The Results Are In – The Sickest of the Sick Winners for 2023 Have Been Crowned!
With thousands of street miles traveled and just as many passes made down dragstrips across the world, the drag-and-drive scene landed in nearly 30 places in 2023.
The record-high number of events helped usher in more growth of the drag-and-drive community, for participants, spectators and cruisers at events where available, and would lay the foundation for even greater competition, as well as a ton of awesome experiences and memories.
The only print magazine that covers drag-and-drive above all others is Sick The Magazine! Over 200 pages of event coverage and features; don’t miss a single copy! Click here to subscribe!
In 2023, Sick the Magazine covered the drag-and-drive landscape from both the events and results side, as well as the features and enthusiast side. We also doubled down with a ton of print coverage, complemented by our daily online web stories, news and features.
For all these events to be successful, more participants are needed, and we celebrate all those that made the effort to be at these events! But we’re only one voice, so we created the “Sickest of the Sick” awards.
We laid out fifteen categories, and gave the masses the chance to nominate and vote for your favorite cars, moments and efforts from the 2023 season.
The drag-and-drive community answered the call, we got stacks of feedback, then narrowed each category to a smaller number of choices to allow for voting to declare a winner in each one!
Category #1: ‘Sickest Performance of the Year (Small Tire)’
To be nominated, you don’t necessarily need to have the quickest or fastest run, just what the community thought was the Sickest Performance of the Year on the Small Tires from a 2023 drag-and-drive event.
The nominees were:
- Brett LaSala – 2012 Ford Mustang - ‘Snot Rocket 2.0’
- Chris Hein – ‘33 Ford Coupe (Factory Five replica)
- Devin Vanderhoof (owner) / Jordan Tuck and Josh Davis (drivers) – ’93 Ford Mustang convertible - ‘Big Ern’
- Jason Rousseau – ‘80 Chevrolet Malibu
- Richard Guido – ‘65 Pontiac GTO
The first winner? The ‘Canadian Chuck Norris’ himself, Richard Guido, with 58-percent of the vote.
Category #2: ‘Sickest Stick Shift Performance’
Recognizing the best stick shift performance of the year at a 2023 drag-and-drive event.
The nominees were:
- Bob Gruber – ‘94 Ford Mustang
- Brooks Flaherty – ‘86 Ford Mustang
- Chris Hein – ‘33 Ford Coupe (Factory Five replica)
- Jeremy Howell – ‘91 Ford Mustang - ‘FlatFox’
- Richard Guido – ‘65 Pontiac GTO
Richard Guido, would double down here, winning the stick shift category with a dominating 68-percent of the vote.
Category #3: ‘Sickest Performance of the Year (Big Tire)’
You don’t necessarily need to have the quickest or fastest run; just what the community thought was the Sickest Performance of the Year on Big Tires from a 2023 drag-and-drive event.
The nominees were:
- Bryant Goldstone – ’73 AMC Javelin
- Jason Hurley – ‘85 Pontiac Firebird - the ‘Meltdown Firebird’
- John Faraone – ’72 Chrysler Charger
- Scott Mueller – ’34 Ford Coupe
- Tom Bailey – ’69 Chevrolet Camaro – ‘Sick Seconds 1.0’
Jason Hurley gets the win here with 49-percent of the vote.
Category #4: ‘Sickest Trailer Burnout’
What has become a tradition for many - who created the best clouds with the trailer attached at a 2023 drag-and-drive event?
The nominees were:
- Bryan Anders – ’77 Chevrolet Chevette
- Rajveer Ahuja – ’67 Oldsmobile Cutlass
- Raymond Huppee – ’82 Ford Mustang
- Rick Trunkett – ’72 Plymouth Duster
- Sean Jones – ’86 Oldsmobile Cutlass
Rick Trunkett’s ability to turn rubber into smoke got the most votes, with 58-percent to garner the win on this category.
