Kevin Smith and KSR – The Burnout Party Heroes of Sick Week!
Each and every year at the KSR Performance & Fabrication shop in Gainesville, Florida, dozens of Sick Week and Sick Ward participants and enthusiasts gather to see what has become an annual burnout party.
Although Kevin Smith and Will Stevenson have been part of the competition each year in the Kimber Jones-owned ’79 Chevrolet Camaro known as ‘Soccer Mom’, Kevin opens up the shop to fellow participants to use lifts, welders, and whatever else can be pressed into service to get someone to the next track. “It’s our way of giving back to the drag-and-drive community,” said Kevin.
As a father of three, Kevin has dialed back his racing efforts a little in the past couple years, but still stays active beyond his single drag-and-drive he does each year, Sick Week Presented by Gear Vendors Overdrive. “Running the shop and being a dad takes up a lot of time,” Kevin admitted. “But the drag-and-drive community has been so great, I always want to make it back out for Sick Week each year.”
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The LS-swapped single turbo Camaro, which has served Kimber for more than two decades as a street / strip car, became a competitive no-times-shown / grudge race car, and a shop car, for the team of Kimber, Will and Kevin.
Then it made the change to lighting the scoreboards again in drag-and-drive form, where Kevin and co-pilot Will have participated in 2022 and 2023.
The car has also made appearances at Cleetus and Cars events throughout the US, with Kevin claiming victory in a shootout at Indianapolis last year.
After posting a 7.89 average and a third-place finish in the Pro Street class in 2022, Kevin and Will switched to the Super Street class at Sick Week in 2023, putting the car back to ‘all steel all glass’ status, and gaining nearly 300 pounds of weight.
Despite more power from the LS-based combo from Texas Speed and an improved 7.76 average, the duo landed sixth in the competitive Super Street class.
This year, Kevin wants more. “I’d like to see consistent 7.50s at each stop,” he said. “But I’m just looking forward to Sick Week again. The community does so much for each other; they cheer each other on even if they’re in the same class competing with each other.”
Kevin discusses their prep for Sick Week in the latest video below:
Kevin Smith will join other drag-and-drive personalities at Sick Week Presented by Gear Vendors Overdrive, including PFI Speed, Derek from Vice Grip Garage, Alex Taylor, BoostedBoiz, Steve Morris, and over 300 more drag-and-drive competitors looking to enjoy a week in Florida. Also, we’ll have a large group of people in the Sick Ward portion of Sick Week, literally a rolling car show!
For more details, a schedule and how to get your tickets, visit https://www.sickthemagazine.com/sick-week
Written by Derek Putnam. Photos courtesy of Sick the Magazine and KWS Images.
If you have thoughts / feedback / ideas, please e-mail us at derek@sickthemagazine.com