We’re nearing the halfway point of Edelbrock Sick 66, a drag-and-drive based around using as much of Route 66, a road that’s been use for nearly a hundred years.

Some amazing checkpoints, as well as some tight racing in the three track visits, have marked this ‘one-time-only’ event.

As we concluded day three’s racing activities and drive to Edmond, Oklahoma, some changes are afoot in the top ten, as well as facing the first serious driving day on Monday, October 14th.

A once in-a-lifetime drag-and-drive: Edelbrock Sick 66, is underway! Don’t miss your chance to join us - October 11th through the 18th, 2024. It’s Route 66, over 30 checkpoints, 6 tracks, and an epic experience. CLICK HERE for general information, routes and tracks we will be at!!

Although some might think because they’re the top two in the standings, Rick Steinke and Jason Rousseau are not only traveling and pitting together, but we hear Rick’s co-pilot Jacki Steinke and Jason’s co-pilot Zach Wolf shared golfing secrets at one of the stops yesterday – Route 66 Bowl.

The pair of Chevrolets continued to sit atop the standings, with the 5.39 at 132 mph effort from Rousseau just edging out the 5.43 at 129 mph pass from Steinke, and the resulting 5.38 average for Rousseau keeps him at number one.

There may be trouble in paradise for the number three car in the standings, Brooks Fleharty. The single turbo Windsor-powered Mustang has stayed within striking distance of the top two rides, and after some transmission and converter work, improved to a 5.50 at 129 mph at Tulsa Raceway Park on day three.

But the next run came with a loud POP at the 330 foot marker, and word is Fleharty might need new head gaskets. He had located some in Texas, but at press time it's unclear if they have a way to get them to Oklahoma, or the Mustang can limp its way south.

As a former heads-up racer, Lamar Swindoll Jr. knows you can be measured by just your performance numbers alone. Turning to drag-and-drive has allowed him and family to enjoy the memories and friendships a little more, but Swindoll still wants those quick e.t.s on the scoreboard.

The lone nitrous racer in the top ten, Swindoll also nailed the quickest time for the second-straight day, posting a 5.36 at 128 mph blast with a 1.20 60 foot time on the small 275 drag radials. That moved his average to a 5.67, and moved the ’72 Chevrolet Camaro to the number five spot in the standings.

We have a good mix of rides on Sick 66, and one of them is Chris Padgett’s 1955 Chevrolet wagon. The turbocharged ride has been laying down 5.7-second runs each day, but the 5.79 time slip at Tulsa came with less mph, and a call to the tower looking for a bore scope to check a cylinder.

The resulting view was a piston enduring more abuse than normal, and Padgett will likely drop from contention. He does plan to join the remainder of the tour with family in a back-up vehicle.

After a ‘transmission-pulling party’ on Saturday night with Rajveer Ahuja, the ‘Canadian Chuck Norris’ Richard Guido has found the cause of his clutch slippage.

He was able to turn up the power on the single turbo Pontiac GTO at Tulsa, resulting in a 5.78 at 126 mph pass, dropping his average to a 5.83 and sitting in the ninth spot overall.

After battling transmission and converter issues just two miles outside of Mo-Kan Dragway on Saturday, Robert Voss found himself behind the eight-ball to get to Tulsa. With the thrashing and fixes complete, the Rocky Mountain Race Week 2.0 Big Block N/A winner rolled his ’81 Buick into the water box with about an hour of run time remaining, and lit the boards with a 6.53 pass.

Not content with that run, Voss spent a little time tweaking the car, and returned to the lanes with about fifteen minutes to go before the day’s action was complete. This time, the Buick Regal returned a 6.33 at 109 mph, moving his average to a 6.397, just five thousandths of-a-second ahead of John Audia for the twelfth spot.

Normally riding along with father Jason Pickett in the unique Buick Roadmaster Hearse, Haliegh Pickett is behind the wheel of her own car for the second time this year.

The Sick-approved orange 2000 Pontiac Firebird has been laying down low 8-second times at each of the first three stops, and mother Laurie will celebrate her birthday today by co-piloting with Haleigh to Texas.

Tom Bailey and Steve Morris have done many a drag-and-drive together, in their own cars as well as Morris riding co-pilot with Bailey. For Edelbrock Sick 66, the engine builder Morris is wheeling a turbocharged 2006 Chevrolet Trailblazer with wife Val, while Tom Bailey and co-pilot / son Aydan are doing the event with two less cylinders in the 2001 Dodge Ramcharger packing the Hurricrate 6-cylinder turbocharged Mopar engine.

With the Morris and Bailey entries capable of similar times, the two have been duking it out to see who can stay in front of the other while remaining NHRA-legal with a 7.36 or slower time slip due to the lack of a roll bar.

Tom Bailey opened with a 7.414 to 7.420 advantage, but then Steve Morris answered at Mo-Kan with a 7.407 pass that pushed Tom Bailey to make run after run to get back ahead. Finally, on the fourteenth run, Bailey clocked a 7.405, giving him a 7.4095 average to just stay ahead of the 7.4134 tally of Steve Morris.

Round three at Tulsa found Bailey running a 7.374 on his second run, pushing Morris to make a better run. It took nine passes, but Steve delivered a near-perfect 7.361 lap on the last one. Now the pressure was back on Bailey, and after a dozen runs, he couldn’t improve on the 7.374 pass.

The averages now find Steve Morris in front, and the resulting 7.39593 average for Morris versus the 7.39767 for Bailey are close! Can both rides survive today’s drive, and if so, will Texas bring another leader change tomorrow?

The drive from Tulsa Raceway in Oklahoma to Amarillo Dragway in Texas will be nearly 400 miles, and that trek starts today as we will hit double-digit checkpoints as the tour continues south.

You can find a full list of the checkpoints, as well as the route, by CLICKING HERE for the Edelbrock Sick 66 information page. See us on the route, come visit us at a checkpoint, or make plans to grab a seat at Amarillo Dragway on Tuesday for our next day of racing!

Written by Derek Putnam. Photos courtesy of Sick the Magazine.

If you have thoughts / feedback / ideas, please e-mail us at derek@sickthemagazine.com

Edelbrock Sick 66 Spends Sunday at Tulsa for Day Three Racing – Are Two Top Ten Cars Out of Contention - Now We’re on the Road to Texas!

Edelbrock Sick 66 Hits the Road for Our First Drive Day – With Nearly 300 Miles of Road Ahead, Who Will Survive Route 66 Into Texas and Amarillo Dragway?

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!