From Podcaster to Participant, Cooper Bogetti Will Return to Sick Week Presented by Gear Vendors Overdrive in 2025 with 2JZ-Powered Camaro
For a little over two years, Cooper Bogetti has been bringing a wide variety of guests on his ‘Bogetti Studios’ YouTube channel podcast. Cooper’s blend of car and racing guests on his podcasts, combined with racing updates between his two YouTube channels, has garnered a solid base of subscribers.
Now, Cooper will jump back into the drag-and-drive game after taking a year off, and at this year’s Sick Week Presented by Gear Vendors Overdrive, he’ll doing it with a ride that’s never seen drag-and-drive action before!
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As a quick recap, Cooper was introduced to the automotive world at large when Cleetus McFarland hired him while working for Kyle Loftis at 1320 Video. After leaving 1320 Video to work with Cleetus growing the Cleetus McFarland YouTube channel, as well as lots of behind-the-scenes stuff, Cooper eventually decided to also forge his own path in the fall of 2020.
Cooper already had shown off a few of his own rides on the Cleetus channel, including a 2JZ-powered fourth-generation Camaro. Although it sported a supercharged LS at first, Cooper made the decision to install the desirable import powerplant in the Camaro after a few years of ownership. Fellow enthusiast Victor Alvarez and the crew at Induction Performance handled the swap.
The Camaro has since gotten Cooper some final round appearances, a victory at the popular Out For Blood event at Bradenton Motorsports Park, and recently clocked a 7.65 at 172 mph pass at the Christmas Tree Drag Racing World Championships held two weeks ago.
With the Camaro seeing mostly track-only duties, Cooper decided to build a ride suited for street and strip in the summer of 2021. After securing a 1995 Ford Mustang, Cooper swapped in the LS and LSA-blower from the Camaro, as well as a Powerglide transmission.
The Mustang known as ‘Chip’ would appear on the 2022 and 2023 editions of Sick Week, as well as some local racing at Bradenton Motorsports Park.
Cooper and wife Bronte welcomed their newest addition to the family, son ‘CJ’ (Cooper Jack), just over a month before Sick Week 2024, and Cooper made the tough decision to skip the event last year.
“It’s a little tough for me to commit to going on Sick Week,” Cooper said in a 2024 video. “The car is like 95-percent ready. I want to go so bad, and I always have a good time. But with (CJ) being three weeks old, I don’t know if I can ditch him and Bronte and feel okay with myself.”
Now, one year later, Cooper is ready to be back in the game. But ‘Chip’ will stay on the sidelines, as the 2JZ-powered Camaro is scheduled to get its first taste of drag-and-drive action. “I have decided, unilaterally, to take this here shitbox Camaro on Sick Week,” Cooper announced to start his newest video. “I will not disclose my co-pilot yet, but there will be a co-pilot.”
Check out Cooper’s newest video below:
“That means that in the next two-ish weeks, we’re going to have to get this here vehicle, that sees basically zero street miles, into streetable condition,” Cooper said. “Some people have zero anxiety, and they’ll just drive their car on the street. I don’t really have anxiety. I more have preparation fear, being underprepared.”
Being a race-only car, Cooper went over some of the things he will have to address on the Camaro, talked about past participation with ‘Chip’, as well as the motivation to bring the Camaro.
“When I was talking to Jim Braun and Brett LaSala, he said ‘the Camaro isn’t fast enough to be a dedicated race car,’” said Cooper. “He wasn’t attacking me, he wasn’t trying to insult me, but he was accurate. So, we started talking, and first step was what would be the dealbreaker to where I can’t make it. And we couldn’t come up with anything, so that means the Camaro is going.”
Will he be able to make the necessary changes to the Camaro, survive over 900 miles, and still clock solid times to be competitive in whatever class he chooses to participate in?
Written by Derek Putnam. Photos courtesy of Sick the Magazine, Motion Raceworks and Cooper Bogetti.
If you have thoughts / feedback / ideas, please e-mail us at derek@sickthemagazine.com