After dodging what looked to be a tricky afternoon forecast on Day Two to complete a full day of racing at Great Lakes Dragaway, over 300 competitors jumped on the road for a trio of checkpoints and crossing three states to Cordova Dragway for Day Three of Sick Summer.

But Wednesday would bring a shortened track day, some carnage, and some surprises on competitors that would bow out earlier than expected.

Day Two of Sick Summer Presented By Motion Raceworks would prove to be just as hot as the first, in both temperature in the air and action on the race track.

The crowds have always been massive at Great Lakes Dragaway, and the drag and drive faithful would once again flock to Wisconsin for all the action on track, along the drive, and at the checkpoints.

Following a busy day of tech and testing, 342 rides returned to the staging lanes for Day One activities at Sick Summer Presented By Motion Raceworks.

The crowd was once again massive for a summer Monday, and they were treated to some stellar runs and close competition, as the classes got assembled on standings for the first time this week.

With lanes full of street and strip ready rides, Byron Dragway got Day Zero underway early on Father’s Day, Sunday, June 15th for the third annual Sick Summer Presented by Motion Raceworks.

Tech inspection was followed by a test and tune in the afternoon, and the crowds came to see how well cars and drivers were sorted for the week of driving and racing through Illinois, Wisconsin and Iowa over the next five days.

Bryant Goldstone, Steve Morris, David Diehl, Nick Cryer, Josh Davis, and the return of the ‘Cheap Car Challenge’ were among the big talking points of the day.

Heralded as the ‘official’ start to summer by many in the drag and drive community, Sick Summer Presented By Motion Raceworks will celebrate our third year in the Midwest starting tomorrow, June 15th, 2025 at Byron Dragway in Byron, Illinois.

One of two tracks we will visit in Illinois, Byron Dragway will be hosting Sick Summer for a total of three days, with a lot on tap for activities, including Mr. Sam’s 80th birthday party and the Delta PAG pizza party on Sunday, June 15th, as well as our awards ceremony on Friday, June 20th!

Alex Taylor and her six-second, 200mph ’55 Chevy are never far from the top at any drag-and-drive event she attends, but the Arkansas racer is hoping Motion Raceworks Sick Summer 2025 will finally bring a long-awaited overall win from a Sick event.

The world’s fastest convertible will be one of the stars of Motion Raceworks Sick Summer, where the quickest and fastest street legal cars in America will battle across five days of racing at four drag strips throughout the Midwest.

The second drag and drive to hit the scene, Rocky Mountain Race Week, has done at least one event a year to put people and their vehicles through their paces in the central part of the United States.

For 2025 to celebrate their 10th anniversary, Matt Frost ratcheted things up a bit by creating MEGAWEEK, with over 500 competitors participating in a unique two group format for seven days to crown 40 class champions, as well as Shootout winners.

Following a successful first year in 2024, the Drop The Hammer event would gain a second showing in the drag and drive world for the 2025 season.

The first event of 2025 would start at Mid Michigan Motorplex, with competitors completing day one at a track that celebrates 70 years of drag racing this year, before hopping on the streets of Michigan to drive from Stanton to Lapeer, Michigan for day two of racing action.

For the final day, participants would return to Stanton, Michigan, completing just over 270 street miles, and the chance to lay claim to a top three finish in the four classes.

Sick On The Green attracted almost 200 entries from the worlds of drag-and-drive and class racing alike for three days of solid action at Beech Bend Raceway in Kentucky on May 29, 30 and 31.

Beginner’s luck is used to describe someone that rolls to success in a class, sport or otherwise contest with no experience in the class.

And although Sick Summer competitor Jeremy Ortiz would participate in his first ‘Lil Gangsta’s 5.30 No-Time class for the first time during Sick On The Green, his recent results label him as anything but a beginner or lucky.

Following a solid pair of outings where Ortiz captured an Extreme Radials class win at Muncie Dragway, then claimed the ‘biggest win of my racing career’ at Street Car Braggin Rights a couple weeks ago.

He came to Sick On The Green to do battle in the Street race 8.60 index class, and double down on the ‘Lil Gangsta’s class. “We didn’t have any data, so I ran the test and tune Thursday,” said Ortiz. “We had a game plan for Friday, and I just managed to execute well. I still can’t believe how this month is going; hope to keep the wins coming Saturday.”

Right as the drag and drive calendar starts to get busy in late May, we’re rolling out the red carpet at Beech Bend Raceway Park for day one of Sick On The Green!

Thursday testing brought the thrills and chills, and we’re not just talking about the roller coaster on property!

After a solid showing at Sick At The Rock, our new Sick Street Car Challenge class is back in Kentucky, with over 30 categories and a purse of more than $30K up for grabs. We’re also adding the popular ‘Lil Gangsta’s class and Street Eliminator 10.10 class, bringing the total to 9 classes offered at this event!

