Four Drag-and-Drives, An 81st Birthday, One Pontiac GTO, and Even a NHRA National Event Appearance Among Richard Guido’s 2023 Season Highlights
To earn the nickname ‘The Canadian Chuck Norris’ you’ve got to be tough. But for Richard Guido, a lot more was needed for his 2023 season in his 1965 Pontiac GTO.
The drag-and-drive veteran, who started the 2023 season by driving his turbocharged Pontiac powered GTO over 3000 miles to Florida from Canada, did so with his 80-year-old father Mile in the passenger seat!
“My dad did all the events (in 2023) with me,” said Richard. That alone is worth the memories created in our eyes.
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This year’s Sick Week Presented by Gear Vendors Overdrive found Richard backing up his 2022 Stick Shift class victory, using the 521 cubic inch single 94-millimeter turbocharged mill to propel him to his second Sick orange helmet with an 8.84 average, bettering his 2022-winning average of 8.97.
The next drag-and-drive appearance for the Guidos would be Miles of Mayhem, held in late July in Canada. But a few weeks before that date up north, Richard would make the trip to Bandimere Speedway for its 43rd and final NHRA national event, the Dodge Power Brokers NHRA Mile High Nationals, as part of the Rocky Mountain Race Week invitational that highlighted four cars.
After a couple passes in front of a national event audience, Richard would head back north for the Miles of Mayhem event. Out of 21 entries in the stick shift Manpedal class, Richard locked up the second spot behind Bill Armstrong and his classic Ford Fairlane.
Bill would be one of three Stick Shift rides capable of 8-second times that would occupy Richard’s class at his next event, Rocky Mountain Race Week 2.0, in late September.
At the end of a memorable seven days, Richard would once again finish second, but this time to fellow Sick Week competitor Chris Hein and his twin-turbocharged ’33 Factory Five coupe, via the 8.72 to 8.94 average difference.
But Richard and his dad Mile weren’t done yet, as the Guidos would once again make a trip south of the Canadian border to participate in Sick the Magazine’s Death Week.
A 1700-mile drive got them to the starting point in Chandler, Arizona, and the Guido got to experience everything from the Grand Canyon to the Sequioa National Park.
The GTO even tried to rip an ear for the upper control arm off the rear end, but Richard and friends managed to get it fixed to complete the final day’s drive, make it back to Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park, and clock a 6.16 at 124 mph on the eighth-mile standard to average a 6.26 for the fifth spot overall, and claim a ‘Survivor’ skull.
A total of 5400 miles later, Richard and Mile were back in Canada, their 2023 season complete.
“So, 20,000 miles easy this year (on the GTO), driven to and from every event,” said Richard. “This doesn’t include all the local events I drove to, so probably closer to 25,000 miles. I am super blessed to be able to have this much fun.”
Did you miss the chance to participate in Death Week? Check out the details on our next one-off event, Sick 66, scheduled for October 2024. More details and ‘expression of interest’ forms available HERE!
Written by Derek Putnam. Photos courtesy of Sick the Magazine, Roadrunner Media, Kyle Williams and Richard Guido.
If you have thoughts / feedback / ideas, please e-mail us at derek@sickthemagazine.com