Sick Powerfest Powered by Dodge and M1 Concourse Celebrates Third Year at M1 Concourse with a Car Show, Dodge Thrill Rides, and Tons of Tire Smoke as World Burnout Championship Winners are Crowned!
For the third edition of the Sick Powerfest Powered by Dodge and M1 Concourse in Pontiac, Michigan, the M1 facility was packed with cool cars and trucks and a manufacturer’s midway.
But the facility also saw multiple versions of car exercise during the day with Dodge Thrill Rides (including the Drift rides and Hornet Offroad Experience), the Demon 170 Drag Launch Experience, the Sick World Burnout Championship, and finally, Matt Hagan’s National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) nitro Funny Car being fired up to cap off an epic Friday.
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Sick Powerfest got underway Friday morning with a reveal to the press of the Next-Gen Dodge Charger (more on that is covered in a story on Sick the Mag here), along with the uncovering of the Dodge Grudge Match vehicles that will compete in today’s Roadkill Night action.
Seven rides, including Tom Bailey’s Mexico-born Ram Charger, will match up for the chance to be crowned the Grudge Race champion for the fourth running of this unique competition.
After the gates had opened to the Sick Spit Detailer Show-n-Shine contestants and general public, Dodge kicked things into high gear with a triple shot of enthusiast-based fun.
Leading the way was the Dodge Drifting Experience on the main burnout pad featuring Hellcat model Chargers with an open passenger seat for fans to jump in! Dodge also offered up the Hornet Offroad Experience on a dirt course at M1 Concourse. Driving simulators were also part of the package at Dodge’s displays.
The unique Dodge Demon 170 Drag Launch Experience, a Sick Powerfest exclusive, offered lucky passengers a chance to blast down the straightaway of M1 Concourse in a pair of Radford Racing School Demon 170 Challengers.
Following the national anthem, the highly the Sick World Burnout Championship would fire off with nearly 40 competitors on site to battle for a share of the $25,000 pot and the coveted Sick orange Racequip helmets. This year, the competitors were sorted into one of two classes, the Open Class and the Pro Class.
The Open Class was the bigger of the two classes, and some solid competition made for one of the tightest finishes in Sick Powerfest history. ‘Rowdy Randy’ Torres would be the winner with his converted ‘93 GMC Jimmy out of New York, while Billy Meyers and the ‘Lil Frightening’ 2008 Ford Ranger picked up the second spot.
Close competition separated the third, four and fifth spots by only one point in the final voting, with ‘Frankie J’ Jungnitsch putting his diesel 2006 Ford pick-up in third, Steve Metcalf in his ’69 Camaro captured his second-straight top five finish in fourth, and Kyle Nelson rounded out the top five.
The Pro Class also featured tough competition, with nearly half the field made up of Australian rides. Craig Bailey would rise to the top of the list, claiming the Sick orange helmet with his 2012 Holden Commodore Ute known as the ‘Imposter.’
Kyle Douglas came in a close second wheeling the ’Luxifer’ 1997 Toyota Hilux, Mick Hinchy snagged third in his 2014 Commodore, Patty McLaughlin earned the fourth spot in a 1987 Commodore, and Travis “Madman” Meehan rounded out the top five with his 1972 Rolls Royce.
M1 Concourse will host Roadkill Nights today, and we’ll have a complete review of the event here in Sick the Magazine.
Written by Derek Putnam. Photos courtesy of Sick the Magazine, Ken Cox and Hard Target Images.
If you have thoughts / feedback / ideas, please e-mail us at derek@sickthemagazine.com