Edelbrock Sick 66 Hits the Road for Our First Drive Day – With Nearly 300 Miles of Road Ahead, Who Will Survive Route 66 Into Texas and Amarillo Dragway?
We hit the halfway point on racing activities when Robert Voss made the final pass down Tulsa Raceway Park’s surface during day three of Edelbrock Sick 66.
Racers had now traveled over 250 miles between three race tracks, and we set our course for Texas and Amarillo Dragway on the first of two drive days.
A once in-a-lifetime drag-and-drive: Edelbrock Sick 66, is underway! Don’t miss your chance to join us for the final three days - October 16th through the 18th, 2024. We’ve got over 500 miles, a dozen checkpoints, and 2 race tracks left to visit! CLICK HERE for general information, routes and tracks we will be at!!
We started day four with coffee, breakfast and some cool parts, as checkpoint one was Deatschwerks. The staff talked about their products and services, and even encouraged re-paving their street; hopefully the local businesses appreciate their efforts.
A total of ten checkpoints awaits the drivers, but to get that ‘Top Tourist’ award, you need to think beyond that. Robert and Debbie Williams, who have done many a drag-and-drive, originally planned to bring the ‘67 Biscayne that first garnered attention on the popular web show Roadkill.
Williams bought the car, installed a manual transmission, and already completed Rocky Mountain Race Week with it, including a trip up Pikes Peak. But the stars didn’t align for Sick 66, so they jumped in their trusty 2018 Hellcat Challenger, which has also served them well for several events. They’ve visited 114 cool points, both on and off the route, leading into day five at Amarillo Dragway.
Traveling Route 66 brings some very cool sights, and in several places, murals were painted on buildings. Although this one in El Reno, Oklahoma wasn’t a checkpoint, many participants pulled off to grab a photo.
Before we hit check point two, we found Rob Bendt on the side of the road, making repairs to his 2004 Ford Mustang Cobra. The stick shift ride had shut off on the road, and Bendt traced it to a bad alternator.
He was getting things back together when we joined a spirited group of onlookers, and Bendt re-joined the tour.
As Tom Bailey mentioned in his video when first traveling the original Route 66 with the giveaway Chevy II gasser, some sections of the road are a bit rough.
Daniel Pagano and Patrick Derieg introduced their oil pans to the road in a few places, and when we found Pagano’s 1972 El Camino on the side of the road, several Sick 66 competitors had already jumped in to help patch things up.
We stopped at both the Oklahoma Route 66 Museum, as well as the National Route 66 and Transportation Museum.
The latter had not only had some cool displays inside, but you could tour a 14-building display that offers a window into the simpler times, including a church, hospital room, classroom, and even a cool train car.
Along a few stretches of Route 66, you can find original sections of the Route. The brush, trees and grass had narrowed the already slim roadway, and we parked this Hellcat Charger that Dodge contributed to get staff along the drive to contrast just how much smaller roads were in the 1920s.
Alex and Brad Brody met Danny Grubaugh during our Death Week event in 2023, and the extended family came together to participate in Sick 66. Brad and wife Laurie are rolling in his ’55 Chrysler 300, a plan C car put into play when Brad’s main focus wasn’t done in time.
“I almost threw in the towel completely and didn’t make the trip,” said Brad. “But Lori reminded me how great it is to spend time with our family and extended family on a drag-and-drive.” Also making the trip from California is Brad’s parents Ken and Diane in their 2008 Chrysler 300, Alex in his ’74 Charger that completed Death Week, and Danny Grubaugh and girlfriend Barbie.
Barbie is Brad’s sister, and the extended Brody family is also joined by Steve and Di, making the trip in their silver dually pick-up when plans for their ’55 Chevy didn’t pan out.
One of the last checkpoints of the day was this restored Phillips 66 gas station. We thought the orange color matched the Hellcat decently well.
Today we embark on our second drive day, after clicking off another 100-ish miles following the conclusion of action from Amarillo Dragway in Texas. You can find a full list of the checkpoints, as well as the routes (yes, competitors have a choice of a higher mountain / twisty road option, or a less curvy option), by CLICKING HERE for the Edelbrock Sick 66 information page.
Pick a spot to see us on the route today, come visit a checkpoint, or make plans to grab a seat at Albuquerque Dragway on Thursday for our next day of racing!
Written by Derek Putnam. Photos courtesy of Sick the Magazine.
If you have thoughts / feedback / ideas, please e-mail us at derek@sickthemagazine.com