Day One of Edelbrock Sick 66 is Complete – Ozark Raceway Park Provides Starting Point, Jason Rousseau Leads the Standings, and We Hit America’s Highway in Route to Mo-Kan Dragway for Saturday Action!
After a day of tech, registration and testing, it was time to get down to business at Ozark Raceway Park on Friday, October 11th for day one of Edelbrock Sick 66.
177 rides completed step one to enter competition at Ozark; who would emerge the leader, who could challenge that leader, and who would face the dreaded Did Not Finish (DNF) list after one day of abuse?
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As we’ve reported in our Thursday testing report, Jason Rousseau put his recent upgrades in New York-based ’80 Chevy Malibu to the test. But the Malibu got a bit quicker than his 5.50 on Thursday, as the small tire turbocharged ride laid down a 5.36 at 133 mph to end day one on top of the standings.
Fellow small tire turbocharged runner Rick Steinke brought the family to Sick 66, with wife Jackie and son Troy putting the 4-door crew cab Malibu to good use. Rick loaded a wheels-up tune up, and got a 5.40 at 130 mph result to stay right on Rousseau’s heals.
Brooks Fleharty might be a familiar name to the Rocky Mountain Race Week folks as the driver of a stick shift Mustang, but for Sick Week, he brought out the big hammer with this ’86 model Fox.
Bucking the late model engine swap, Fleharty’s Mustang packs a 408 cubic inch Windsor and a 98-millimeter turbo also takes up residence in the engine bay. A 5.59 at 126 mph gets him the third spot after one day of work.
Josh Reich may have won the Rowdy Radial class at the recent Rocky Mountain Race Week 2.0, but the turbocharged Chevrolet Colorado pick-up swapped the 235 tires for a more common 275-sized Mickey Thompson ET Street at Sick 66. A 5.67 at 126 mph has Reich sitting fourth.
After making a single pass in testing with no incrementals on the scoreboard, Alexis Zarate finally got us some numbers on her twin-turbo LS Camaro Friday. After opening with a 5.85 pass, Zarate and tuner / boyfriend Jack Roberts reviewed the data, and came back with an improved 5.72 at 125 mph for the fifth overall spot.
Leading the stick shift driver list, Richard Guido started to get his ’65 Pontiac GTO sorted today, with a 5.85 at 128 mph result. He vows there’s plenty more left, but as always, Guido stresses the importance of finishing the event.
Just two spots below Guido, Rajveer ‘tire destroyer’ Ahuja has the top Oldsmobile on the list, as well as the quickest nitrous ride after one day. The ’67 Cutlass was in the high 6.3-second range on Thursday, but improved solidly to a 6.17 at 110 mph right out the gate this morning.
There’s not one, but two Mopar trucks with the new Hurricrate and overdrive transmission swap on Sick 66! Both vehicles were done for the Roadkill Nights event back in August in Pontiac, Michigan. Now, Tom Bailey and Morgan Evans are down to see how they do in a drag-and-drive environment!
Evans’ Florida-based ’87 D150 pick-up snagged the win at Roadkill Nights, and after replacing some tweaked wheel studs, she posted a personal-best 6.74 at 105 mph run to hold the bragging rights over Bailey’s 7.41 at 98 mph from the unique Mexico-built Ram Charger. But with seven days left, we may see Bailey close the gap between the two trucks.
Greg Overman’s 2018 ZL1 Camaro looked good on the track with a 6.36 at 110 mph bast run. But when he hit the road, the temp gauge was pegged after less than 10 street miles.
After his breathing returned to normal on the side of the road, a couple friends added water to the mix, and the thought was the thermostat stuck closed, or the colling system had an air pocket. After a few minutes, he returned to the road.
Jeff Oppenheim, who has become known for his slightly char-be-qued Chevrolet El Camino on drag-and-drive events, brought a different ride to Sick 66. “We’re racing the 1940 Pontiac coupe that I have been working on for last few years,” said Oppenheim. “Never so nervous to make a slow pass but super excited to race this car this week! So far, we have put 1400 miles on this car in past week.”
Five competitors are out of competition after day one, and following a solid day of testing, Dan Bazley didn’t expect to be one of them. The 2018 Ford F-150 pick-up truck cooked the stock 10R80 transmission converter, and attempts to locate a replacement came up empty. Not wanting to bow out, Bazley was looking into a rental car to continue along as part of the Summit Racing Sick Ward Presented by PEAK Performance, while the truck will get shipped home.
After a 110-mile drive to finish off day one, we now get ready for day two at Mo-Kan Dragway! Gates open for racers at 7 am, spectators at 8 am, and racing action starts at 9 am. Once competitors hand in a time slip, they will join Sick Ward participants, along with several manufacturers, including title sponsor Edelbrock, Driven Racing Oil, Mickey Thompson Tires, and Pilot Transport to Tulsa for day three.
Want to join us? CLICK HERE for information, routes, and more! Come join us today at Mo-Kan Dragway for a great Saturday of drag-and-drive action!
Written by Derek Putnam. Photos courtesy of Sick the Magazine.
If you have thoughts / feedback / ideas, please e-mail us at derek@sickthemagazine.com