Category #5: ‘Sickest Dial-Your-Own / Index Performance’
The fifth category recognizes the index / consistency classes; Who had an impressive performance in an index-based or dial-in / dial-your-own class at a 2023 drag-and-drive event?
The nominees were:
- Bobby Admire – 2005 Pontiac GTO
- Erik Lawson – ’80 Buick Century Wagon
- James Rowlett – Chevrolet Blazer
- Rajveer Ahuja – ’67 Oldsmobile Cutlass
- Ryan Morris – Ford Mustang
The category was also had a landslide margin, with James Rowlett claiming victory with 61-percent of the votes.
Category #6: ‘Sickest Roadside Repair’
Recognizing someone that best pulled off the roadside repair during a 2023 drag-and-drive event.
The nominees were:
- CJ Durbin – ’90 Chevrolet S-10; engine swap outside Byron Dragway on day two of Sick Summer; finished the week and snagged third in the Rowdy Radial class.
- Jeffrey Moll – ’67 Chevrolet Nova 4-door; welding up a broken trailer hitch up with a cheap welder at a toll booth on Death Week.
- John Hunt – ’67 VW Beetle; pulling the engine to service the flywheel to crank hardware.
- John Manckia – ’71 Chevrolet Camaro; using a harbor freight welder and a die grinder to weld and resurface his cylinder head.
- Tom Bailey – ’69 Chevrolet Camaro; driving on 4 cylinders during Hot Rod Drag Week to hotel to fix engine.
CJ Durbin won this category, acquiring 75-percent of the votes.
Category #7: ‘Sickest Wheelie’
Who had the sickest wheelie at a 2023 drag-and-drive event? Could be based on height, length, violence factor, resulting damage, etc.
The nominees were:
- Clint Sodowsky – ’68 Chevrolet Camaro
- Colin Gee – ’83 Chevrolet Malibu wagon
- Eric Burroughs – ’88 Chevrolet Monte Carlo
- Raymond Huppee – ’82 Ford Mustang
- Rich Bellmund – ’69 Pontiac Firebird
Colin Gee would edge out fellow Chevrolet G-body runner Eric Burrows, getting 49-percent of the vote for the win.
Category #8: ‘Sickest Engine Combination’
It could be the most power, the craziest, most unique or unusual engine combo, and we got a good variety, from rotary engine to a Barra and turbocharged 4 cylinder.
The nominees were:
- Eric Yost – ‘68 Chevrolet Camaro; single turbo 388 cubic inch small block Chevy
- Fonzie Novelo – ‘79 Ford Fairmont - ‘Barramont’; single turbo Barra powered
- Mike Janousek – ’88 Mazda RX-7; single turbo rotary
- Stefan Gustafsson – ‘89 Chevrolet Corvette; twin turbo 540 cubic inch big block Chevy
- Tony Niemczyk – ’95 Mitsubishi Eclipse; single turbo 4 cylinder
This one came down to Fonzie Novelo and Tony Niemczyk, with Fonzie’s Barra-powered Fairmont getting 40-percent of the votes for the win.
Category #9: ‘Sickest Debut (car or driver - first time in competition)’
The ninth category doesn’t necessarily have to be somebody who won a class or made a really fast pass; just what was the sickest debut for either a car or a driver at a 2023 drag-and-drive event.
The nominees were:
- Jeremy Ortiz – ’95 Nissan 240 SX; debuted at Sick Summer, finishing second in the 275 Street Race class.
- Joe Hajny – ’71 Chevrolet Nova; debuted at Sick Summer, scored second place in the Dial-Your-Own class (0.019 of-a-second range from slowest to quickest pass).
- Ned Dunphy – 2013 Dodge Viper; debuted at Hot Rod Drag Week, and was limited on ET due to licensing. Ran a 6.40 best pass with limited test time before the event, and completed event.
- Scott Mueller – ’34 Ford Coupe; debuted at Sick Week, finished in fourth place in the Unlimited class with an 8.68 average; built the car and trailer from the ground up).
