events, Goldstone is a force wherever he chooses to compete.

Just over a year ago, we got the first glimpse of the next step for Goldstone, a former Pro Mod ’53 Chevrolet Corvette that Goldstone debuted at the Performance Racing Industry (PRI) Show in December 2024. Will 2026 be the year where Goldstone adds to his winning ways in this new ride, and can he make history at next week’s Sick Week Presented by Gear Vendors Overdrive?

It’s fair to say that a lot of us get into cars and racing them because of the excitement, the cool factor, or for some, the pure acceleration and the competition on the track. What can come with the hobby, unexpected to some, is some of the best friends you can make, a second family for many, and some amazing memories.

The racing world can be a risky sport, and that means some people leave us before we expect them to, and on Thursday, January 22nd, 2026, the racing community at large mourned the loss of Jason Reiss.

We can smell the burnt rubber and race fuel, visualize staging lanes full of cars, the grandstands packed with people, and the social media posts of people thrashing and making final preparations; it’s just about time for Sick Week Presented by Gear Vendors Overdrive!

For the fifth edition of Sick Week, we’ll start the festivities at a new host track: Gainesville Raceway. And thanks to the efforts of the Sick The Mag staff, the NHRA and the Gainesville Raceway staff, we will host two days of advance testing, as well as VIP Tech.

News broke over the weekend that State Capitol Dragway in Louisiana may not have a 2026 racing season, putting over 55 years of continuous operation at risk.

The Louisiana track opened in 1969, and operated under both NHRA (National Hot Rod Association) and IHRA (International Hot Rod Association) sanctioning, and had even posted about events coming up as part of a 2026 season. And while the track hasn’t elaborated much on the January 17th announcement, racers and fans can’t help but worry if this could lead to a permanent track closure.

When we first saw Calvin and Andrew Nelson on Sick Week in 2023, it was in a 1959 Volvo running in the Sick Week Freaks class. Although the car didn’t survive the week, the 9-second performance put the Nelsons on a path for future builds outside the norm.

They continued that path at Sick Summer in 2025, where Calvin scored the win in the Sick Week Freaks class with a 9.07 average in a relatively rare Pontiac Sunbird.

But instead of bringing the Sunbird to Sick Week and aiming for the 8-second zone, Calvin and father Andrew are thrashing on a pair pf new builds. Will they make it in time?

After years of racing a classic third-generation Chevrolet Nova, Bill Hoskinson took a step back and focused on helping his sons Billy and Tommy race more. Both spent time behind the wheel of a Junior Dragster before they held their Ohio driver licenses, and the two’s transition to racing success in S-10 pick-ups and beyond has been well documented.

In the last couple years, Bill started getting the itch to drive and race something again, and when the chance to buy a clean 1979 Chevrolet Malibu came up, Bill jumped at the opportunity. In a few weeks, he’ll venture south for some Florida sun and fun, at Sick Week Presented by Gear Vendors Overdrive.

There are always competitors that will push the envelope, wanting more from their performance for a number of possible reasons. Drag and drive events are not immune to this, and after a half-dozen Hot Rod Drag Week events were in the books, we started to see the next level of ‘street car.’

Granted, the definition of ‘Pro Mod’ is thrown around as much as some do with ‘street car,’ but there was no denying when Dave Ahokas rolled out his crazy ’68 Camaro, the meaning behind the ‘Unlimited’ class was fully on display. Now, after a ten-plus year absence, the former Ahokas Camaro has re-appeared, with a ‘For Sale’ tag on it!

After participating in drag and drive events for over a decade, 3-time Sick The Mag event winner Mike Finnegan decides to go next level on his drag and drive trailer game, getting together with B&P Manufacturing for a truly unique build.

Now, just over a year later, Finnegan is paying it forward by putting that trailer up as a prize at this year’s Sick Week Presented by Gear Vendors Overdrive!

Getting more than its share of double takes, the ‘4 x 4 Crown Vic’ of Jon Moore has gotten the last laugh on several people, clocking single digit times as several drag and drive events since he acquired it.

