Drama-Filled Day Three Rocks Great Lakes Dragaway at Sick Summer Presented By TBM Brakes

Leaders were shuffled and the miles took their toll on day three of Sick Summer Presented By TBM Brakes, in front of a capacity crowd at Great Lakes Dragaway.

Unlimited leader Josh Davis, driving the Devin Vanderhoof-owned Ford Mustang convertible took their time to make a clean plass, but impressed with a stunning 6.76/208mph in the afternoon heat for the quickest run of the day.

Their must have been something in the air for the Mustangs, as Ed Ensor continued his assault on the naturally-aspirated record book. He lowered his record once again to a 7.46/184 mph in what has arguably been the most incredible effort of the week.

Incoming leader Steve Morris had problems with the Boostmaster station wagon, which was unable to re-fire after a weak first run. After changing everything but the kitchen sink to line up for a second pass just as the lanes were closing he posted a 6.83 at 214mph, but it came with a reaction time over one second. The additional time was added to his elapsed time, equating to an 8.49 that knocked Morris to second place.

Bryant Goldstone continues to reign supreme in the Unlimited Iron class, wheeling his AMC Javelin to a 6.77 at 211mph, giving him a 6.727 average and a healthy lead over number two runner, Pat Myker. Goldstone also has the quickest overall average, holding a slender lead over Josh Davis’ 6.815.

The Modified class witnessed a change at the top, as Clark Rosenstengel now leads a trio of 7-second rides with his 2010 Camaro courtesy of a 7.652 average. Michael Manuel sits just behind Rosenstengel at 7.680 and Duane Ruhl with a 7.74 average.

The big news is Modified however was that Cleetus McFarland has officially dropped out of competition, as a 6.87 at 216 mph pass couldn’t save the popular El Camino known as Mullet from experiencing engine issues.

The Aussie John Faraone kept his Dodge Charger atop the Pro Street class, as he used up all his lane to collect a 7.89 time slip and compute a 7.87 average to lead the pack.

Corey Thompson munched a lifter after day one in his clean twin-turbocharged ’67 Chevelle, but got everything back together for Great Lakes in superhuman effort, producing a 7.78 pass for a resulting 7.75 average and the class lead in Super Street.

Bryan Crane leads a healthy field of Stick Shift entries, as his 2003 Mustang Cobra posted a second-straight 8.7-second run at Great Lakes. Fellow Mustang owner Tyler Garlock sits second, less than a tenth of-a-second behind in the averages.

The front man of the Rowdy Radial class continued to set the pace at Great Lakes, as Andy Cook dropped his second-straight 5.23 of the week to keep a strong lead in the 26-inch-tall x 8.5-inch width tire class.

Mustangs rule the roost in the 275 Street Race and Sick Street Race classes, with incoming leader of the 275 Street Race category Travis Larson continuing that trend thanks to an 8.53 average.

The Sick Street Race class also witnessed front man Cameron Alley keep his lead with an 8.522 average, but a near-perfect 8.502 pass for Tim Flanders puts him just over one hundredth of-a-second behind with an 8.533 average.

After racing was finished, teams hit the road for the longest drive of the week, at 186 miles. The route wound through beautiful Wisconsin and Iowa hill country, stopping in at the Hog Saloon before finishing at the Field of Dreams, where the movie was shot.

Day four of Sick Summer rolls into Tri-State Raceway in Earlville, Iowa today, with racing action set to start at 9am and continue until 3pm. Tickets are available at the gate.

Written by Derek Putnam. Photos courtesy of Sick the Magazine.

If you have thoughts / feedback / ideas, please e-mail us at derek@sickthemagazine.com