- Tom Bagguley – ’86 Ford Mustang; buys a car from marketplace 5000 miles from his home, picks it up and enters Rocky Mountain Race Week 2.0 Rowdy Radial class a few days later. Completes it, and then completes Death Week a few weeks later.
The final results showed Joe Hajny getting the win with 39-percent, edging out Jeremy Ortiz at 34-percent in second.
Category #10: ‘Sickest Performance Without a Trailer’
The most notable performances with vehicles that didn’t employ a trailer on a drag-and-drive event in 2023.
The nominees were:
- Alex Corella – ’93 Ford Mustang - ‘Ginger Red’
- Bob Hess Jr. – ’82 Ford Mustang - ‘HEMIFox’
- Dean Anderson – ’79 Chevy Malibu
- Terry Miller – ’82 Pontiac Firebird
- Zachary Stevens – ’79 Chevy Camaro
Getting 50-percent of the total votes got Dean Anderson the win here, with Bob Hess Jr. just 8 percent behind in second.
Category #11: ‘Sickest Single Run (Small Tire)’
This could be anything, from a quick or fast run, to spectacular; what the community thought was the Sickest Single Run on Small Tires from a 2023 drag-and-drive event.
The nominees were:
- Devin Vanderhoof (owner) / Jordan Tuck (driver) – ’93 Ford Mustang convertible; their 4.59 1/8-mile pass at Sick Week in the Rowdy Radial class (on a 26-inch-tall x 8.5-inch wide 235 tire).
- Rick Trunkett – ’72 Plymouth Duster; broke the pinion on day five of Sick Week, and the domino effect scattered the driveshaft and cracked his new engine block, plus bonus points for pieces of the driveshaft entering the interior and exploding an unopened can of Monster all over his interior.
- Matt Moore – ’89 LS-swapped single turbo Ford Mustang; running his first 4-second pass on Rocky Mountain Race Week 1.0, a 4.95 eighth-mile hit, in route to winning the Rowdy Radial class.
- Tim Flanders – ’86 Ford Mustang; laid down a perfect 8.500 pass on day four of Sick Summer at Tri-State Raceway, in route to winning the Sick Street Race class.
- Nick Kurczak – ’80 Ford Fairmont; who made a personal-best pass during Hot Rod Drag Week at Carolina Dragway on a $50 engine with a $120.00 nitrous kit on top.
The winner of the small tire single run division? Rick Trunkett with 42-percent of the vote got the nod, followed closely by Jordan Tuck with 37-percent.
Category #12: ‘Sickest Sportsmanship’
The drag-and-drive community always seems to jump in and help throughout events / the season, but some people were nominated for going further.
The nominees were:
- Bill Armstrong – allowed a lot of people to stay at his house and use his shop over Race Week.
- Chris Vickers – for literally tuning 90% of the field’s cars while simultaneously copiloting with Jason Tapscott during spring Southeast Street-N-Yeet.
- Glenn Hunter Jr – lending Dave Terrizzi an alternator on Sick Week.
- Rajveer Ahuja – taking parts off his car after a run for Tony Wisman to make his only run at Great Lake Dragaway, just minutes after Rajveer’s run, as lanes closed, allowing Tony to stay in competition.
- Richard Guido – lending Rajveer Ahuja a spare alternator, also took off his street wheels for Rajveer to use for an 80 mile stretch to the hotel and race on them next day while he used his track tires on the road on Death Week.
This category was determined by another big margin, with 61-percent of the vote going to the victor, Richard Guido.
Category #13: ‘Sickest Single Run (Big Tire)’
Again: doesn’t have to necessarily be the quickest or fastest run, just what the community thought was the Sickest Single Run on Big Tires from a 2023 drag-and-drive event.
