Although not the first time drag racing has seen a ‘cost-limited’ or ‘budget-build’ style of car / class, Cleetus McFarland brought the latest round of his popular ‘Cheap Car Challenge’ to the 2025 edition of Sick Week Presented by Gear Vendors Overdrive.

Although we’ve seen Cleetus, James Taal and Tye Braun compete in quicker and nicer rides in drag and drive events, this idea was met with enthusiasm from not only Cleetus and crew, but also the fans and FRDM+ stream viewers.

By the final day of Sick Week, all four cars survived the week, and Cleetus started that the cars will be back for our Sick Summer Presented by Motion Raceworks event, held June 15th through June 20th, 2025.

The question is: could this style of build / class be the next big thing for a drag and drive event, or in general for drag racing?

Many people might associate the ‘LeRoy’ C5 Corvette as the car that kickstarted the Cleetus McFarland YouTube channel. But it was the C7 supercharged C7 Corvette known as ‘The Bald Eagle Machine’ that was featured first by Cleetus. The El Camino known as ‘Mullet’ has one of the more recognizable rides from the Cleetus’ garage, and it has captured a slew of drag-and-drive wins, as well as a World Cup Finals victory in 2022.

Mullet has run as quick as 6.3-seconds and over 235 mph at nearly 3600-pounds, but Cleetus knew the car needed changes. “I’ve been a little frustrated with Mullet lately,” said Cleetus this past May. “We’ve been trying to make it go faster, and it just doesn’t seem to want to go faster.” Now, the El Camino is in line for upgrades at Cameron Johnson Race Cars.