Edelbrock Sick 66 Rolls Through Day Two – Lamar Swindoll Jr Makes His Move, Rousseau Continues to Lead, and Tulsa Raceway Park Is in Our Sights for Sunday Activities!
Round one of racing was complete, and Death Week champion Jason Rousseau inserted his name atop the standings.
Fellow Death Week competitors Dustyn Caudle and Rich Guido also produced 5-second eighth-mile runs to grab a top ten spot, and roughly 170 participants hit the road for the reasonable drive to Mo-Kan Dragway and day two of Edelbrock Sick 66.
Event coverage is just one part of the 200+ pages we pack into each issue of Sick the Magazine, which include features, guest columns and MUCH MORE! Get the official magazine of drag-and-drive: CLICK HERE to subscribe!
Arriving in Asbury, Missouri – the home of Mo-Kan Dragway – competitors got to work swapping their rides over to race trim.
Brooks Fleharty arrived to the track the night before, and started ripping out the transmission on his 1986 Ford Mustang in search of a way to tighten up the converter.
The single turbo ride was in top three on day one, and although he improved to a 5.57 at 127 mph yesterday, he couldn’t get any quicker, despite thrashing on it until lane closure.
The top three names didn’t change, with Rousseau, Rick Steinke and Fleharty as the top trio. But they weren’t the ones making the most noise at Mo-Kan. That spotlight was shared between a couple drivers, and one was Lamar Swindoll Jr.
The nitrous-fed big block ’72 Chevy Camaro couldn’t find the traction he wanted on day one, and had to settle for a 6.33 timeslip. But at Mo-Kan he rounded to an impressive 5.32 at 129 mph, pushing him all the way into a 5.83 average and a top ten spot.
Caudle, who participated in the recent Rocky Mountain Race Week 2.0 with his unique blend of Isuzu and Chevy pick-up, once again is showing consistency on a drag-and-drive.
The LS turbo combination laid down a 5.72 at Ozark Raceway Park, and Caudle followed it up at Mo-Kan with a 5.73, keeping his top five spot intact.
The other driver that’s been getting some eyeballs is Robby Wysuph, wheeling the ’64 Chevy II gasser. The car has shown some impressive wheelies thus far, and he got plenty of air time at Mo-Kan as well!
Another driver joining us on Death Week in 2023, Ryan Hill is on the route with his sleeper Mercury wagon. A big single turbo in front of a LS-swap powered the 1984 Colony Park wagon to a 5.95 at 119 mph, earning Hill a 5.98 average and the tenth spot after two days of racing.
As a man who once made 26 runs in a single day during Death Week, Rajveer ‘Rovic’ Ahuja likes to exercise his Oldsmobile regularly. He attempted nine runs at Mo-Kan, and after completing the drive to Tulsa, went to assist fellow long hauler Rich Guido with his slipping clutch in the GTO, and ended up working on his ride as well.
“After getting to the hotel, I went to the transmission pulling party by Richard Guido,” said Ahuja. “He was working on his 6-speed clutch and pilot bearing, and I had to pull my transmission out, and the pump to replace some exhausted seals (maybe all the miles and burnouts).”
We’ll never know for sure what led to the seals giving up their fight, but Ahuja should be back at the track today after only a few hours of sleep.
The drive from Mo-Kan in Asbury, Missouri to Tulsa, Oklahoma meant that Edelbrock Sick 66 would visit three different states and five different check points on Saturday! Now, it’s time for day three and a visit to Tulsa Raceway Park! Gates open for racers at 7 am, spectators at 8 am, and racing action starts at 9 am.
Want to join us? CLICK HERE for information, routes, and more! Come join us today at Tulsa for day three of our epic adventure!
Written by Derek Putnam. Photos courtesy of Sick the Magazine and William Patton.
If you have thoughts / feedback / ideas, please e-mail us at derek@sickthemagazine.com