Can the Swede Stefan Gustafsson Defend His Sick Week Overall Championship in 2023?
Drag-and-drive events can be a roller coaster of emotions. Some have seen class wins decided by less than one hundredth of-a-second, while others could have multiple catastrophic failures, leaving only a few competitors in a class to determine who best survives the week.
The first Sick Week Presented by Gear Vendors Overdrive had plenty of both, and favorites and underdogs would experience triumph and failures.
The Unlimited class can be the biggest test of attrition, as six and seven-second capable cars can put parts and people through an absolute beating. Day one at Sick Week was no exception, as multiple cars capable of 6-second passes was reduced to just four, with Tom Bailey leading the class with a 6.26, and Stefan Gustafsson second at 6.64, the lone cars with a 6-second pass in the class.
As the class drove through rain and slick roads to Orlando Speed World Dragway for the start of day two as a checkpoint only, it was relayed that Bailey was out with breakage, moving Gustafsson and his Corvette to the top spot.
Day three dawned at Gainesville Raceway, and even though he was now the leader, Gustafsson became a ball of nerves as the day rolled into night. “At Gainesville we had two bad runs,” said Gustafsson, and his lead was in jeopardy at that point. “We were placed as one of the last cars for our third run.”
They tweaked the tune up, battled through some tire shake, and clicked off a 6.83 at 218 mph, the quickest overall pass of the day. That allowed Gustafsson and co-pilot Eric Yost to pack up and head for South Georgia Motorsports Park for day four.
“After that, it was a one-and-done deal at SGMP,” said Gustafsson, with an improved 6.68 at 219 mph time slip getting them on the road early for Bradenton and a chance to wrap things up.
The final day found Gustafsson taking the safe route, producing a pass quick enough to lock up the class title. Then him and Yost dialed in more boost, and even with a slipping second gear in the transmission, the Corvette delivered a 6.53 at 217 mph as both a personal best for the car and Gustafsson as well.
To clock those 6-second pass, Gustafsson turned to Harrell Engine and Dyno for a 540 cubic inch big block Chevrolet, and a Proformance close-ratio Turbo 400 transmission with a Greg Slack converter to pass the power. Eric Yost from Customs by Bigun has tweaked the Holley Dominator EFI system
The 1989 Corvette, originally built from three different Corvette models from a salvage yard, was then prepped for its third attempt at Hot Rod Drag Week, and Gustafsson’s hopes to better his fourth place finish from the last visit in 2019.
Gustafsson started out well, with a 6.61 on day one followed by an improved 6.52, keeping him in the top four entries in Unlimited. But the car broke at Bryon, after an over-rev at Indy caused a u-joint to let go and the damage was too much to fix.
Now, Gustafsson is priming for a return to Sick Week and a chance to defend his title from a year ago. “We are flying over from Sweden a few days early, and plan to test at Bradenton on Friday before the event,” he said. “We will come to Sick Week ready to fight.”
- Written by Derek Putnam. Photos courtesy of KWS Images.