With north of $50,000 on the line in payouts for the first Sick At The Rock Presented by Motion Raceworks, Rockingham Dragway saw some solid competition show up to battle in North Carolina. Despite the cool temperatures and losing a day on track to weather conditions, winners were determined on track before the clock struck midnight on Saturday April 12th.

Leading the headlines was the new Sick Street Challenge class, where Tom Bailey put up more than $30,000 for 32 categories. Originally designed to be a 2-day drag and drive, competitors would be required to turn in a minimum of one time slip from Friday and one from Saturday.

Because of late night Thursday showers, Friday’s racing was nixed. But the Sick Street Challenge class competitors would do the street drive and check point photos to cover half the requirements. Saturday featured four chances to make runs, with a competitor required to submit a pair of time slips for their average. Who walked away with their share of the $32K?

The drag and drive calendar is just starting to get underway, and Sick The Magazine’s first venture outside a full drag and drive weeklong event got underway on Thursday, April 10th for Sick At The Rock.

From Tom Bailey's 3-second 'Sick Seconds' '69 Camaro to some double takes on the scoreboards in some new classes to the Sick The Mag crew, it was a solid day to start our Rockingham Dragway visit.

We've got 2 more days of cars and action - today is qualifying, plus the 'Pro Mods At The Rock' is scheduled with 16 Pro Mods fighting for a spot to earn one of eight spots to battle for $7500 to win!

After being away from the drag and drive game for a little over seven years, Jeff Lutz made his return at the 2024 edition of Sick Week.

That appearance ended one day short of a complete event, but it sparked Jeff’s interest in the drag and drive game once again, and Jeff will bring the iconic ’69 Camaro known as ‘Mad Max’ to the Sick At The Rock Presented by Motion Raceworks event, at Rockingham Dragway, to participate in the new Sick Street Car Challenge class!

“My son got a hold of me about the event, and said ‘we need to go do this event,’” said Jeff. “I asked him what he was taking, and he said ‘I’m riding with you.’”

Can the father and son combo outlast the Sick Street Car Challenge field?

Sick The Magazine started our print magazine in 2021 as a way to cover and highlight the drag and drive lifestyle, cars and people.

Recently, our flagship event, Sick Week Presented by Gear Vendors Overdrive, has been nominated by USA Today 10Best as a ‘Best Motorsports Race in the United States’ finalist.

“When we started the magazine in 2021, I knew an event would be the next step,” said Tom Bailey, founder of Sick The Magazine. “What I didn’t expect was how quickly Sick Week came to fruition, and the support of the community.”

“From the competitors that continue to amaze us with their performances, to the staff and volunteers that run the event, Sick Ward participants and the thousands of fans that come out to watch the action and cheer on their favorites, it means so much to so many.”

Despite the popularity of Sick The Magazine’s week-long major drag and drive events, Tom Bailey toyed with the idea of doing a smaller 2-3 day event format, with a shorter drive / cruise for street car-based classes, more categories with good payouts, and some additional classes to round out the event.

That idea, combined with some of the classes from the defunct National Muscle Car Association (NMCA) and National Mustang Racers Association (NMRA) series, has morphed into a pair of 3-day Sick The Mag events. The latest one, Sick On The Green, being held May 29th – 31st, 2025, is now open for registration!

The second Sick The Mag 3-day event of 2025, Sick On The Green, boasting over $60,000 in payouts, lands at the popular Beech Bend Raceway Park in Bowling Green, Kentucky. In addition to the popular Lil Gangsta’s class for a $10K payout, and Sick The Mag’s newest class, the Sick Street Car Challenge with over $30K in payouts, five popular classes will complete the list for Sick On The Green’s racing activities.

The class line-up includes:

- Small Tire Pro Stock: a 7-second naturally aspirated quarter-mile class on a 10.5" width slick.

- Coyote Stock: Ford cars with factory sealed Coyote crate engines and manual transmissions, on a 28 x 10.5" width slick tire, stick shifting to wheelies and 9-second times.

- Street Race 8.60 Index: Street cars and trucks vying in side-by-side competition, on an 8.60-second quarter-mile index, with a mandatory cruise.

- Open Comp: Cars and trucks in the 7-14 second range, quarter-mile competition format, using commonly accepted Open Comp class rules.

- Nostalgia Super Stock / Nostalgia Muscle Car Combo: 1955-1985 period-correct nostalgia cars in the 8-15 second range, on a quarter-mile distance, big and small tire cars (Nostalgia Super Stock), and small tire cars (Nostalgia Muscle Car).

