Sick Week’s Only Mitsubishi Winner is Now a Mustang Traitor
As the official ‘kick-off’ event to the drag-and-drive season since 2022, Sick Week Presented by Gear Vendors Overdrive brings a healthy dose of veterans, as well as new members each year.
One competitor noticeably absent at the 2024 edition of Sick Week was two-time Sick Week Freaks champion Tony Niemczyk, and his unique 1995 Mitsubishi Eclipse.
The green Eclipse was a low nine-second player at the first Sick Week in 2022, averaging a 9.23 for the week with a best pass of 9.03 for the title. One year later, Tony returned with some more power, and the Mitsubishi knocked nearly a half-second off the average, with an 8.76 earning a second-straight class win for Tony.
Recently we caught glimpses of a S197 chassis Mustang on Tony’s Facebook page and had to know more.
“I bought the car about three years ago as a roller and I’ve just been chipping away at it,” said Tony. “It has a SFI 25.3 chassis already, and the cage work was complete and certified, had all the tin work done, brakes done, had motor plates and headers for a big block.
Why the change of direction for his racing efforts?
“When I bought it, there was nowhere to race my Eclipse besides drag and drive events. I wanted to race more regularly, and Cecil County has street car races once a month that Rick Steinke, my sister Jacki, my dad and my uncle all race at. So, I wanted something to race at them. No reason for it to be a Mustang, other than this particular roller was local and a good deal.”
With a solid base to work with, Tony made some changes for the direction he planned for the 2006 model Mustang.
“I pulled some of the wiring and switched to a Haltech, and then mounted a Coyote engine,” he said of the change of ECU and powerplant.
The Mustang now houses a stock Ford Coyote engine with a single turbo that Tony aims to try out in the 8.50-index classes sometime in 2024.
“I’m planning to build a good engine for it this season, and maybe try Ultra Street next year,” Tony admitted. “But plans could change between now and then.”
Tony completed the drivetrain with a Coan Turbo 400 transmission, a Circle D converter, while a stout fabricated housing full floater 9-inch rear end wears 275 drag radials on Weld V-series wheels. The car sports Wilwood brakes and Santhuff struts / shocks at all four corners.
“It’s been a long road, but I have a running Coyote Mustang,” said Tony. “I’m really stoked about how it came out.”
Written by Derek Putnam. Photos courtesy of Tony Niemczyk and Motion Raceworks.
If you have thoughts / feedback / ideas, please e-mail us at derek@sickthemagazine.com