Nearly two decades ago, Donald ‘Duck’ Long noticed that one of the biggest groups of heads-up racing, Outlaw Drag Radial, wasn’t being given the amount of attention he felt they deserved. So, he did something about it, and sixteen years after the ‘Lights Out’ event debuted at South Georgia Motorsports Park, it remains a destination race for racers and fans where the wild and unpredictable happens, as well as many a record are set.

Paolo Guist would be the lone car to dip into the 3.4-second range in the top tier Radial Versus The World (RVW) class during the first session, clocking a 3.498 at 213.60 MPH blast for the top qualifying spot. The impressive run was just twelve thousandths of-a-second off the world record of 3.486 at 213.83 MPH from ‘Stevie Fast’ Jackson, set last March at Alabama International Dragway. But Guist wasn’t done yet.

With the sun all but gone and track temperatures dropping quickly, the entire list of heads-up classes had completed their first session of qualifying. But the decision was made for one more round of RVW qualifying. Guist would be in the first pair of cars out of the staging lanes, lining up alongside a former Lights Out event winner, Ken Quartuccio.

The scoreboards would show history less than three and-a-half seconds later, and for more than one reason!

After five days of traveling through Georgia and Florida, Sick Week presented by Gear Vendors Overdrive rolled into South Georgia Motorsports Park for the final day to see who had enough left in the tank to complete a nearly 850 mile trip, and their final pass, from five days of work.

We may have started with rain and cold temperatures on Day Zero that prevented any on track activity, but on Day Five, the all-concrete surface in southern Georgia was scorched with record times and shocking faces as competitors just kept getting quicker throughout the day.

Many will stress that the main focus of a drag-and-drive event is to complete the event, while having a good time and making memories. But we’d be lying if we didn’t talk about some of the incredible performances that are accomplished as well.

From the quickest cars in Unlimited, to the Rowdy Radial rides that clock 4.6-second times on an 8.5-inch tire, we celebrate those that push the envelope of performance. The 6-second barrier in the small tire, stock suspension, Super Street class could be broken for the first time at Sick Week 2025 Presented by Gear Vendors Overdrive.

Two competitors clocked 6-second runs in testing during the 2024 season; can they do in competition next week?

Nick Cole-Mann, the first LS H-pattern stick shift in the sixes in January last year, set his sights for 2024 on the overall record. A month ago, the twin-turbo `91 Chevrolet S-10 pick-up clocked a 6.64 at 209 mph. “The only thing that separates me and that number one spot is a warmer race track,” Cole-Mann stated. Today, that track appeared.

Clark Rosenstengel’s 2010 Camaro has competed on several drag-and-drive events, winning class and clocking over 200 mph runs. But it’s not the only feathers this twin-turbo ride has in its cap!

At Sick Summer Presented by TBM Brakes in 2023, Eddie Ensor lowered not only the naturally aspirated average to a staggering 7.53, but also the single run record to a 7.46 at 184.61 mph. Could he improve on those numbers in 2024?

“I could feel in the car on that run, it was a drastic change. It was one of the best feelings of my life.”

The 2009 Cadillac CTS-V of Chris Conway established the new record mark for an Independent Rear Suspension (IRS) equipped Caddy with a 7.15 pass one week ago, but Conway wanted more.

“A 3-second pass was never a goal of mine with this car and engine combo, because it didn’t seem very possible. But recently as we got faster, and the community started asking to see it, we decided to go for it!”

“In 2018, I bought another car, and this Supra sat. Meanwhile, the cars we should’ve been racing with got quicker and faster, and this Supra continued to sit and not get used.”

So a 3.99 pass might not have been in the cards, but that doesn’t mean LaSala didn’t try to get there. With Job Spetter tuning “from the hallway of his hotel (on vacation)”, LaSala continued to pick away at his elapsed time record.

In February of 2024, after the latest round of upgrades and a visit to Nicolas Performance for a tune-up, Colby Davis posted a short dyno clip to his Instagram page showing 2156 rear-wheel-horse-power!