- The Sick Street Car Challenge: a two-day drag and drive format (Friday May 30th and Saturday May 31st), competing on an eighth-mile distance, where street legal machines will battle for $32,000 in prize money across over two-dozen categories, with the ability to stack more than one category for huge payouts!

- Lil Gangsta’s 5.30 No-Time: a class that combines a $10,000 winner-take-all payout with a no time slips / scoreboards off format to keep the competition interesting. The class is based around a 4-tenths pro tree, a 5.30 index on the eighth-mile, and a small tire format.

Some cars will come and go, but the ones that make for some of the best stories are the ones that have history with their owners. Colin Nowak has owned this 1995 Ford Mustang since high school, and after a dozen years cruising and racing it, he’s ready to roll into Rockingham Dragway for next month’s Sick At The Rock and tackle the Sick Street Car Challenge class.

If this supercharged Mustang looks familiar, it’s because Colin made a presence at the 2024 edition of Sick Summer Presented by Motion Raceworks, finishing second in the Modified class with a 9.18 average.

“Car did great,” said Colin. “We didn't have to mess with anything other than swapping tires, shock settings and fuel. Was pretty wild to see after day one I was in third.” He eventually moved to second on day three, where he would stay until the event was completed.

Now, he’s prepping for Sick Summer, Sick Smokies, and Sick At The Rock in 2025.

When it comes to survival of an engine, almost no component is as important as the motor oil protecting the internal components. In the harsh environment of drag-and-drive, one company has developed oil technology to the next level — Driven Racing Oil.

The Memphis, TN-based company developed its first formulations for NASCAR’s Joe Gibbs Racing team in the early 2000s. Since then, they have broadened their blends into oils suitable for a range of applications, including street and strip vehicles.

Sick The Magazine is proud to announce that Driven Racing Oil will be the presenting sponsor of Sick Michigan Miles, being held from August 10-17, 2025 around the great state of Michigan. From the Mackinac Bridge to the Woodward Dream Cruise, it will be a gearhead’s ultimate adventure.

As a partner with Sick, Driven Racing Oil has seen their sales boom as more racers and gearheads find out about the quality of the product. Tom Bailey from Sick The Magazine said Driven Racing Oil was the perfect presenting sponsor for Sick Michigan Miles.

“Bring a friend to the track / car show / event” is a phrase a lot of us have heard to encourage getting others to attend a car enthusiast event. A growing number of people get their first look thanks to the efforts of a friend or co-worker.

Tom Bailey noticed these efforts, and launched the Sick The Magazine Affiliate Program in December, a way to reward Sick The Mag event participants for bringing out fellow enthusiasts. After the first three months of the program, it has paid out over $20,000 in rewards for affiliate commitments.

“We were told not to do this by some promoters,” said Bailey. “Because they don't want to share the gate with the attendees, but we do. So, we are going to do it anyway!

“I have been to events where when I look at the crowd, my shirts outnumber the event shirts, but I didn't get anything for bringing those folks through the gate. And that was okay, but it got me to thinking, so we are going to change that.”

The 72nd annual Detroit Autorama in Michigan showcased hundreds of rides, including the ‘Great 8’ finalists for the coveted Ridler award. And although a lot of focus was on those beautiful rides, as well as the Ridler award winning ‘55 Chevrolet Nomad of Tom and Christy Bresnahan, there were a lot more awards given out, including the popular Drag and Drive category.

Drag and drive rides have to prove themselves on the track and the street, but the Detroit Autorama gave them a chance to do it under the lights at Huntington Place in Detroit, Michigan for a chance to claim an award. The familiar ’63 DIVCO Milk Truck of Nick Cryer, which was part of the Sick The Magazine display, scored the third-place finish in the category.

The recently completed Oldsmobile Cutlass of Steven Haefner would take a display spot in the Summit Racing Equipment booth, and by the end of the three-day show, Haefner collected a pair of awards, taking home first place in the Drag and Drive category, as well as Street Best Engine.

Several drag and drive events each year following the week-long format that Hot Rod Drag Week initiated in 2005. But we’ve seen a few events start to use the 2-3 day format, and Sick The Magazine’s will take that to the next level with our new Sick Street Car Challenge class at the Sick At The Rock event, April 10th - 12th, 2025 at Rockingham Dragway in North Carolina.

“We have been trying to incorporate this into an event for a few years now,” Tom Bailey said of the new class. “Everyone we have mentioned it to has been all about it. Well, here it is - the Sick Street Car Challenge class!”

