From Cancer to Collecting a Victory at Sick Summer, Brian Rowlison Makes the Most of His First Drag-and-Drive
As thousands of competitors have experienced at a drag-and-drive event (or multiple events) will tell you, there is just something about getting out there and accomplishing a ‘must-do’ or a ‘bucket list’ item.
We’ve heard tons of reasons why people decide to make the commitment to do a drag-and-drive, but for Brian Rowlison, it was about making the most of a second chance.
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It was June of 2021 when Brian got the news he had cancer, and wasn’t given the best chances to survive even a year. “The day before Christmas 2021, the same oncologist that back in June 2021 gave me a 30-percent change to live 12 months said I had a remarkable response to the treatment,” said Brian. “He said to go live your life.”
For Brian, that would mean purchasing a car he wanted. “After thanking our good Lord for receiving the best Christmas present ever, I stopped by the Ford dealer and purchased the 2011 Mustang Club of America edition car I drove and raced at the 2024 Sick Summer drag-n-drive,” Brian said. “I have no illusions that I'll live another 10 or 20 years. While I'm able, I want to experience as much of the things I love while I'm still here.”
Instead of opting for the Coyote V8, Brian went for the 3.7-liter 6 cylinder model. He treated it to a few modifications, including a MPT 93 PRX tune, a high flow air filter element in the stock cold-air induction box, and a JBL catch can in the engine bay.
Strange single adjustable 10 way shocks, polyurethane bushings in the rear sway bar end links, and an Airlift drag bag on the passenger side were Brian choice of chassis upgrades.
For his first drag-and-drive at Sick Summer Presented by Motion Raceworks, Brian opted for the unique Bullseye Challenge class, and opened with a respectable 14.27 pass against day one’s ‘23’ bullseye at Byron Dragway, which landed him a top three finish for the day, and some confidence for day two at Cordova Dragway. Brian would nail the ‘41’ bullseye target for day two with a 14.415 pass, and got on the road to Tri-State, although in a roundabout way.
“After a first place finish at Cordova, we headed west, stopping at the tire check in front of Lane's Automotive and Speed shop, and a picture at the windmill checkpoint,” said Brian. “Then I fired up the Ride GPS moving map app and headed down Highway 20.”
“When we got to Cedar Rapids, I mentioned to another competitor that I didn't remember Motion Raceworks being in Cedar Rapids. He looked at me like a dog looking at a watch and said ‘it's behind you about 75 miles.’ I grabbed my crewman and we headed east, of course following the speed limit.”
After making the final checkpoint for day two, Brian rolled into Tri-State for day three and seeing how he could do against the ‘25’ bullseye of the day. “On day three I was the first pair down the track,” Brian said. “The car ran a 14.249 on the first pass. I think there was a tailwind gust going through the traps. Then the next pass it went 14.240.”
“Okay, so the wind wasn't a factor, but I sure didn't think it would go faster. Now I had a real problem. No time slip that I could turn in. I waited till the All Run session, and finally got a 14.261 and turned that in.” That got Brian another top three finish for the day, and on to Great Lakes Dragaway for day four.
By now, the temperatures and density altitude had warmed up significantly, and it hit Brian hard on the fourth day with an ‘83’ bullseye number. “I completely forgot about density altitude,” said Brian. “I've haven't raced in temperatures above 80 degrees in 50 years. I was so far off the bullseye number, we just made one pass and headed for Byron.”
That 14.22 pass got him a ticket back to Byron Dragway, and the final day of Sick Summer.
On day five, Brian made a 13.69 pass against the ‘67’ bullseye target, and finished just behind Tanner Windau who also put up a 13.69 pass, completing his week.
“The entire experience was so much more than I ever expected for my first drag-and-drive event,” said Brian. “Making new friends and watching the efforts people put out to complete the drag-and-drive gives me goosebumps. Just go do it! Competition, spectator or sick ward, it's a bucket list item that any car lover will enjoy to the fullest!
Written by Derek Putnam. Photos courtesy of Sick the Magazine and Brian Rowlison.
If you have thoughts / feedback / ideas, please e-mail us at derek@sickthemagazine.com