Thrashing for a Drag-and-Drive is Nothing New for Havlik and Crew, as Iconic ’55 Chevy Gets Prepared for Hot Rod Drag Week
There are competitors in drag-and-drive events that will do whatever it takes to stay alive in competition and get to the next level. Whether that’s thrashing before the event to get the vehicle ready, or between tracks during the event, some will go the extra distance.
The gray 1955 Chevrolet Bel Air of Brian Havlik has been involved in several thrashes before, and with Hot Rod Drag Week less than a week away, the classic shoebox Chevy sits engineless.
“The pistons showed up last Friday,” said Brian, who run the Hot Rods by Havliks shop with Jesse Havlik. “Machine work done by Tuesday by my good friends at D & R Machine, and somehow I feel like I'm ahead of the game this time.”
Yes, he’s been in this position before. The ’55 Chevrolet originally competed at the second Hot Rod Drag Week in 2006, then Brian sold it to former National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) nitro funny car driver Chuck Etchells. “We got it back in 2017 after Chuck passed away,” said Brian. “That's what started the thrash to get it done for Hot Rod Drag Week in 2018.”
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Two days before that 2018 edition of Drag Week, the thrash was an epic one, as the Chevy was in pieces, the clock was ticking, and Brian knew he had a sizable task just to get to the event, let alone compete. They made the impossible happen and made it in time, only to crash along the route.
“The wheel studs sheared off when we hit the throttle on that back road,” said Brian. “The rear end was 20 years old, and had countless nitrous launches. It was a perfect storm; I had planned on going through it, but ran out of time.
As it was, we were assembling the car as we’re going through tech. It didn't just fall off either it straight launched the rear of the car straight up 5 or 6 feet and we rode the front wheels maybe 40 or 50 feet before landing like a rock.
We didn't slide there or slow down we fell like a rock from the sky. Welcome to the Jungle screaming on the radio. Everything that was in the back seat was in the front and or under the dash.” Brian got some broken fingers and a bump on the head as his reward, while Jesse was uninjured.
After scoring a win in the Naturally-Aspirated Modified class at Sick Week Presented by Gear Vendors Overdrive in 2022, a string of Did Not Finishes was started for Brian at the 2022 edition of Hot Rod Drag Week.
This year’s Sick Week, as well as Sick Summer Presented by TBM Brakes found the ’55 Chevy missing from the final day of action, as problems put them on the sidelines.
Now, despite what some might consider a tall task, Brian is ready to settle the Hot Rod Drag Week scorecard. “This is will be my Drag Week redemption tour, as we are going back to where we crashed in 2018,” said Brian. “I have the camshaft and crankshaft in the block. Waiting on piston rings coming overnight from Total Seal. I'm assembling the heads right now.
I found a bent valve Friday, so I overnighted all new exhaust valves for Saturday. The machine shop let me in to get the heads ready for assembly. Here we are, 100-percent should be committed. Rich Bellmund is flying in from Pennsylvania on Wednesday for the thrash before the storm. The overnight (UPS) red labels are coming in hot.”
But no matter how he finishes, Brian is just focused on taming the route and tracks that took him out, hopefully completing his sixth Hot Rod Drag Week.
Written by Derek Putnam. Photos courtesy of Sick the Magazine and Brian Havlik.
If you have thoughts / feedback / ideas, please e-mail us at derek@sickthemagazine.com