Repeat Performance: the Kurczak Family is Returning to Sick Summer, and Thrashing to Do So Once Again
After successfully completing the 2021 edition of Hot Rod Drag Week and the first-ever Sick Week Presented by Gear Vendors Overdrive in 2022, Jeff Kurczak and family planned to hit Sick Summer Presented by TBM Brakes last year.
Getting his 1993 Ford Mustang off the sidelines, and stuffing it with a Godzilla powerplant and a ProCharger for boost, Jeff would be joined by daughter Aly as his co-pilot, and son Nick in the 1980 Ford Fairmont in which Jeff completed Sick Week in.
Sick Summer Presented by Motion Raceworks starts TOMORROW, June 9th, and goes through the 14th!! It’s the way to start your summer right: 350 cars, 4 different race tracks, awesome checkpoints, and over 600 miles of street driving! Click here for all the details!
Barely getting everything finished in time for Sick Summer and having some issues through the first day which included a 12-second pass and a busted windshield, Jeff’s Mustang started showing signs of life by clocking a 10.13 on day three at Great Lakes Dragaway.
But it came with a hurt lifter at the end of the run, ending Jeff’s chances to complete the week with the Mustang. Nick however soldered on, completing the week in the Dial-Your-Own class.
With a return to Sick Summer Presented by Motion Raceworks already churning in his head, Jeff had to fix the damage to his Mustang, freshen up a tired Fairmont, and prep to bring a third car, a 1974 Dodge Dart belonging to daughter Aly.
The green-hued Dart sports the license plate ‘Gater’ a nod to her upbringing. “Her name is Aly, and my wife has called her ‘Gator’ since she was a baby,” said Jeff. “So it's Aly ‘Gator’ Kurczak, and we got her the best match available on her car ‘GATER.’
Now, after the thrash he went through in 2023, Jeff hoped to have things a little more under control this year. But as of Friday June 7th, it’s full-tilt thrash once again.
“I finally got the Godzilla installed last night,” Jeff said of the Mustang’s powerplant. “All the major components are bolted in. I had a new windshield put in today; yes, still from last year's fiasco. I need to connect all the wiring, install the blower and the radiator. Hopefully I'll fire it today.”
The ’80 Fairmont, which sported a 302 cubic inch small block Ford engine acquired for a mere fifty dollars, had seen its limitations after five drag-and-drive events and countless street miles. “Plus untold nitrous trans brake launches,” said Jeff. “It went 11.5-seconds and owed Nick nothing.” So Nick lined up a new stroker small block Ford, but problems arose preventing its use.
“Nick's new engine ending up having the wrong size flexplate for his converter and bell,” said Jeff. “I told him to grab a cheap motor off marketplace. He found a guy somewhat local and bought a complete and stock 1970 351 Windsor from a Cougar.”
Nick swapped the pan to fit the Fairmont, and swapped to his Victor intake, and fired it up Thursday. “It might have a noise in the lower end, but we're going to pretend we didn't hear that,” said Jeff.
So, with one ride ‘ready’ and the other nearing the finish line, Jeff was hoping the latest Kurczak ride, the lone Mopar, wouldn’t give them trouble.
“She was supposed to compete in Hot Rod Drag Week last year,” said Jeff. “We had issues with the 360 block for her car, and found cracks inside near the cam journals, which put us way behind and eventually out with that car.”
That brings us to Sick Summer, and plans to rehab the Dart for its first drag-and-drive competition, and although it’s probably the one with the most thrash time to get ready, Jeff feels confident about it this time.
“We basically had a camshaft that appears to have been ground wrong,” he said. “I had that motor complete and apart four or five times since last week. We finally got it sorted, and the Dart runs and drives. It developed a transmission leak from the Lokar dipstick on the drive home yesterday, so I have to address that today. I also need to get some sticky tires mounted up for her, and we'll fine tune it as we go.”
Despite the lack of sleep and another year of thrashing, Jeff is looking forward to spending time with his family on Sick Summer. “Nick is now 19, and working full time, so vacation time together might get really scarce,” said Jeff. “I'm really excited about all of us doing this together, no matter how fast or slow.
We also have my sister competing in her first solo drag-and-drive in her 2018 Ford Mustang. It was her husband's, but he passed from cancer last year. She loves drag racing and drag-and-drive, so this will truly be a family affair.”
Want to see the all the cars, all the stars and all the action play out for yourself? Be at Motion Raceworks Sick Summer next week at Byron Dragway, Cordova Dragway, Tri-State Raceway or Great Lakes Dragaway, or watch live on FRDM+! Save $5 on spectator tickets by pre-purchasing online.
For more event info including the schedule and route, check out the event page.
Written by Derek Putnam. Photos courtesy of Sick the Magazine and Jeff Kurczak.
If you have thoughts / feedback / ideas, please e-mail us at derek@sickthemagazine.com