The State of Street Race and Limited Street - How Close Things Get When Battling in the 8.50 Ranks
The state of drag-and-drive right now is one word: AMAZING! Over 40 events, in multiple countries, and so many cool things to talk about.
There are so many things to focus on, and one that I’m diving into today is the tight competition that comes with the Hot Rod Drag Week Street Race class, as well as the Rocky Mountain Race Week (RMRW) Limited Street class, Sick Week and Sick Summer’s 275 Street Race and Sick Street Race classes, and the Midwest Drags Street Race classes.
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Although Hot Rod Drag Week didn’t start out with the intention of making their Street Race classes into an index-based competition, that’s become the norm. And when you can’t hand in a pass quicker than 8.50, it can make for some serious competition.
We covered the twelve people that have accomplished the perfect 8.500 pass in an article HERE. But since a competitor that has produced a perfect pass has only won the class half the time, that should prove how tough competition can be. But we can let the numbers tell the story.
1. Hot Rod Drag Week 2017 – Street Race Small Block Power Adder class – .006 difference
Five years after the 2012 change to the Hot Rod Drag Week Street Race classes mandated an 8.50 limit on a time slip, the 2017 edition of Hot Rod Drag Week saw quite a battle for the Street Race Small Block Power Adder class. Jason Doisher made the move to Street Race after competing in the Super Street class in 2015, and his ’84 Mercury Marquis wagon got to the top of the list in 2016.
Starting the week with an 8.509 pass, Doisher average out at 8.5224. That would prove .006 of-a-second better than John Dodson, a familiar sight at drag-and-drive events with his 1980 Chevrolet Malibu. He stayed right with Doisher up until the final day, but as soon as Doisher put up an 8.518 pass, it locked up the class.
2. Hot Rod Drag Week 2018 – Street Race Small Block Power Adder – .004 difference
What would be the first of many triumphs in drag-and-drive, Randall Reed used a LS-swapped turbocharged ’93 Ford Mustang to score the Street Race Small Block Power Adder class victory in 2018 at Hot Rod Drag Week. Building on back-to-back 8.50 passes on the first two days, Reed would end up with an 8.521 average.
That would only hold off second place Tom Franks and his 8.525 average from a ’79 Ford Futura by just four thousandths of-a-second. And, third place Jim Bailey’s 1997 Mustang was just three thousandths of-a-second behind Franks in third with an 8.528 average!
3. RMRW 2.0 2020 – Limited Street – .0008 difference
About a year after the first perfect 8.500 run was posted at Hot Rod Drag Week, COVID brought a halt to several events in 2020. Hot Rod Drag Week was among those events not contested, but Matt Frost at RMRW decided to add a second helping to the event he had held since 2015, and a lot of people took advantage.
At that first RMRW 2.0, Aaron Shaffer reigned supreme in Limited Street, but not without stiff competition from Randall Reed. Shaffer clocked a perfect 8.500 run on both the fourth and fifth day of competition, resulting in a stellar 8.5114 average. Reed combined a pair of 8.51 passes with a pair of 8.50 passes for an 8.5122 average, a scant .0008 of-a-second difference from Shaffer, and denying Reed his second major drag-and-drive win.
4. Midwest Drags 2021 – Street Race Small Block Power Adder – .002 difference
A two-time winner in the Hot Rod Drag Week Street Race Small Block Power Adder class in 2018 and 2019, Reed brought his ‘93 Ford Mustang to Midwest Drags in 2021 and ended up contesting another former Hot Rod Drag Week champion, Tim Flanders.
In the Street Race Small Block Power Adder class, Reed’s slowest pass of the week was 8.529, and he had a perfect 8.500 lap in his collection, to average out at 8.518. That held off the single turbo Coyote-swapped ’86 Mustang of Flanders by a mere .002 of-a-second when Tim put together a 8.520 average.
5. 2021 Hot Rod Drag Week – Street Race Small Block Power Adder – .0066 difference
After a top five finish in 2019 at Hot Rod Drag Week, Dustin Trance returned in his 2005 Mustang for another shot in the Street Race Small Block Power Adder class in 2021. A pair of 8.50 passes on day two and day four paved the way to an 8.5225 average, which equated to Trance’s first win.