The nominees were:
- Stefan Gustafsson – ‘89 Chevrolet Corvette; posting a tire shaking, pedaling, wheelstanding personal-best at Bradenton Motorsports Park, 6.43 at 218 mph, and blows his own door off, during Sick Week.
- Jason Hurley – ’85 Pontiac Firebird; making the first 200 mph pass in the “Meltdown Firebird” during Rocky Mountain Race Week 2.0 at Bandimere Raceway.
- Bryant Goldstone – ’73 AMC Javelin; running a 6.67 at 218 mph run at Cordova Dragway on day five of Sick Summer, launching the entire front end of his car into the air just after the finish line.
- David Schroeder – 2019 Chevrolet Corvette; making the final run on the team’s Corvette at Orlando ‘Sick’ World on day one during Sick Week, a 6.65 at just 177 mph pass which unfortunately ended with a crash and the car being destroyed; thankfully David emerged without a scratch.
Stefan Gustafsson emerged victorious on this one, garnering 49-percent of the vote with Bryant Goldstone second at 34-percent.
Category #14: ‘Sickest Thrash’
Highlighting who went through an epic thrash to finish a 2023 drag-and-drive event.
The nominees included a three-way tie for the final spot, so the seven were:
- Al Mac / Paul Mander – Bought their second car for Sick Week from ‘Bring a trailer.’ Flew to wherever it was located, drove it to Florida. On the first pass, they send 4 rods out of the block. They find a new engine from Jameson and Amber Holten, and got everything swapped in time to make day one.
- Bill Schwarz – Engine swap on tech night through day one of Sick Summer. Made it to Cordova Dragway on day one just in time to make a pass and stay in competition. Torched a cylinder head on day three, broke the anti-sway bar during the drive on day four, and still finished the week.
- Brian Acton – Powerglide rebuild at Bristol Dragway on Hot Rod Drag Week.
- CJ Durbin – S-10 engine swap outside Byron Dragway on Sick Summer.
- Corey Thompson – ‘67 Chevrolet Chevelle engine fix at Great Lakes Dragaway on Sick Summer.
- Max Kroening – Broke an axle perch on Rocky Mountain Race Week 2.0; fixed it to make the drive to Bandimere to race the next day. Then, the spindle broke off the front axle, but still managed to get it fixed before racing at Bandimere, and finished the event.
- Taylor Hedrick – Ripped the control arm bracket off of his 8.8-inch rear end, ripping one tire and damaging the quarter panel. He ‘beat and banged it all back together’ and welded it back up, drove 200 miles, got a new tire, and ended up winning the stick shift shootout on Hot Rod Drag Week.
This one would go to Taylor Hedrick, with 41-percent of the vote earning him first place over Bill Schwarz’s 29-percent.
Category #15: ‘Sickest Burnout’
This one could be for a smoke show either on the track or off, and the nominees were a deserving five in our opinion:
- Aaron Shaffer – ’98 Chevrolet Camaro; Rocky Mountain Race Week burnouts.
- David Williams – ’84 Chevrolet Suburban; Huge burnouts on the final day of Death Week.
- Greg and Geoff Trapnell – ’71 Monero; Burnout from the starting line to the 1000-foot mark on Rocky Mountain Race Week 2.0 at the final track.
- Rajveer Ahuja – ’67 Olds Cutlass; Death Week trailer burnout.
- Rick Trunkett – ’72 Plymouth Duster – Sick Week trailer burnout.
The final award went to Rick Trunkett, getting 56-percent of the voters’ approval.
That wraps the first edition of ‘Sickest of the Sick.’ Each winner will receive a special award highlighting their win in each category.
Thanks to all that submitted nominations and voted; your voice and your passion is why the drag-and-drive community is growing and just plain awesome!
Written by Derek Putnam. Photos courtesy of Sick the Magazine, Motion Raceworks, 1320 Video, DRD Photos, Street to Strip, Richard Guido, Taylor Hedrick.
If you have thoughts / feedback / ideas, please e-mail us at derek@sickthemagazine.com