After a 2024 season with a record number of drag-and-drive events, the 2025 season is just a couple weeks away from rumbling to life. Sick Week Presented by Gear Vendors Overdrive is the first of thirty drag-and-drive events we currently know of for 2024, and there is no doubt more will be added as the year progresses.

With long-standing events like Hot Rod Drag Week back for the 20th anniversary, and Rocky Mountain Race Week celebrating its tenth year, several events returned for another year, including Redwood Rally, Miles of Mayhem, One Guy’s Garage Drag Weekend, and Southeast Street N’ Yeet.

We also saw some new events on the extensive list in 2024, as Drop the Hammer, Olympic Drag-and-Drive, and Big Sky Race Week were just a couple that pushed the number of drag-and-drive events scheduled in 2024 to 40 total. A couple did get canceled or postponed due to weather or poor registration numbers.

The drag-and-drive community can go beyond the racing scene, into developing friendships, supporting businesses, and getting the car community back to the idea of enjoying cars and truck and the memories they can make.

For Chuck Stefanski, Rick Trunkett, and Bob Hess Jr., they combined their enthusiasm and knowledge into Big 3 Racing, a shop in Ohio. Unfortunately, the shop suffered a devastating shop fire in July of 2024, but today Big 3 Racing announced they have brighter futures ahead, with a new building starting to take shape!

“We have not one, but two buildings being built trackside: One for mechanical work, fabrication and parts sales and the other to house our dynos.”

Even though some of the EV models that have come out in recent years have made for some quick times, there’s a clear divide from most enthusiasts about whether they like them or not.

But in the case in this Tesla, enthusiasts get the mix of the modern EV styling combined with horsepower fueled by E-85 instead of batteries. And for 2025, owner Greg Ward and builder Chris Doane are hoping to take it to the street and track.

After participating on the 2024 edition of Sick Week Presented by Gear Vendors Overdrive in Sick Ward, Greg and Chris are wanting to add the on-track element to things this time around. “We want to run as many events as possible, including Sick Week,” said Chris. “It is a great way to enjoy racing without having to chase that win. You can choose to be competitive or just enjoy the ride.”

Although some may recognize this 1972 Chevrolet Nova as a regular participant on Sick Week Presented by Gear Vendors Overdrive, its performance still catches a lot of people off guard. The ‘plain brown wrapper’ appearance, complete with hub caps instead of flashy wheels, doesn’t give the appearance of 8-second potential. And for 2025, the Boosted By Rhino and Jimmy Rinehart-tuned Nova will kick the performance up another level in time for Sick Week 2025.

After three successful drag-and-drive events and pushing the single turbo set-up to its max, Jimmy and Drew discussed the next step for this year’s Sick Week. “The goal was to get that 8 second pass. I think we're about at the limit of the (single) turbo.”

For 2025, a new pair of turbochargers will feed the Texas Speed 5.3-liter short block, going through an air-to-water intercooler.

Although not as heavily produced as its Chevrolet counterpart the Camaro in the early years, the Pontiac Firebird had some intriguing options, including the 250 cubic inch 6 cylinder engine with a 4 barrel carburetor in 1967 through 1969. And although this Firebird didn’t come into Derrick Sanders life as a 6-cylinder version, he will enter his first drag-and-drive event with it carrying the same numbers of cylinders.

After building the Firebird into a clean cruiser over a couple decades, Derrick’s dad passed in 2016, leaving the Firebird to him. “I let the car sit basically the entire time since he passed, until this past summer. I told my wife I wanted to do something with the car so we could enjoy it as a family, and not just let it sit in the corner of the shop.”

For a little over two years, Cooper Bogetti has been bringing a wide variety of guests on his ‘Bogetti Studios’ YouTube channel podcast. Cooper’s blend of car and racing guests on his podcasts, combined with racing updates between his two YouTube channels, has garnered a solid base of subscribers.

Now, Cooper will jump back into the drag-and-drive game after taking a year off, and at this year’s Sick Week Presented by Gear Vendors Overdrive, he’ll doing it with a ride that’s never seen drag-and-drive action before; a 2JZ-powered Camaro that recently saw seven-second passes during the Christmas Tree Drags!

“That means that in the next two-ish weeks, we’re going to have to get this here vehicle, that sees basically zero street miles, into streetable condition.” Can Cooper make the necessary changes to the Camaro, survive over 900 miles, and still clock solid times to be competitive in whatever class he chooses to participate in?

Sick Week Presented by Gear Vendors Overdrive is THIS MONTH, with Day Zero scheduled for Monday, January 27th, 2025! We’ve learned a lot since the first Sick Week in 2022, and for the 2025 edition, we adding some bonus features!

