Kevin Smith Avoids Disaster on Day Five to Complete His Third Drag-and-Drive Event at Sick Week 2024 Presented by Gear Vendors Overdrive
It almost looked too easy, and you could’ve forgiven Kevin Smith and Will Stevenson for thinking “third time is the charm.”
The popular ‘Soccer Mom’ 1979 Chevrolet Camaro owned by Kimber Jones and used as a KSR Performance and Fabrication house car, we’ve seen Kevin and Will compete at Sick Week since its inception.
They had a smooth week going at the 2024 edition of Sick Week, until day five when Kevin would go for a wild ride he didn’t expect.
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After switching the popular Soccer Mom Camaro from a competitive no-time racer over to a set-up that could handle bought street and strip duty, Kevin and Will suffered through some small issues in route to completing their first drag-and-drive event at the inaugural Sick Week Presented by Gear Vendors in 2022.
Averaging a 7.89, which would be enough to collect a third-place finish in the Pro Street class that year, Kimber, Will and Kevin decided to switch Soccer Mom from lightweight mode to an ‘all steel all glass’ status for 2023, swapping fiberglass front end and doors to their original steel counterparts.
This resulted in nearly a 300-pound weight gain, and to offset that heft, Kevin dialed up Texas Speed to request a 388 cubic inch LS bullet to make some more power. “We’re pushing the stock block to its limits,” said Kevin. “I’m hoping we have a chance at running a 6-second pass someday, but our Sick Week 2023 goals are a 7.50 average.”
The end of a week’s work at Sick Week 2023 would not net a 7.50 average, but instead an improved 7.76 average was the result, along with a new best 7.528 single run on day three, ranking them sixth in the competitive Super Street class.
For 2024, Kevin said he wanted more. “I’d like to see consistent 7.50s at each stop,” he said. “But I’m just looking forward to Sick Week again.”
After hurting the Texas Speed engine at a local race in October last year, there was a chance we would see a back-up engine in Soccer Mom for Sick Week 2024. But they got the bullet back in time to install it one day before tech and registration day, and made the short trip to Orlando ‘Sick’ World Dragway to start their third Sick Week event.
Kevin and Will showed that despite the last-minute engine change, they were intensely focused on their 7.50-second target this year. Soccer Mom opened with a 7.539 at 185.84 miles per hour pass at Orlando, then followed it with a 7.535 at 185.61 mph blast at Bradenton Motorsports Park on day two.
Back home in Gainesville, Kevin showed his inner bracket racer was still intact, laying down a third-straight 7.53 pass, this one a 7.531 at 186 mph. Day four brought them to South Georgia Motorsports Park, where their quickest run resulted in a 7.526 pass at 185.95 mph.
Four runs within thirteen thousandths of-a-second at four different tracks over a four day period. Now, just one more drive and one more solid pass separated Kevin and Soccer Mom from their best Sick Week finish ever.
Day five brought the tour back to Orlando ‘Sick’ World Dragway, and just over an hour into racing action on the final day, Kevin rolled into the staging beams for what he hoped would be his final 7.5-second run opposite incoming Stick Shift class leader Chad Fegley.
What happened next was something you might see on a drifting course instead of a drag strip; check out Kevin’s video below detailing it all:
The good news? The engine wasn’t hurt badly and with a couple minor fixes, Soccer Mom will be back to compete soon.
Written by Derek Putnam. Photos courtesy of Sick the Magazine, Motion Raceworks and KSR Performance & Fabrication.
If you have thoughts / feedback / ideas, please e-mail us at derek@sickthemagazine.com