Getting Driven Racing Oil to join Sick the Mag for our 2024 event season was more than just a sponsorship; it was a chance for Driven to get feedback and possibly develop new oils.

“When we got together with Tom Bailey, it was because we saw the drag-and-drive segment exploding,” said Bill Alexander of Driven Racing Oil. “The demands of these rides can be different than any other market we’ve seen, and we wanted to get first-hand data and feedback from competitors to use in our analysis.”

Racers and automotive enthusiasts can be resourceful in more ways than one. If something isn’t available or built to tolerate a vehicle’s demands, there is normally another option. Even if that option is doing it yourself, where there’s a will, there’s a way, and that’s exactly how Isky Racing Cams got its start.

Now, over 70 years alter, ISKY Racing Cams continues to support enthusiasts, including in the drag-and-drive community.

When discussing the needs of drag-and-drive competitors, the need to fuel your ride properly is near the top of the list, as is the need for traction to get the best time slip possible. Tom Bailey put an emphasis on both these items when constructing the first Sick Week event in 2022, and VP Racing was on board right from the start.

“Tom recognized the need to take the drag-and-drive experience to the next level,” said Jason Rueckert of VP Racing. “We wanted to do our part to help that vision, and that started at Sick Week two years ago.”

The Summit Racing Equipment name brings decades of experience in the performance and racing landscape. But their introduction to the drag-and-drive community was through one of their valued employees. “I’ve always been a fan of drag-and-drive since the first year of Hot Rod Drag Week,” said Tommy Dupree of Summit Racing. “I went a few times when it was close to my home base.” That love for cars and trucks that could handle street and strip duty took the next step when Tommy encouraged Summit to get involved.  

At Sick The Magazine, we started with an idea that a print magazine dedicated to the drag-anmd-drive community was overdue. Tom Bailey and Luke Nieuwhof put in the efforts, and the first print copy of Sick The Magazine was released in 2021.

But we didn’t stop there, as Tom dove into the event side of the community with our first drag-and-drive event, Sick Week, held in 2022. Sick Summer and Death Week were added for the 2023 calendar year, and Sick Week that year also marked the start of Sick the Mag’s vehicle giveaways!

The drag-and-drive community started with one event, Hot Rod Drag Week, in 2005. That event has grown into a movement with a large community of participants and fans, over 40 different events across multiple countries, and influenced thousands of car and truck builds to prove they can survive the street and the strip torture tests known by many as drag-and-drive.

There are a only a select few that have seen it all since the beginning, and Rick Johnson with Gear Vendors Overdrive is one of those people.

The inaugural Sick Summer Presented by Motion Raceworks in 2023 proved to be an immediate hit, with competitor spots selling out within a matter of minutes. Combine that with epic attractions / check points and the great routes, the fans that got to witness all the competitors and the Summit Racing Equipment Sick Ward presented by PEAK Performance participants visit four race tracks between Illinois, Wisconsin and Iowa.

Sick Summer presented by Motion Raceworks has proved to be an amazing way to kick start your summer time fun with hundreds of fellow enthusiasts. The third installment of the event, scheduled to take place from June 15th through June 20th 2025, will again visit Illinois, Wisconsin and Iowa for an amazing six days of drag-and-drive action.

With a history of running competitive heads-up radial racing, Lamar Swindoll Jr. is used to the pressure that can come with producing repeatable performance and getting to the finish line on time. After producing mid 8-second elapsed times on both Sick Week and Sick Summer, Lamar decided it was time to turn up the wick for next month’s Edelbrock Sick 66.

During this year’s Sick Summer Presented by Motion Raceworks, Frank Webb shot onto our radars on day two with a massive triple-wheelie from his 1978 Ford Fairmont.

It got Webb and the Ford a lot of attention, but it also resulted in a trip to the tower looking for a replacement Aeromotive mechanical fuel pump, when the wheelie claimed his pump. Would it be the second-straight DNF for the 7-second Ford?

Tom Kuepper's version of the popular Ford half-ton platform served as a farm truck in its past life, but Tom wasn’t focused on field work when he picked up the truck. Sporting a 438 cubic inch Windsor-based engine with a pair of 78/75-millimeter turbochargers, Tom recently went hunting for a 8-second time slip!

"Our goals were an 8-second average, and an 8-second pass every day. I ran in the 8-second range for three of the days, despite having just converted it to pump E-85 fuel prior to the event." Heading back to Byron Dragway for the final day, Mike Chenoweth was looking at a possible top five finish in the Sick Street Race class, but faced several challenges on day five of Sick Summer.

On a special anniversary, some couples might choose to give each other special gifts, renew their vows, and even take a special trip. For Bridget and Jason Morris, they chose to spend her twentieth anniversary by participating in Sick Summer Presented by Motion Raceworks in Bridget's 2006 Pontiac GTO.

Participants of a drag-and-drive event (or multiple events) will tell you: there is just something about getting out there and accomplishing a ‘must-do’ or a ‘bucket list’ item. We’ve heard tons of reasons why people decide to make the commitment to do a drag-and-drive, but for Brian Rowlison, it was about making the most of a second chance.

One of the great things we’ve witnessed over time about the drag-and-drive community is the majority wants to help fellow enthusiasts get into the game. Todd Fogle, a truck driver with very little experience with cars outside of general maintenance, purchased a 1966 Pontiac Bonneville in 2017, and it started his path to a deeper appreciation of cars, as well as joining the drag-and-drive world.

The father-son team of Steven and A.J. Lloyd recently completed their first drag-and-drive appearance at Sick Summer Presented by Motion Raceworks with the family 1980 Chevy Malibu wagon. Not only are they plotting a second appearance in 2025, but a new ride to do it.

There are so many things you can focus on as part of a drag-and-drive, and one that I’m diving into today is the tight competition that comes with the Hot Rod Drag Week Street Race class, as well as the Rocky Mountain Race Week Limited Street class, Sick Week and Sick Summer’s 275 Street Race and Sick Street Race classes, and the Midwest Drags Street Race classes.

This 1997 Mitsubishi caught our eye at this year’s Sick Summer, but it wasn’t until owner Ryan Spurlin visited the tower on day four at Great Lakes Dragaway asking for a cylinder head in a parts call. Ryan’s no quit attitude not only got him through the build of the car, but also the push to fix the issues and finish Sick Summer.

Erik Lawson has been drag racing since the age of fifteen, and he even passed the drag racing addiction to his son Cooper, who regular enjoys seat time in his junior dragster. But the Lawson boys also enjoy time racing with some street time mixed in.

The Stark family first joined the drag-and-drive community at the 2019 edition of Rocky Mountain Race Week, with father Tom Stark wielding the shifter handle in his ‘55 Chevy wagon stick shift entry. But just three later, son Blayne and daughter MaCayla moved into the driver’s seat.