The Importance of the Trophy and What it Symbolizes
Maybe it’s just me (hopefully it’s not), but the trophy matters. Now, that can be a standard award store trophy, or a 6-foot-tall check, but the cool thing is you get to have something to recall the experience and the memories.
The money comes and goes, but the awards, trophies, memories and friendships are what we can reflect on for years to come.
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In the case of drag-and-drive events, there have been lots of cool trophies handed out. But when Tom Bailey created the first Sick Week Presented by Gear Vendors Overdrive, he also created the orange helmet that goes to the class winners. They are cool, unique, and have led to some interesting and funny helmet photos.
I’m not 100-percent sure if he was the first one to do it, but Richard Guido fully embraced the #helmetchallenge back in 2022 after winning the Stick Shift class. From brushing his teeth to board room meetings, Guido posted a bunch of helmet photos.
This led to reminding people about the helmet photos when I was brought onboard with Sick the Magazine full time. If you can’t do cool and funny things with your helmet, then why bother having it.
So here’s a few of the more memorable, as well as recently shared on social media, Sick orange helmet photos.
Timothy Blythe, who has participated in at least one Sick event since 2022, put his 1964 Triumph at the top of the Unlimited class at last week’s Sick Summer Presented by Motion Raceworks. He confirmed the helmet is good for roofing use.
Ken Cuttle Jr. became the Naturally Aspirated class champion with his clean 1970 Chevrolet Chevelle at Sick Summer 2024, and although he says the helmet somewhat limits his vision on tanker work, he still embraces the orange helmet life.
Can you honestly call yourself a Top Tourist if the Sick orange helmet doesn’t get used for tourist type activities? David Williams, who captured the Top Tourist helmet at Death Week in 2023, wasted no time in putting it to good use.
Breakfast has been noted as the most important meal of the day, and this year’s Sick Summer Stick Shift winner Bob Gruber employed an extra step in safely cooking his first meal of the day.
Taking benchracing to the next level, Sick Week Sick Street Race winner Alex Corella jumped on his laptop to fully embrace the spirited conversations on social media about drag-and-drive.
The jury is still out on whether reading the latest issue of Sick the Magazine with a helmet on elevates your experience, but Joe Hajny took the challenge seriously and said while the tinted visor made some photos appear darker, he recommends it.
Rob Courtney discovered some items that needed fixing after Sick Summer, so he decided to employ his Sick Summer 2023 helmet, although he mentioned the shield wasn’t quite dark enough for welding.
You might have seen Alan Whitaker diving under the car or under the hood at times during Sick Summer in route to his winning the Heavy Metal class. He’s still trying to break that habit, so Alayna donned the helmet while waiting for Alan to get that missing washer.
Your next chance to snag a coveted orange helmet will be at Edelbrock Sick 66, held October 10th through the 18th. It’s the latest in our one-off events; we will only do it once. Don’t miss your chance to participate; CLICK HERE for more information on Sick 66.
Written by Derek Putnam. Photos courtesy of Sick the Magazine and featured competitors.
If you have thoughts / feedback / ideas, please e-mail us at derek@sickthemagazine.com