Proof Positive – Yvonnda Hutchins Turns a Tragedy into Triumph by Taking Up Drag Racing in Her Chevrolet Street Car
Hobbies can be a release from the stress of everyday life, something we enjoy with friends and family, and even, a way to cope and redirect your energy after dealing with bad times.
For Yvonnda Hutchins, her 2014 Chevrolet SS 4 door sedan has been a beacon of positivity on the drag strip, and a recent appearance at Sick At The Rock may expand that beacon a bit more.
Sick The Magazine’s second smaller event - Sick On The Green - blasts into Beech Bend Raceway Park in Kentucky on May 29th-31st. We’re now bringing nine classes to the party, including the popular Lil Gangsta’s class with two separate chances to win, the recently announced Stick Shift class, and our new Sick Street Car Challenge class with $32,000 up for grabs!! It all takes place on the last week in May in Bowling Green, Kentucky! For more details on Sick On The Green, including discounted advance tickets, and over $60K in payouts, CLICK HERE!
For Yvonnda, the heartbreak of losing her daughter left her needing an outlet, and husband Alon provided the solution. “My husband told me I needed to find a hobby to keep my mind busy,” said Yvonnda. “He has drag raced for years, and we were at a race not long after my daughter’s passing, and my husband told me that I needed to try racing. I was apprehensive, but he was eventually able to convince me to try it, and I was hooked.”
Yvonnda would press her 4-door Chevrolet into service, and it would prove to be just the outlet she needed. “I keep a picture of my daughter in my car, and talk to her ever pass,” Yvonnda said. “As crazy as it sounds, she my shotgun rider. Everything I do, I do it to honor her.”
It didn’t take long for the win lights and accolades to start coming for Yvonnda, as the black SS Chevy collected the points championship in the Women and Wheels series in 2023, less than two years after Yvonnda got her start in racing.
2024 signaled a change from the black to a more colorful hue, and Yvonnda proved it wasn’t beginner’s luck in the Women and Wheels series, grabbing the points championship again in 2024.
That brings us to 2025, and seeing this Chevrolet sedan in the staging lanes at the recent Sick At The Rock Presented by Motion Raceworks event. “The Sick at the Rock event was my first ever drag and drive style event,” said Yvonnda. “I loved it.” She posted the best average closest to 7.36 on the eighth-mile standard using Street Race-style rules, a 7.361 average, earning Yvonnda a cool $1000.
“I think the Sick Street Car Shootout class is a great way to introduce people who are unsure how a drag and drive event works,” Yvonnda said. “There were many cars in that class, and I just tried to keep my car as consistent as possible and hope for the best.”
The results have encouraged Yvonnda to enter a couple more drag and drive style events, including the upcoming Sick On The Green event, and Southeast Street N Yeet later in the year. “I plan on getting in on the 2026 Sick events since they are all sold out for this year.”
With Sick Summer, Sick Michigan Miles and Sick Smokies sold out on competitor spots, the upcoming Sick On The Green, May 29th-31st at Beech Bend Raceway Park in Kentucky could be your last chance to race at a Sick event in 2025! 9 different classes, over $60,000 in payouts, and the new Sick Street Car Challenge are just some of the reasons you should join us! Click our event graphic below to hit our event page and get the details to join us for an event in 2025!
Written by Derek Putnam. Photos courtesy of Yvonnda Hutchins.
If you have thoughts / feedback / ideas, please e-mail us at derek@sickthemagazine.com