It’s no secret that some competitors will thrash up to the last minute, and with the chance for up to 400 rides to show up for the start of Sick Week, the tech and testing day can get busy! Thanks to our host track, South Georgia Motorsports Park and their staff, Sick Week will have two additional days of testing available before Day Zero! On Saturday, January 25th, and Sunday, January 26th, SGMP will open their gates for Sick Week competitors, crew and spectators to enjoy two full days of pre-event testing!

Plus we’ve got information on VIP Tech and a new BONUS feature for 2025!

One of the most unique rides to grace the drag-and-drive scene, and later, the small tire and no-prep game, Mikael Borggren and his Volvo station wagon had made their mark. Unfortunately, the storied Volvo was destroyed during a no-prep event in October 2024, leaving many to question how and if Mikael would make a comeback.

Just a week before the calendar turned to 2025, Borggren picked up his replacement ride, a third-generation Chevrolet Camaro in New York. “I’m going to start sorting it out both on a no-prep and a radial first. Then I might come for a guitar on a small tire.”

Although he got his start with cars that can cover street and strip duty, Cleetus McFarland made the decision in spring 2024 to have Cameron Johnson Race Cars in Lakeland, Florida construct a ’69 Chevrolet Camaro for 5-second blasts on the quarter-mile. Despite the car having minimum testing, Cleetus and crew debuted the car in competition at the World Cup Finals at Maryland International Raceway (MDIR) and clocked a best of 5.89 at 246 mph.

At the conclusion of the event, Cleetus revealed the car needed some changes and updates. In the process of trying to get the car finished in time to qualify to be eligible for the World Cup Finals, the CJRC crew thrashed on the Camaro, but they discovered some areas that needed help. After returning to Florida from Maryland, Cleetus sent the car to CJRC for those changes, as well as getting engine back to Pro Line Racing for a refresh and inspection.

And then a dyno session was discussed…

Although most go for the Coupe / Notch or hatchback model of the popular Fox Mustang, Devin Vanderhoof went for a rare Feature Edition convertible. And although some are happy with the triple white option exterior / interior / convertible top and low production numbers, Devin decided to forge a deeper connection.

This ’93 convertible kicked up plenty of attention in 2023, setting the small tire world on fire by lowering the Rowdy Radial average to a 4.64, with a best single pass of 4.595 at 167 mph on the tiny 26-inch-tall x 8.5-inch-wide radials accomplished by driver Jordan Tuck. That win would be the first of three on the year for Devin as a car owner, as Josh Davis added a Sick Summer victory and a Hot Rod Drag Week class win as well.

Now, after a 6-month period where the car got numerous updates and upgrades, Devin is ready to get testing and prepare for another solid season of drag-and-drive work.

After a solid year that started with a top five finish in the competitive 275 Street Race class at Sick Week Presented by Gear Vendors Overdrive, Kevin Schweizer also participated in a couple events with the National Muscle Car Association and National Mustang Racers Association. Running the True Street class with his 1980 Mercury station wagon, Kevin picked up multiple victories, and for 2025, he’s ready to turn up the power.

Knowing the wagon has more potential on tap than the 8.50-second roll cage limit he used for most of the 2024 season, Kevin made the decision to upgrade the roll cage to 25.5-spec. This would make the wagon legal down to 7.50-second elapsed times, but Kevin wanted to retain room for four. “The rear seat isn’t that bad actually. My chassis guy even tacked welded the bar and tried it to make sure we had room.”

Although the drag-and-drive calendar can get a little thin on events in the fall, the popular Street-N-Yeet brings out a good contingent of competitors each November. At this year’s event, Nick Rinehart debuted a brand-new ride to the drag-and-drive world, a 1967 Chevrolet Nova, signaling his return to racing after sixteen years away from the sport.

For those that might recognize Nick’s name, it’s because one of his past racing exploits involved the National Muscle Car Association with a 1972 Nova in the early 2000s in heads-up competition. Now, he’s ready to drive into the drag-and-drive world.

“My goal from day one has always been to drag-and-drive this car, before it even had the popularity that it has today. I did class racing, and wanted to have a new challenge, and I think I’m up for it.”

As 2024 draws to a close, the count for new tracks and re-opened tracks, versus tracks that have been closed or shuttered, seems to have the scales tipped to the positive side. And although Florida got news not too long ago that a track will close in the spring of 2025, the new drag strip at Lead Foot City held a grand opening this past weekend.

As we originally reported in February 2024, Lead Foot City made the decision to expand their footprint in Brooksville, Florida to add to their existing compound and schedule that included drifting and several car themed events. Originally rumored to be considering asphalt and more of a no-prep / flag start track, things got ramped up quite a bit when the concrete trucks showed up instead!

