“Any idea how many times people have towed a car to tech, having never driven it, and made the week still? It’ll see the street for the first time in probably 20 years on the drive to Cordova on Monday.” Quotes like this on a just-finished vehicle gives you an idea you’re in for an epic week!

The drag-and-drive calendar has greatly expanded since the original drag-and-drive, Hot Rod Drag Week, first made an appearance in 2005. But do all the events, both big and small, stay true to the original concept David Freiburger created?

This week’s submission comes from Wyatt Nejdl, who joined father Doug for the second time on a drag-and-drive at this year’s Sick Summer with their 1988 Ford Mustang.

As all of us go through life we receive advice from our elders. Loads of that advice is good and some of it is suspect. I think we can all agree that there are a handful of people in our lives that have delivered advice either by words or example which have helped to form us into the people that we are and that we eventually became. The more colorful the character the more colorful the advice it seems but at the end of the day, we all need some help along the way and advice, whether solicited or not is normally how we get it.

With the increase in the number of drag-and-drive events in the last three years, it’s becoming more commonplace to see competitors at more than one event during a calendar year. There are several that have made their mark in the drag-and-drive world, and one of the top ones is Bryant Goldstone.

Last summer, Chris VanWerden’s Nova garnered a lot of attention, but unfortunately for Chris, it was for the wrong reasons. But one year later, he’s burning the midnight oil to get it back in the game.

What does one have to do with the other, and how does it sound like both rides might be even more fun than before? It all started when Jonathan Whitaker took his ‘93 Ford Mustang Cobra on this year’s Sick Week Presented by Gear Vendors Overdrive.

After years of doing motocross as his hobby, Alex Zastrow decided to take the plunge into not only drag racing, but also into drag-and-drive. Some might consider that a daunting prospect, but with wife Courtney and brother Derek along for the ride, the Zastrows completed their first event at Sick Summer.

Last year, we saw Adam and Jason Kelley hit the ground at Sick Powerfest Presented by Dodge and M1 Concourse with a pair of Ford F100 pick-up trucks and a 3rd-generation Camaro. This year, they will bring two new burnout vehicles that we didn’t get to see last year to defend their title!

As the number of burnout contests increase, it’s not uncommon to find cars and trucks that are built for the sole purpose of creating clouds of smoke and destroying tires. But there’s a few that see street and drag strip use as well, and a unique one plans to make their return to Sick Powerfest a good one.

After a solid calendar of drag-and-drive events for 2023 where 30 events were held, we wondered what the 2024 landscape would hold. With constant reports of rising costs on everything from food to fuel, would the drag-and-drive community be able to support more events for 2024?

Next week is Street Week, Sweden’s annual seven-day drag-and-drive. It’s just like a regular drag-and-drive — only Swedish!

At the inaugural Sick Summer Presented by TBM Brakes, a healthy field of Stick Shift entries turned out. Aaron Gierke was one of 16 that completed the week, and the experience made him plan a comback for more fun, and single-digit runs, in 2024!

In an announcement Wednesday by Richard Freeman, owner of Elite Motorsports, he announced plans to expand into the NHRA’s Top Fuel category. A team largely known for their Pro Stock prowess with eight teams currently under their umbrella, Freeman definitely had the racing world buzzing with this news.

The third annual Sick Powerfest Powered by Dodge and M1 Concourse on Friday, August 9th, 2024 in Pontiac, Michigan is PACKED full of cool stuff for one big day: The World Burnout Championship with $25,000 on the line; the Sick Spit Show & Shine car show; a Manufacturer’s Midway, and a new addition for 2024: Dodge Thrill Rides!

If there’s been one thing that’s held as a constant in the nearly two decade history of drag-and-drive events, it’s the weirdly positive relationship that competitors have been able to maintain, by and large, with the police. Yes, there have been and will be citations handed out over the course of time, but when we stop and think about what have now been thousands of ragged-edge street cars cruising the highways and byways of America, the number of times that “license, registration, and proof of insurance, please,” have been uttered through a driver’s window by a large officer is exceptionally small.

The two lists that determine early entry for the 2025 edition for Sick Summer Presented by Motion Raceworks are the Top 100 Averages, and the Top Individual Runs.

Brent Sands’ goal is to be ready for the small tire battlefield of Rowdy Radial at Sick Summer Presented by Motion Raceworks next year. “Took me close to three years to finish the last one, so it’s going to be hard to get this one done in a year. At least I have most of the parts.”

Although Hot Rod Drag Week didn’t start out with the intention of making their Street Race classes into an index-based competition, that’s become the norm. Rocky Mountain Race Week and Sick Week-Sick Summer followed suit, and the competition to run that 8.500 perfect pass is heating up.