From the Road – Sights of the Second Half as Edelbrock Sick 66 Cruises Through Texas and New Mexico
Day five of Edelbrock Sick 66 meant we had officially crossed the halfway point of the eight day trip spanning five states and six tracks. After covering Missouri, Kansas and Oklahoma, Sick 66 had made its way into Texas after a drive day on the fourth day.
Amarillo Dragway hosted racing on day five, and then the tour would roll into New Mexico for street miles on day five and six.
Sick Summer 2025 Presented by Motion Raceworks registration opens this Saturday, November 2nd. Don’t miss your chance to be part of the summertime fun - CLICK HERE for information, and fill out an expression of interest!
Coverage of the event is broken down into daily installments, and we will have extensive coverage in the Winter print edition of Sick the Magazine. But we thought it would be cool to look back at some more highlights from the days that made up Edelbrock Sick 66, with this one focusing on some of the cool road views from days five and six.
Day five’s first checkpoint was the well-known Cadillac Ranch, and some Sick 66 enthusiasts had gotten a head start on one car the night before we raced at Amarillo Dragway. The ten Cadillacs are constantly updated with stickers and spray paint, and it’s not unusual to have paint several inches think in places.
The midway point of Route 66 means 1139 miles to Chicago, and the same distance to Los Angeles, California. It features a cool café, as well as an older gas station with come cool signage. Sick 66 added some cool and unique rides, including Zackary Anibas’ 2018 Jeep with a Trackhawk driveline and chassis on one side, and the Ford Falcon gasser of Mark Connor.
At least one competitor was thrashing at the midpoint of Route 66, as Joshua Dowies was in the middle of engine work as we rolled up. The Mercury Cougar had introduced the oil pan to Route 66 a few times, and it finally got to the drain plug threads. Dowies and friends were on the tail end of the work when we rolled up, and the stick shift Cougar completed the event with an 8.31 average.
One of our host hotels in Tucumcari became a repair lot for a couple competitors, including Tom Bailey and Nick Chitwood. Bailey’s Hurricane-swapped Ramcharger lost a fuel pump walking distance from the hotel, while Chitwood was introducing a hammer to the torque arm on his Pontiac Trans Am after it met the road surface a few too many times.
We’re used to seeing David Schroeder behind the wheel of Schroeder-Ens team’s nitrous Corvette, but for Edelbrock Sick 66, David traded the enclosed cockpit for a slightly breezier ’32 Ford roadster.
Featuring a flathead engine and a cool vibe, we could’ve forgiven David for choosing the Summit Racing Equipment Sick Ward presented by PEAK Performance. But he decided to exercise it on the track, and put together an 11.54 average.
Day six would be our longest drive, and the first checkpoint of six was the Old Route 66 underpass. Slightly wider than a standard sized car, the dusty conditions and breaking sunshine made the underpass a cool photo-op for several, including the nitrous-big block Camaro of Lamar Swindoll Jr.
Day six provided Sick 66 participants the choice to go a mountain route, or a slightly easier way without the mountains and steep inclines. The breathtaking views also provided for some awesome backdrops, as this photo captures with Morgan Evans and fiancé Jason Kastner rolling in their Hurricane-swapped Dodge D150 pick-up they drove from Florida.
The mountains don’t provide for much shoulder / break down room, and leader Jason Rousseau found this out first hand when going up the mountain. The steering on his ’80 Malibu locked up coming off a corner, but thankfully Rousseau caught it and slowed to get off the road in time.
Along with fellow competitors the Steinke family, K.J. and Allie Moore, and co-pilot Zach Wolf to name a couple, Rousseau completely disassembled his rack and column, cleaned up and sanded a shaft part, and got it all back together and fixed in under three hours to be back on the road.
Written by Derek Putnam. Photos courtesy of Sick the Magazine and Allie Moore.
If you have thoughts / feedback / ideas, please e-mail us at derek@sickthemagazine.com