Sick Death Week Champion is Coming for Edelbrock Sick 66 Title With More Power – Can Jason Rousseau Win Another One-Off Sick the Mag Event?
We’re just two weeks away from the first time that a drag-and-drive event will take on Route 66. With six tracks, more than 30 checkpoints, and over 1300 miles, some think the Edelbrock Sick 66 ‘one-time-only’ event could test the limits of how far a radial street car can be pushed.
But Jason Rousseau, last year’s Death Week champion, says he’s ready for the challenge, and he’s bringing more power in his small tire Malibu.
Route 66 + drag-and-drive = the ultimate ONE-TIME event of 2024? Don’t miss Edelbrock Sick 66, October 10th-18th, 2024. It’s Route 66, plus 6 different race tracks and over 30 checkpoints. Don’t miss your chance to join us - Sick Ward and discount spectators tickets: CLICK HERE for more information.
Rousseau, who made a 2500 mile trip from New York to Arizona for the start of Death Week, Sick the Mag’s one-off event last fall out West, couldn’t miss it. “I knew it was a one-time-only event, and I wanted to be a part of that,” said Rousseau.
Participating in eight drag-and-drive events, Rousseau makes as much of a point to watch and learn, as well as worry about finishing the event.
“I had the practice from Hot Rod Drag Week, and knew the car could run a number, so I just wanted to run the best I could,” Rousseau said. “I have never really been overly competitive, more so just for improving my performances from previous years or events.”
With the structure of Death Week not broken into traditional classes, but instead awarding one overall champion, the stakes were high.
After 2000 miles of street driving, and four track days, Rousseau had a 5.49 eighth-mile average in hand, enough to stand atop the field and earn a unique orange Sick the Mag champion helmet. “Winning such a wild one-off event made me proud of the car that I built and work so hard to prevent failures on,” said Rousseau.
The experience, plus recognizing the draw and rarity of a ‘one-off’ drag-and-drive made Rousseau’s decision easy to forgo other drag-and-drive events in 2024 and focus on the upcoming Edelbrock Sick 66 in October. “I did so much to the car over the winter that I needed time to get it ironed out,” Rousseau said.
We noted that the 1980 Chevrolet Malibu is packing more power potential this year, but that’s just one part of the upgrades the ‘G-body’ received in 2024. “I’ve been wanting to mini tub the car ever since I first built it, so I can fit a 10 to 12-inch-wide wheel under it,” said Rousseau. “It has been on an 8-inch wheel this whole time, and I felt like that wasn’t helping me at my weight. So I got out the Sawzall, and basically cut out everything behind the (roll cage) main hoop and re-did it all.”
He widened the factory wheel tubs, frame notched it, and added more bars to support all the changes. “It was a shit ton of work, but I’m super pumped with how it all came out,” said Rousseau.
The engine upgrades, while good, were a necessity. “When I got back from Death Week, I went to freshen up the engine,” Rousseau said. “I found one of the sleeves in the stock block 6-liter had cracked.” He used this discovery to build a new engine, a 388 cubic inch example based on a LSX block.
A Molnar crankshaft, Oliver connecting rods, Diamond LS2K pistons, and a BTR-spec’d camshaft make up the short block. Rousseau re-used the Mast cylinder heads he previously employed, as well as the same BTR Trinity intake manifold and single turbo set-up.
“I was getting parts together for it all winter, but by the time it got machined and everything, it was like 2 weeks before the drag-and-drive Shootout in Epping,” said Rousseau. Yup, a fresh engine with little time on it would straight into use as part of an 8-car drag-and-drive invitational as part of the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) national event in Epping, New Hampshire.
“Before that, I started it, drove it to the liquor store, then straight in to the trailer to leave for Epping,” Rousseau said. Since then, he’s had some time to shake it down and run a couple local events, including the Yellowbullet Nationals over Labor Day weekend. But there’s still time for a few more things to be ironed out.
“I’m supposed to go to a local airport race at Calverton this weekend on Long Island,” said Rousseau. “The surface is tricky, so I’m hoping it will help me get the car dialed for Sick 66.” In addition to getting the car’s performance up to expectation, Rousseau is also putting equal importance on the time it will see on the street, including a new boom box for the stereo to go around the roll cage additions.
Will Jason Rousseau have enough to earn a Sick the Mag orange helmet for the second consecutive year? Come out and see hundreds of competitors, as well as Sick Ward vehicles, on the ‘one-time-only’ Edelbrock Sick 66 event, October 10th through October 18th, 2024!
It’s the ultimate once-in-a-lifetime road trip, on the ultimate road: Route 66! Eight days, 6 tracks, over 1300 miles, more than 30 checkpoints along ‘American’s Highway!’
Want to join us? Spectator tickets and Sick Ward spots are available for Sick 66! Click here to find out more!
Written by Derek Putnam. Photos courtesy of Sick the Magazine, Jason Rousseau, Jeff Oppenheim and Bryce Nicolson.
If you have thoughts / feedback / ideas, please e-mail us at derek@sickthemagazine.com