As trends come and go, one thing that’s shown staying power is the drag racing world and the history behind it. As each year rolls by, the history of racing, as well as the cars that participated as part of it, become talking points at more benchracing sessions and staging lane gatherings. It’s just cool to see cars with history come back into focus once again, and for Darin Hendricks, he’s ready to write the next chapter of a storied history for this Ford Mustang Cobra.

Now, the fact this is a real deal 1993 Ford Mustang Cobra, one of 5100 originally built for the model year (including the rare Cobra R models). But despite its collectability, Darin was anything but gentle with it. “It has spent most of its life as a race car,” said Darin. But after almost two decades as a race ride, Darin is ready for the next chapter - drag-and-drive action with a supercharged combination under the hood, and a 5-speed manual transmission!

Although most go for the Coupe / Notch or hatchback model of the popular Fox Mustang, Devin Vanderhoof went for a rare Feature Edition convertible. And although some are happy with the triple white option exterior / interior / convertible top and low production numbers, Devin decided to forge a deeper connection.

This ’93 convertible kicked up plenty of attention in 2023, setting the small tire world on fire by lowering the Rowdy Radial average to a 4.64, with a best single pass of 4.595 at 167 mph on the tiny 26-inch-tall x 8.5-inch-wide radials accomplished by driver Jordan Tuck. That win would be the first of three on the year for Devin as a car owner, as Josh Davis added a Sick Summer victory and a Hot Rod Drag Week class win as well.

Now, after a 6-month period where the car got numerous updates and upgrades, Devin is ready to get testing and prepare for another solid season of drag-and-drive work.

It’s been a common sight at Sick Week Presented by Gear Vendors Overdrive, and Jordan Boudreaux’s Mustang has also made its mark in the event standings every year.

The turbocharged LS-swapped ride has earned a spot in the top three standings in the 275 Street Race class at the end of each Sick Week, but 2025 will bring a change for the Louisiana-based ride.

Well known in the small tire and no-prep circles, the ‘Beater Bomb’ Ford Mustang has been winning on practically every surface for over a decade. Joey Hiykel’s Mustang is an eighth-mile rocket, and although he usually keeps things under wraps on engine combination and performances, he recently dropped a new record and revealed times.

Just one day after Doug Cook dropped the news that he owned a 6-second time slip, Sick the Mag heard that another Super Street class competitor had joined the 6-second club. David and Nick Diehl have been working towards getting the 2000 Ford Mustang into not only the 6-second zone, but also wanting to be the first in the sixes in the Super Street class at a drag-and-drive event. This week, they accomplished one of their goals.

After only a few people have entered the 7-second zone naturally aspirated in drag-and-drive events, ‘Fast Eddie’ Ensor definitely opened up the conversation at Sick Summer Presented by TBM Brakes in 2023.

Completing the week with a 7.53 average, along with a best single pass of 7.46 at 184 mph, Ensor set the record for Naturally Aspirated classes, and 2024 shows he’s coming for more.

It was less than a month ago that Brett LaSala put ‘Snot Rocket 2.0’, his low 6-second street-legal 2012 Mustang, up for sale. Plans for a new car, ‘Snot Rocket 3.0’, were underway at Moore Race Chassis, and Brett mentioned it would be ready for a Sick Week 2025 debut.

But that timeline might be updated a little bit after a video dropped showing the new Moore Race Chassis .

For many that strive to attend a drag-and-drive event, you can sometimes hit a wall where you realize that attending that year might not be in the card. Some might have a back-up plan, or in rare case, multiple options.

For Jody Ames, the 2024 edition of Hot Rod Drag Week marks the first time he is able to take his original ‘Plan A’ car, a 2016 Ford Mustang.

‘Win on Sunday, sell on Monday’ is a phrase that’s been used to tie together racing and car sales, and the promotion has worked well over several decades. Included in that idea are the big three and the use of drag racing ‘stock-appearing’ rides to sell their showroom counterparts.

That idea has been enjoying its latest wave with National Hot Rod Association Factory Stock Showdown and Factory X class, but recent rules infractions have the rumor mill swirling on future participation in the class.