Goldstone Takes Second Sick Summer, Manuel Surprises
Motion Raceworks Sick Summer wrapped up on Friday at Byron Dragway with Bryant Goldstone securing his second straight overall win for the event.
Goldstone’s big block-powered AMC Javelin secured the victory with a 6.503 pass for a 6.605 average, beating last year’s 6.882 average by almost three tenths of a second. The Javelin was mostly trouble free throughout the week, though issues building boost did arise on the final day. But it proved to be minor problem and wouldn’t stop Goldstone, who also won the Unlimited Iron class.
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Second-overall went to the relatively unknown Michael Manuel. The Illinois fabricator came into the final day locked in a battle with Alex Taylor for second and delivered a 7.008, which would be just enough to give him a 6.999 average and the Modified win. Taylor’s ’55 Chevy threw down a 7.141/210mph but she was unable to return after discovering a cracked brake rotor. Team Taylor would thus settle for a 7.025 average for third. There was still plenty to smile about for Alex, as both she and Michael earned their first Gear Vendors Overdrive guitars for being in the top three overall.
Timothy Blythe took home his first Sick orange Racequip helmet for winning Unlimited with his Triumph Spitfire with an 8.311 average. He initially planned to only stage the car and take a 20-second slip on the final day but later found the problem and ran out for an 8.273.
Alan Whitaker took out his first drag-and-drive win with a final day 7.385 for a 7.334 average in the SMX-powered Chevy Monte Carlo. Whitaker had a busy week, including disassembling the motor to replace a piston, but ran quick when it counted — registering a personal best 6.980 on day two. Bill Schwarz finished second with an 8.725 average while Craig Douglas was third with a 9.551.
In Modified, Colin Nowak and Mike Cole both earned trophies with 9.189 and 10.909 averages respectively. In total just three cars (including winner Michael Manuel) finished the event.
Frank Webb made a last day run at the Pro Street title and earned the win, with a stunning 7.574 pass for an 8.329 average from the Ford Fairmont Future. He only just managed to overtake Evan Uerkwitz, whose Malibu finished with an 8.408 average. Michael Swindoll’s big Chevelle took out third with an 8.886 average.
Event sponsor Doug Cook set a new Super Street record with his freshly rebuilt Nova, with his week’s times averaging out to 7.325. David Diehl has a rollercoaster week with his Mustang but eventually finished with a 7.883 average, while Greg Edwards’ Camaro took third with a 9.063 average.
The Stick Shift class was among the most exciting on the final day as Bob Gruber, Dan Hardt and Bryan Crane traded blows. Gruber had the slowest run of the trio at Byron Dragway, but a small lead coming into day five gave him just enough breathing room for an 8.726 average. Hardt was just behind with an 8.732 while Crane finished on an 8.778. Tremendous racing, all!
Ken Cuttle Jr’s 9.599 average in his beautiful Chevelle claimed Naturally Aspirated. Joshua Norris finished second with a 9.877 while Frank Perkins brought home third with a 9.908 average in his Plymouth Valiant.
Rowdy Radial was another class to feature a last day battle. Blayne Stark was riding the limits of his tech but recorded the only four-second pass of the week with a 4.915 for a 5.138 average to win the class in the El Toro Mustang. Nathan McMaster was a close second with a 5.206 average, while Matt Arwood used a 5.402 average to finish third.
Trevor Branden dominated the Sick Week Freaks class with his Nissan GTR, finished with an 8.374 average. Amazingly, this was Branden’s first ever drag-and-drive win, given the number of events he has attended in the past. Fonzie Novelo clinched second with an 8.869 average while Rob Courtney scored third with a 10.627 average.
Wayne Baker is the Gassers vs Hot Rods vs Beetles Sick Summer champion with a 9.241 average from his Nova, staying ahead of Troy Martin’s 9.397 average in the Old Glory gasser. Rick Rymarz’ Willys truck enjoyed a great first drag-and-drive event, getting third with a 10.155 average.
The 8.50 classes featured incredibly close finishes. Chris Merry’s 8.538 average finished one thousandth ahead of Jeremy Ortiz’s 8.539 in Street Race 275, which itself was barely ahead of Dean Anderson’s 8.552. Byron Dragway proved difficult to predict for most of the teams as they either found themselves way over or just under the 8.50 limit.
Sick Street Race saw Brian Acton wear the orange helmet with an 8.523 average, while Cameron Alley’s 8.547 finished second. Alley was lucky not to have sustained serious damage to his Mustang after a thrown ProCharger belt took out a transmission line, resulting in a braking area smoke show late in the day. TJ Linebaugh finished third with an 8.556 average.
Rajveer Ahuja played the Pro DYO game perfectly, as his Oldsmobile kept a 0.044 spread for the week between a quickest time of 9.910 and a slowest of 9.954. In DYO, Daniel Balk went to the top on the final day with a 0.013 spread between 12.886 and 12.899 times for the week.
The good news kept coming for Ahuja, who also won the Sickest of the Sick Award, recognizing his willingness to help out other racers while doing badass burnouts for the entire week!
Thanks to all of the 300+ racers, 200+ Summit Racing Equipment Sick Warders Presented By PEAK Performance and the thousands of spectators who turrned out for Motion Raceworks Sick Summer. We will see you all again next year!
Full results available here.