Registration to this two-day drag and drive format is now open to 200 lucky competitors, for a chance to collect their share of $32,000 in payouts. You don’t necessarily need to be the quickest overall either, as we have 32 different categories to award $1,000 in, and we’ve come up with some good ones to give every competitor a shot at some money.

The Sick Street Car Challenge, based on a two-day drag and drive format (Friday April 11th and Saturday April 12th), will compete on an eighth-mile distance. Street legal machines will battle for $32,000 in prize money across over two-dozen categories, with the ability to stack more than one category for huge payouts!

For the 72nd time, Huntington Place in Detroit, Michigan has been filled to capacity with hundreds of rides for the 3-day Detroit AutoRama.

One of the largest indoor car shows, news has just dropped on the ‘Great 8’ selection, a necessity for those eight finalists in their hopes to earn the coveted Ridler Award.

First presented in 1964, the Ridler Award is one of the highest awards to be captured in the custom and hot rod car community. It is awarded annually, and to even earn one of those coveted ‘Great 8’ slots, the vehicles must fall under under strict “never been shown before” guidelines.

The Great 8 finalists at the Detroit AutoRama have been announced – who will win the prestigious Ridler Award?

The 72nd Annual Detroit AutoRama in Michigan has showcased everything from race cars to street bikes, and for the 2025 edition of this massive indoor show, Sick The Magazine is displaying twelve of some cool and quick rides proven in drag and drive events.

But one of the main attractions at the Detroit AutoRama is the dozens of rides hoping for a ‘Great 8’ selection, and ultimately, the Ridler Award.

Since it was first presented at the Detroit AutoRama in 1964, the Ridler Award is one of the highest awards to be captured in the custom and hot rod car community. It is awarded annually from a group of vehicles selected as the ‘Great 8’ and these vehicles must fall under under strict “never been shown before” guidelines.

With Sick The Magazine getting our area set-up on Thursday, we had a chance to walk the show and check out some of the amazing rides. Below are some of the ones that caught our eye as possible ‘Great 8’ selection and could be the next Ridler Award winner.

The inaugural Sick At The Rock event will bring a party atmosphere, and hundreds of America’s quickest real street cars, to Rockingham Dragway on April 10-12th, 2025.

The newest class to Sick At The Rock, the Sick Street Car Challenge, will battle it out alongside the wild Rockingham Big Dog Pro Mods, with classes inspired by the former National Muscle Car Association (NMCA) and National Mustang Racers Association (NMRA) series: Street Race 8.60, Small Tire Pro Stock, Nostalgia Super Stock – Nostalgia Muscle Car Combo, Coyote Stock and Open Comp.

Sick The Magazine is launching a brand-new class at Sick At The Rock: the Sick Street Car Challenge! It will employ a two-day drag and drive format (Friday April 11th and Saturday April 12th) and use an eighth-mile distance.

Street legal machines will be able to shoot for over $30,000 in prize money across over two-dozen categories, with the ability to stack more than one category for huge payouts!

For over 70 years, the Detroit AutoRama in Michigan has showcased tens of thousands of amazing rides, including hot rods, muscle cars, truck and motorcycles. One of the big attractions of the AutoRama is The Ridler Award, but for 2025, Sick The Magazine will bring a twelve pack of some cool and quick rides to our display at the AutoRama.

“It’s been on the greatest indoor shows for several decades,” said Tom Bailey. “We’ve enjoyed it for several years as enthusiasts, and we felt like showcasing a good number of drag and drive rides as part of our Sick The Magazine this year.”

The center of the display will be Sick The Magazine’s International ‘Chode’ truck and our merchandise trailer, where our full line-up of items will be available. This will be surrounded by a variety of rides from the drag and drive community.

After three seasons of hosting successful drag and drive events, Sick The Magazine expanded into stand alone events in 2025 with Sick At The Rock and Sick On The Green. Both events will feature 15 different classes of racing, plus over $100,000 of guaranteed payout.

Tom Bailey looked at the news of the National Muscle Car Association (NMCA) and National Mustang Racers Association (NMRA) closing their doors in October 2024, as well as his experience, and saw an opportunity to give back to the community. “With the announcement of the NMCA/NMRA, I couldn’t help but think that there were thousands of racers that had planned on racing that series in 2025,” said Tom.

The first of the two events, Sick At The Rock, takes place at the legendary Rockingham Dragway on April 10th-12th, 2025. Street machines and race cars will come together for an action-packed three days of racing and fun, with up to fifteen different classes of cars, including the 3,000+ horsepower Big Dog Pro Mods class!