There’s something to be said about striving to do your best, and coming up just a little shy of the top spot. It can make you dig deeper, work harder, and strive for the top spot a little bit more.

Most competitors would likely be happy with a pair of top three finishes at Sick Summer Presented by Motion Raceworks, but Jeremy Ortiz plans to roll in prepared better than ever this year.

Since his first Sick Summer, Ortiz has captured multiple wins at various events and tracks. His most recent victories came in Extreme Radials at Muncie Dragway, then Ortiz followed it up at Street Car Braggin Rights (SCBR), where he scored the SCBR Shootout Wild class accolades.

Now, with his Nissan 240 sporting a single turbo LS swap seemingly on rails, Ortiz turns his focus to this week’s Sick On The Green event at Beech Bend Raceway Park. Then two weeks later, he will return to Sick Summer Presented by Motion Raceworks in hopes of securing a Street Race 275 class victory.

“When we started Sick The Magazine, it was to give more coverage for drag and drive events, and the people that support them,” said Tom Bailey of Sick The Mag. “I wanted more pictures, more coverage, and the chance for more people to see their car or their story in print.”

We have 40 pages of coverage from our recent Sick At The Rock event, including results, photos, competitor stories, and more! And we’ll be covering the upcoming Sick On The Green event as well!

Considering he has experienced waves of success with his ’55 Chevy known as Blasphemi, Mike Finnegan’s thought is keeping his foot on the pedal! So, he’s bringing his supercharged HEMI-powered classic Chevy to this week’s Sick On The Green, and it might be getting double class duty.

Finnegan is looking forward to Sick On The Green for more reason than just the racing. “I have never been to the waterpark (at Beech Bend Raceway Park),” said Finnegan. “And I haven’t rode the coaster in a while, so I’m excited to head back. Plus, I’m bringing the family with me.”

Steve Rzewnicki joined a group of enthusiasts from Streetcar Shenanigans Performance for his first drag and drive event, the Sick Summer Presented by Motion Raceworks.

He not only completed his first event, but did so in a car that carries a family history.

“We had so much fun,” said Rzewnicki. “We had a whole team of cars from Streetcar Shenanigans Performance, and I can't wait to do it again.”

Ask any promoter: the amount of work needed to host a successful event once is more than most would think. To continually raise the bar takes dedication, plus a solid team, race track and sponsors to make it attainable.

For the fourth time, Street Car Braggin Rights and its creator, Nate Prater, hosted a slew of street-legal rides in the Carolinas, with record attendance pushing racing action into the early morning hours.

The 2025 edition of Street Car Braggin Rights (SCBR) would mark a few firsts for the event. It would be the first time SCBR would be held at Rockingham Dragway in Richmond, North Carolina, as well as the first time roll racing was added to the event. It would also expand the event to three full days of racing, May 15th through the 17th, with an optional test day for drag racing on May 14th.

Over 500 entries pre-registered, and by the early morning hours on May 18th, champions were crowned in all 16 classes.

Although it wasn’t his first drag and drive, the Sick Death Week event in October of 2023 ratcheted the legacy of Rajveer Ahuja to the next level. Making thousands of road miles to be a part of most events he participates in, Ahuja will return to the states for a double dose of drag and drive action when he hits Sick On The Green, followed two weeks later with Sick Summer Presented by Motion Raceworks.

“Being able to enjoy the car, and the best part (of a drag and drive event) is meeting like-minded crazy people and getting to hang out with them,” Rajveer Ahuja admitted. “It is like a big family reunion. I mostly enjoy catching up and hanging out with new and old friends, besides the mandatory tacos and burnouts. That’s what drag and drive is really all about.”

Once a year, the National Hot Rod Association visits Joliet, Illinois and Route 66 Raceway for their Gerber Collision and Glass Route 66 NHRA Nationals presented by PEAK Performance.

Part of this event is the PEAK Street Car Shootout, showcasing some of the quickest rides in the drag and drive community, and for the third year in 2025, eight contestants rolled into Illinois to determine the champion.

Leading the eight rides would be the defending champion Schroder-Ens team, with David Schroeder at the wheel of the nitrous-fed C7 Corvette. 2023 event winner Bryant Goldstone returned at the wheel of his ’73 AMC Javelin, looking for a second title in three years.

The remaining six spots included Tom Bailey with the ‘Sick Seconds 2.0’ 1969 Camaro, Craig Groebner and his twin-turbo ’71 Chevrolet Nova, Alex Taylor’s ’55 Chevrolet, the ’82 Camaro of Nick Taylor, Tom McGilton and his 2013 Camaro, and the lone naturally-aspirated ride, the ’85 Ford Mustang of Ed Ensor.

Noted chassis builder and fellow enthusiast Cameron Johnson was tapped to build a unique hatchback as a birthday surprise for Cleetus McFarland. We spoke with Cameron about how the build originated and some of the finer details.