Since his drag-and-drive debut at Sick Week Presented by Gear Vendors Overdrive in 2023, where Moore clocked a 10.14 average, Moore has continued to step up his performance. Now, he looks to up his game again for the 2026 edition of Sick Week.

The first drag and drive event, Hot Rod Drag Week, was held in 2005. Although nearly 50 competitors embarked on this historic journey, only 32 survived, with Carl Scott’s 8.58 average capturing the overall title.

The top three finishers of the first Hot Rod Drag Week, Carl Scott, Phil Cooper and Larry Larson, completed the event with 8-second averages.

Since then, over three hundred more competitors have completed a major drag and drive event with an 8-second average, and we’re celebrating them in our third segment of recognizing drag and drive performances.

Following in the footsteps of his father, Billy ‘The Kid’ Hoskinson has been drag racing since before he possessed a driver license. He also mixed things up on the street as well, documenting not only his results, but others as well, on the popular ‘Street Racing Channel’ YouTube channel.

In the last few years, street racing has fallen off in certain areas, but Billy has evolved with the times, racing his well-known S-10, as well as a first-gen Camaro and third-gen Nova, in several no-prep events. He’s even tried his hand at drag and drive events, and will return to the scene of his first drag and drive, Sick Week presented by Gear Vendors Overdrive, with a new ride for 2026.

After a decade plus of racing multiple venues, including the popular Street Outlaws and No Prep Kings series, Jeff Lutz took an opportunity to get back to another chapter of street cars in his life in 2024, participating in his first drag and drive event in seven years at Sick Week presented by Gear Vendors Overdrive.

In the two years since that return to first drag and drive, the iconic ’69 Camaro known as ‘Mad Max’ has lived up to its name, returning some solid runs, but also leaving Jeff frustrated at times.

As before, he finds himself busy with plenty of work and projects, but ready to start the season at Sick Week, with some goals to accomplish, in what could be his final ride.

At Sick The Magazine, we’re all about reporting the latest happenings, giving you detailed event coverage, and celebrating the people and their accomplishments in drag and drive.

But with drag and drive history crossing the two-decade mark since it officially started in 2005, we’re also about recognizing the performances that have gotten us to this point. Last week, we celebrated the twenty-two drivers that have achieved a 6-second average. Now we’re jumping into the 7-second range for averages.

Route 66 has become a highway that many travel and automotive enthusiasts are familiar with, even if just for its significance to United States history.

One of the original highways to be used in the US Numbered Highway System, it was established on November 11th, 1926 with road signs in place the following year.

Several events, as well as movies, tours, even just some friends on spirited drives, have enjoyed the many unique characteristics of Route 66.

In 2026, the cross-country road will celebrate 100 years of use, and the Detroit Auto Show is among the first to honor it with ‘The Drive Home VII: Route 66 – A Century of Adventure’ by traveling the entire length of the road.

Just over six months after Brett LaSala captured his first drag and drive victory at the 2024 edition of Sick Week presented by Gear Vendors Overdrive, news broke that his 2012 Mustang known as ‘Snot Rocket 2.0’ had been sold.

The Modified class winning average of 6.34 ranks amongst the top ten averages of all time, and it came as an overall victory for LaSala as well.

Anyone that thought the new ‘Snot Rocket 3.0’ might take a while to get ironed out, LaSala eliminated those doubts at Sick Week in 2025, clocking an improved 6.24 average for the week, and a 6.07 at 236 mph run on the final day, the second quickest run ever in the drag and drive community.

That would be just the start of a storied year for LaSala in 2025, and he’s gearing up for 2026 with plans for Sick Week again.

As the drag and drive community continues to expand and evolve, we can’t help but look at the results and wonder just how far we’ve come since the first Hot Rod Drag Week in 2005. It took ten years before there were two drag and drive events, and in 2025, over fifty events were scheduled!

At Sick The Magazine, we’re all about celebrating the people and their accomplishments in drag and drive, and we felt it was time to go to the next step in recognizing performances over the two-plus decades of drag and drive history. We'll recognize one of the 5 / 6 / 7 / 8-second sections each week leading up to Sick Week Presented by Gear Vendors Overdrive, and we're starting with the quickest group: 6-second averages!