Christmas traditions might include egg nog, listening to your favorite songs around a fire, and exchanging presents with family and friends. But instead of trimming the tree with ornaments, 32 racers trimmed their tree to fit on cars and trucks at the fifth annual Christmas Tree Drag Racing World Championship at Bradenton Motorsports Park.

The brainchild of Cleetus McFarland and good friend Victor Alvarez, owner of Bradenton Motorsports Park, the annual event draws some solid racing action, as well as thousands of spectators. The premise to be one of the accepted 32 competitors is simple: a traditional Christmas Tree is required on each vehicle, minimum six-foot tall, and can be real or fake. The tree must be attached to each vehicle, it must be lit, and it must remain attached the entire length of the run, or the competitor risks disqualification.

Although the number of companies with an on-site appearance at some events is dwindling, the drag-and-drive community is experiencing growth. Sick the Magazine’s events are a great example of this, with both established companies and newcomers display products, and providing options for competitors to finish their events.

One of the newest to the fray is Redhorse Performance, and they marked their arrival in an unusual way. The second day of Sick Summer 2023 fell victim to Mother Nature for the day, with action at Byron Dragway canceled. Redhorse arrived at the Historic Auto Attraction checkpoint, and proceeded to break in their new truck and trailer correctly with a tire-smoking burnout.

“We’ve heard about the trailer burnouts, but they didn’t tell us how much fun it is,” said Kevin Fitzgerald of Redhorse Performance.

At Sick the Magazine, we’ve shown that we can cover lots of different places with drag-and-drive events. From our yearly events, like Sick Week that uses the same tracks, or our one-off events like the recently completed Sick 66 where we covered over 1,000 miles of Route 66 from Missouri to New Mexico, we’re not afraid of the adventure. And for 2025, we’re bringing that adventure to our home state with Sick Michigan Miles!

“When the idea was first proposed, I started thinking about how nice the areas around northern Michigan are,” said Tom Bailey of Sick The Mag. “The more Luke Nieuwhof and I discussed it, it made sense that we could visit four great tracks, incorporate an August tradition for automotive enthusiasts, and do a 1,000 mile road trip in one weeks time.”

The product of drag-and-drive enthusiasts Devin and Laura Vanderhoof, the Southeast Street-N-Yeet is normally the final major event on the calendar each year.

Starting at Shadyside on November 6th with day zero parking and testing, the 7th brought tech inspection and the official start to keeping track of performances. Friday November 8th brought the unique ‘double-up’ of Southeast Street-N-Yeet by visiting South Carolina Motorplex in Neeses, South Carolina for morning / early afternoon action. That would be followed by the drive to the ‘House of Hook’, Carolina Dragway in Aiken, South Carolina for the second-half of racing into the evening.

Saturday would steer the tour back into North Carolina and Mooresville Dragway on November 9th, before returning to Shadyside Dragway to close out the event on Sunday with class winners, as well as a Heads-Up and Dial-Your-Own (DYO) Shootout.

After nearly four years away from the seat of a NHRA Funny Car, ‘Fast’ Jack Beckman got the chance to jump back behind the wheel in 2024. When John Force crashed during a round one victory at Virginia Motorsports Park in June, he needed a substitute driver, and Beckman got that chance just over a month later. Now, Beckman will return as a full-time driver in a Funny Car for 2025.

“I had an eight race interview, and it went well,” said Beckman after being announced as the driver for 2025. The former NHRA national Super Comp and Funny Car champion will get a chance to pursue his own championship in 2025, and has one of the best in the business cheering him on. “I’m looking forward to cheering on Jack Beckman this season, as I continue my recovery,” said John Force.

As we originally reported at the end of October of this year, the California-based Irwindale Dragstrip would shut its gates permanently. Along with sister half-mile circle track Irwindale Speedway, the tracks would be the latest casualty in a 2024 season that saw multiple tracks shut down or sold for re-development.

The Irwindale tracks first opened in 1999 for the Speedway, and 2001 for the Dragstrip. When the announcement came about the tracks’ future, the remaining events would become the final time for drag racing enthusiasts to make a trip down Irwindale’s eighth-mile saw a sharp increase in attendance. With the final dragstrip event scheduled for December 8th, over 200 tickets were sold for the last dragstrip event.

It’s not uncommon to hear stories from enthusiasts and racing competitors on drawing inspiration from their parents, their friends, and even fellow enthusiasts on why they choose to participate in car activities.

The inspiration for this fresh drag-and-drive build of Steve Haefner came from another Oldsmobile Cutlass, one that had attendees at the Performance and Racing Industry (PRI) show doing a double take.

“I can’t lie; VP Racing’s Jason Rueckert car is what made me choose the G-body, and specifically the Oldsmobile,” said Haefner. Although the general stance, color and twin-turbo power are very close, Haefner’s ride has a few noticeable differences, including a drag-and-drive focus.