For the Record – Barriers Are Broken at Final Day of Hot Rod Drag Week
Records are made to be broken, and that’s just what happened at the 19th annual Hot Rod Drag Week. Record setting performances were matched by record-setting class victory counts, and it all combined to make for a week of great action, both on site and online.
Although there were several candidates to take the lead, the well deserving spot goes to Curt Johnson. Participating in Hot Rod Drag Week since 2007 in a variety of vehicles, Johnson had racked up an impressive ten class wins at Hot Rod Drag Week entering the 2023 event, which is the most among all class winners.
The car that has brought him the majority of those wins, a wheelstanding black 1991 Ford Mustang, once again laid waste to the field of Street Race Big Block Naturally-Aspirated rides, using a best pass of 8.67 during the week to result in an 8.75 average, allowing Johnson to collect win number eleven at Hot Rod Drag Week.
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Right behind Johnson in the natural-aspirated win column is Jason Tabscott, and the small block-motivated 1970 Chevy Camaro has been wrecking the fields since its debut in 2016.
And since the initial 2016 win, Tabscott has picked up the victory in either Street Race Small Block or All Motor Small Block each and every year.
In 2023, Tabscott once again ruled supreme, with a best pass of 8.68 to tally an 8.78 average for the win in All Motor Small Block, his seventh class win at Hot Rod Drag Week.
Tom Bailey was feeling sentimental, so instead of bringing the first and only 5-second ride to Hot Rod Drag Week, he dusted off the car that started the Sick Seconds movement, the orange ’69 Camaro known as Sick Seconds 1.0.
A five-time class winner at Drag Week, Tom Bailey battled through a last-minute engine thrash before the week started, and then a mid-week valve issue to complete the week and score his sixth Drag Week title in the Unlimited class, breaking his tie with Larry Larson with 5 wins to hold the record for most wins in the category.
A 6.71 average put a bow on his tenth anniversary trip to Drag Week, as Bailey earned the class win and the overall Drag Week average as well.
A man who has found success on both small and big tires, Bryant Goldstone had one hell of a Drag Week in 2023. Since the Ultimate Iron class debuted in 2015, Goldstone has won it a record five times, including his victory in 2023.
Making this year’s tally a little bit better was Goldstone picking up a pair of personal bests. On day four at Carolina Dragway, he produced a 6.62 at 217 mph, the tracks quickest and fastest quarter-mile run.
But Goldstone wasn’t done, as on the return to Darlington Dragway, he lowered his personal best to a 6.568 at 218 mph, also a new record for the class, to tabulate a 6.74 average and grab not only the class win, but second overall and a Gear Vendors Overdrive guitar.
The small-tire 8.50-seconds limited classes have become tougher to win each year, and up to this year, four people have won the Street Race Small Block Power Adder class two years in-a-row at Hot Rod Drag Week.
John Wischman did it first in 2012 and 2013, then Chris Bishir was next to do the double deed in 2015 and 2016. Randall Reid scored another notch for Mustangs with his back-to-back in 2018 and 2019, but the fourth man to accomplish the feat just moved himself ahead of the pack.
Dustin Trance, who Hot Rod Drag Week mind-bending week we covered just yesterday here, completed the week by setting three all-time firsts for the class, as well as a few records.
To break it all down, Trance is the first to clock an 8.50 pass in an 8.50-limited class at each and every track. Not just at Hot Rod Drag Week, but for ANY drag-and-drive event.
Second, Trance is the first and only drag-and-drive competitor to hold an 8.50 average; precisely an 8.504 average. That breaks the previous 8.510 class record held by Aaron Shaffer, set at this year’s Sick Week.
Third, his 2023 class victory means he has now won the class three straight years, a record for any drag-and-drive. The only other person to score three wins in an 8.50-limited class? Shaffer!
Granted, they are not in a row, but if Shaffer wins the Limited Street class at Rocky Mountain Race Week (RMRW) 2.0 in October this year, we will have scored every Limited Street title since RMRW 2.0 in 2022, thus three in-a-row.
Ryan Hargett, who has abused the record books at Midwest Drags, came to Hot Rod Drag Week and made himself known. The small tire turbocharged 2011 Ford Mustang recently clocked a 7.46 average to win this year’s Midwest Drags, and he aimed to drop that average a bit more at Drag Week by opening with a 7.44 pass on day one, his slowest pass of the week!
Fast forward to the final day, and Harget not only crushed the class average for a new record of 7.29, he also produced a 7.17 at 196 mph along the way, a single pass record for the class.
An honorable mention this year swings to Devin Vanderhoof, who has re-written the small tire books at every stop. Starting at this year’s Sick Week, Vanderhoof’s ‘Big Ern’ Ford Mustang has scored victory at every drag-and-drive it’s visited.
The Vanilla Ice-approved white droptop Fox Mustang laid wasted to the field in Rowdy Radial at Sick Week in February, turning in a 4.64 average on the eighth-mile standard with the tiny 235 tires in place and Jordan Tuck behind the wheel while Vanderhoof tickled the keyboard just right.
Moving to Sick Summer, Vanderhoof switched not only the tires to a 275/60/15 set of Mickey Thompson radials, but drivers by putting Josh Davis behind the wheel. Jumping into the big-tire waters of Unlimited, Davis and Vanderhoof did the unthinkable and dispatched the field, using a 7.17 to take home the victory and second overall quickest average of the week.
But they decided they weren’t done yet, and jumped into Hot Rod Drag Week for a third and final event of the 2023 season. Davis and Vanderhoof led the Modified Power Adder class from the word ‘go’ clocking a 7.02 on day one that would be the third-quickest pass of the day.
They followed with a second-straight 7.0-performance at Rockingham Dragway, but Bristol hurt their average a bit on day three with a 7.65 pass.
Vanderhoof decided to pour in some boost on day four, and the ‘House of Hook’ took for a 6.87, and they wrapped up the week with another 6-second lap, this time lighting the boards with a 6.83 at 204 mph for a weekly average of 7.09, snagged the class record from Mikael Borggren.
Written by Derek Putnam. Photos courtesy of Sick the Magazine.
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