After watching drag and drive on YouTube for years, I thought I might have a good baseline on what to expect when I attended my first event, Sick Week Presented by Gear Vendors Overdrive, in 2022. I was so wrong, but in the right way.

We’ve all heard the stories about competitors helping each other to get to that final day, that final pass, to FINISH. I’m lucky enough to talk about these stories, on the mic and on the web. And they happen in the super competitive world of heads-up racing too.

Just a few days ago, I attended the Lights Out 16 event at South Georgia Motorsports Park. One of the events that helped push drag radial racing into the spotlight more, I hadn’t been to it in a few years due to schedules.

But after only a few minutes after passing through the gate, I ran into Doug Cook of Motion Raceworks. Doug didn’t make it even a minute into the conversation before he told me about ‘Stevie Fast’ Jackson, and his last 24 hours that resulted in a win just by getting to the first round of competition.

Will Stevie ‘Fast’ Jackson be able to capture his second-straight Radial Versus the World win this weekend?

After a couple of years away from radial racing, Stevie ‘Fast’ Jackson has returned to form with a 3.58 at 208 mph run to grab the number one qualifying spot of the Radial Versus the World class. But it was just one part of a interesting first day of qualifying.

“I have missed radial tire racing since I left it. Radial Versus the World class has gotten soft, and we’re going to come back and whip that class back into shape.”