Finishing second would be Rick Steinke, who piloted the ‘Honk if Parts Fall Off’ 1967 Chevrolet Chevelle to 8.50 passes on days two and three to arrive at an 8.5291 average, .0066 of-a-second behind Trance.
The 2021 title would be the first of three for Trance, and his most recent would be record-setting for two reasons: Trance became the first to ever record an 8.50 pass every day, and set the best average record for the collective 8.50-limited classes (Street Race - Limited Street - 275 Street Race - Sick Street Race) with an 8.5048 average.
6. RMRW 2.0 2021 – Limited Street – .003 difference
After scoring back-to-back wins at Hot Rod Drag Week in 2018 and 2019, Randall Reed made the move to RMRW 2.0 in 2020. He barely missed collecting the Limited Street class title in 2020 by .0008 of-a-second, but got the job done a year later.
It would prove to be another close contest, as an 8.557 average for Reed’s ‘93 Mustang barely held off the charge of Trevor Brandon. The 2010 Nissan GT-R of Brandon stayed in contention all week, but a final day 8.501 pass equated his average to an 8.560, just .003 behind Reed.
7. Sick Week 2022 – 275 Street Race – .0005 difference
The first time a Sick The Magazine Sick Week event was held, some solid competition was had in several classes. One of the closest came in the 275 Street Race class, where the top three finishers posted 8.50 time slips on day one at Bradenton Motorsports Park.
The best of the bunch at the end of the week was William Lujan, who wheeled his supercharged 1990 Mustang to the title with an 8.5405 average. A perfect 8.500 pass on day one got Richard ‘RC’ Flint second, as his 2000 Honda S2000 rang up an 8.541 average.
8. Sick Week 2023 – 275 Street Race – .0008 difference
The 2022 class title in the Sick Week Presented by Gear Vendors Overdrive 275 Street Race was close, and the second year was nearly the exact same difference. Two of the top three finishers from 2022 would battle it out one year later, and William Lujan kept the ’90 Mustang at the top of the pack with an 8.5428 average.
Jordan Boudreaux took his 2002 Mustang one rung higher on the ladder in 2023, and an 8.5436 average almost scored the top spot. Lujan and Boudreaux even lined up on the final day, with both competitors delivered 8.54 passes to make for another tight finish.
9. Sick Summer 2023 – Sick Street Race – .008 difference
After a successful debut of Sick Week in 2022, Sick the Magazine added Sick Summer Presented by TBM Brakes to the event docket for 2023. Featuring the same class list as Sick Week, the Sick Street Race class would not only deliver another perfect 8.500 pass, but provide a close finish amongst averages to determine the champion.
Tim Flanders, who claimed a Super Street Big Block Naturally Aspirated victory at the 2013 edition of Hot Rod Drag Week, added a boosted Coyote to his ‘86 Mustang to score a second drag-and-drive class victory. Flanders claimed the coveted Sick orange helmet thanks to an 8.500 pass, leading to an 8.523 average to claim the Sick Summer Sick Street Race title.
Fellow Mustang owner Cameron Alley would land second, .008 of-a-second behind with an 8.531 average from his supercharged ’97 Mustang Cobra.
10. Sick Summer 2024 – 275 Street Race – .0008 difference
It’s crazy to think about just how small a .0008 of-a-second difference is between competitors. It’s happened three different times in four years at three different drag-and-drive events, and the most recent was Sick Summer Presented by Motion Raceworks this year in the 275 Street Race class.
Chris Merry, wheeling the Diehl brothers LS-swapped 1994 Mustang, would battle 2023 second-place finisher Jeremy Ortiz in the 275 Street Race class. Day three had BOTH competitors clock perfect 8.500 passes, tying them with 8.536 averages through three days of competition in the third spot in the class.
One day later, Merry and Ortiz were first and second, with Merry at the top by .00175 of-a-second. With both Merry and Ortiz clocking 8.52 passes on the final day, the final calculations put Merry’s average at 8.5384, and an 8.5392 for Ortiz, separated by a final difference of just .0008!
Written by Derek Putnam. Photos courtesy of Sick the Magazine, Motion Raceworks, 1320 Video, Jason Doisher.
If you have thoughts / feedback / ideas, please e-mail us at derek@sickthemagazine.com