After ten years, a soft opening in 2022, and being shuttered for almost two years, a drag strip in West Virginia will get a second chance. And a former IHRA / PDRA championship family will lead the charge to put action on the track once again.

‘Been there, done that’ - it’s a phrase that could be applied to a lot of things in the world, especially car builds. Sure, there are unique builds out there, but a majority of them have similar drivelines that are employed by thousands of other examples. Until now.

Ask any seasoned drag-and-driver and they’ll tell you that the road portion is the hardest part of these events.  Sucesses on the drag strip are easily put into check if your street drive ends your hopes of completing the event, and the age-old adage comes violently into focus: to finish first, first you must finish.

There are so many things you can focus on as part of a drag-and-drive, and one that I’m diving into today is the tight competition that comes with the Hot Rod Drag Week Street Race class, as well as the Rocky Mountain Race Week Limited Street class, Sick Week and Sick Summer’s 275 Street Race and Sick Street Race classes, and the Midwest Drags Street Race classes.

Throughout history, it’s been shown that certain racers work harder, test more or spend more money to win in heads up drag racing. You can have a class where a lot is mandated or controlled, and still there are going to be those that run quicker than others.

Although some look at cars and trucks as mere transportation, others look at them as part of the family. When Travis Fathi purchased this 1983 Chevrolet Malibu wagon from friend John Barton, the purchase came with a promise. “Before John passed away, I promised him that it would always be old school, a big block street rod.” It keeps that promise into 2024, but with some updates.

This 1997 Mitsubishi caught our eye at this year’s Sick Summer, but it wasn’t until owner Ryan Spurlin visited the tower on day four at Great Lakes Dragaway asking for a cylinder head in a parts call. Ryan’s no quit attitude not only got him through the build of the car, but also the push to fix the issues and finish Sick Summer.

Following a successful first year in joining forces with the National Muscle Car Association (NMCA), Sick the Magazine returns to the NMCA event series with a pair of drag-and-drive shootout appearance in 2024.

One year ago, at Sick Powerfest Powered by Dodge and M1 Concourse, we saw Chris Mills in a clean, black 1968 Plymouth Road Runner that finished third in the burnout competition. Now, Chris returns to M1 Concourse with a new car and a new plan.

After participating in the first Sick Summer as a co-pilot, Jim Shipley returned to Sick Summer in 2024 for a competitor spot. Wheeling a unique 1988 Ford LTD Country Squire station wagon, would Shipley survive the week?

Although it’s becoming more common to see some familiar rides and names at more than one drag-and-drive event per season, a large majority will choose to participate in different styles of events. And we’re seeing dozens of drag-and-drive competitors putting together solid event results outside of the drag-and-drive event calendar.

One of the most interesting things to consider, especially in the current state of popularity for what the global state of street legal and endurance drag racing looks like, is the fact that the seed took so long to germinate. Consider the fact that long before WWII hot rodders in the western US would take long trips in their cars to get to the dry lakes and beat the stuffing out of them all day and then turn around and drive them home. It’s in the culture and fabric of hot rodding to actually drive the machines we build and then test them to their limits, so why did it take the better part of 70 years to actually start this whole craze?

Erik Lawson has been drag racing since the age of fifteen, and he even passed the drag racing addiction to his son Cooper, who regular enjoys seat time in his junior dragster. But the Lawson boys also enjoy time racing with some street time mixed in.

Despite making his mark initially the drag-and-drive community with an eye-catching 1995 Geo Tracker he refers to as ‘Project Samsquanch’, Vinnie Barbone couldn’t resist the calling of a model that truly inspired him, a Chevrolet Monza. “Basically, I was born into having an H-Body gene encrypted into my body.”

A drag-and-drive can be an amazing experience, from the racing to the drives, checkpoints to the parking lot parties, trailer burnouts and even the thrash sessions. A drag-and-drive can also expose what rides are up to the challenge, but the community comes together to exchange information and help competitors endure and finish a drag-and-drive.

It’s among the most gut wrenching things a car enthusiast can experience when your ride is stolen. Advancements in GPS tracking and theft deterrents have made a dent to bring the numbers down to an extent, but thousand of thefts still happen. And although a recent theft during a drag-and-drive event didn’t have a 100-percent happy ending, the car was recovered thanks to the efforts of the car community and social media at large.

Despite appearances that things are good on the surface, a racer’s mind can be a hamster wheel of thoughts both good and bad on their next run. In Colin Gee’s case, he started thinking about the 1983 Chevrolet Malibu station wagon he had finished in 2023, and his goals for the future.

For the fifth time since 2019, the Midwest Drags was completed last week. Starting in Kentucky and visiting two tracks in the state, the visited a single track in Ohio. The group then returned to Kentucky to complete the week, and crown ten class winners.

The Stark family first joined the drag-and-drive community at the 2019 edition of Rocky Mountain Race Week, with father Tom Stark wielding the shifter handle in his ‘55 Chevy wagon stick shift entry. But just three later, son Blayne and daughter MaCayla moved into the driver’s seat.

There are several proven models and chassis that have been successful over time in drag-and-drive competition. But we also see some unique examples. From station wagons to milk trucks, Triumphs to T-bucket roadsters, we’ve seen a lot. But this could be the only limousine we’ve seen participate in a drag-and-drive.