2023 was a Record-Breaker on the Drag-and-Drive Scene; How Will 2024 Measure Up?
The 2023 calendar year would prove to be a crazy and record-breaking one for the drag-and-drive event landscape.
Some might have had a feeling, or even an inclination that we were about to witness a change, but to see the surge in the number of events across the United States, Canada, Sweden, United Kingdom and Australia as well, it was truly epic!
Consider this: drag-and-drive officially got its start at Hot Rod Drag Week in 2005, and it remained a one event each year until 2015, when the first Rocky Mountain Race Week was held.
Fast forward to 2019, and now the event count is up to five per year. One year ago, that number had more than doubled to eleven events. In December 2022, the news on the 2023 drag-and-drive season was a whopping 23 events were scheduled!
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By February 2023, another event had been added to the drag-and-drive listing, and one month later, three more had been announced, pushing the total to 27!
April of 2023 pushed the total to 30 events, and one more was scheduled in July, pushing the final total to 31.
The established bigger events were joined by a lot of new events, both large and small, and the smaller 2-3 day events had several posting about being able to get their feet wet at a first drag-and-drive, and maybe dive into a larger one in 2024.
The West Coast has mentioned how they are typically left out of the drag-and-drive event schedule, but 2023 saw Death Week hit up California, Arizona and Nevada for a truly unique event, but one that pushed participants to their limits with 2,000 miles covered.
So far, we know of 24 events that have been discussed or scheduled, and lots of rides are getting upgrades, as well as new ones being built.
With such a huge swing in both the events and the performances, how will the 2024 event schedule (and results) measure up?
Here’s my take:
As much as I like to see more choices and events out there for drag-and-drive, the cost and time to put one together is a lot more than some would think. Weigh the costs versus the participation, and some events may not weather the storm beyond the first few years.
I know of at least one event that isn’t returning for 2024, and as much as that sucks, I can understand the reasoning. I think we will still see 27-30 events total in 2024. I hope I’m wrong and it’s more than that.
On performances: the bar was set pretty high in a few areas, including single pass and averages in radial tire and the tiny 235 tire classes.
But a lot of competitors are already stepping up their game, new cars are going together, and at least one competitor has announced an unlimited ride with goals of becoming the second to enter the 5-second range.
So, can performances improve in 2024? I’d say yes, and Sick the Magazine will be there to report on it all!!
Written by Derek Putnam. Photos courtesy of Sick the Magazine.
If you have thoughts / feedback / ideas, please e-mail us at derek@sickthemagazine.com