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.”

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.

We’re less than three weeks away from Sick On The Green, May 29th through the 31st, 2025 at Beech Bend Raceway Park in Kentucky.

With the popular Lil Gangsta’s class with two separate days to win thousands of dollars, the Sick Street Car Challenge with over $30K up for grabs, plus seven more classes on the docket, who will take home their share of over $60K in payouts?

In addition to the six classes inspired by the former National Muscle Car Association (NMCA) and National Mustang Racers Association (NMRA) series, we’re adding the popular Lil Gangsta’s 5.30 No-Time class, the Sick Street Car Challenge, and a Stick Shift class Presented by Tremec Transmissions, to the line up in Kentucky!

Sick The Magazine is proud to announce that Sick Week has captured the USA Today 10Best “Best Motorsports Race in the United States” title for the 2nd straight year!

“This honor is not mine, or ours at Sick The Mag,” said Tom Bailey, founder of Sick The Magazine. “It’s the entire community that has supported us since day one of Sick The Magazine.

From our first issue to the latest one, the subscribers, the competitors and all the fans made this possible. Whether you come to an event or watch online, wear our merch, tell us how much you enjoy participating in an event. This is why we are so passionate at Sick The Mag – It’s For The Adventure!”

With the recently completed Sick At The Rock event, the first smaller 2-3 day event format for Sick The Magazine, we found a group of enthusiasts that enjoyed a different format held at Rockingham Dragway.

As we prepare for our second smaller event, Sick On The Green at Beech Bend Raceway Park in Kentucky on May 29th through the 31st, new classes have been added to the roster, and the Lil Gangsta’s 5.30 class will get a second helping with a separate Friday race!

There is a growing number of enthusiasts that prefer a manual transmission for their ride, and the racing community, as well as several events on the drag and drive calendar, have embraced this with a specific class.

Sick On The Green will join that list, as the 3-day event in Bowling Green, Kentucky will feature a Stick Shift class sponsored by Tremec Transmissions.

Tremec will also be onsite with their display trailer and several transmissions, as well as team members to discuss their products. “We are looking forward to being a part of Sick On The Green,” said Mike Kidd of Tremec. “Beech Bend Raceway Park is a great track, and I’m sure the competition will be exciting!”

Following the success of Sick At The Rock presented by Motion Raceworks, April 10-12th at Rockingham Dragway, Sick The Magazine will host our second smaller event, Sick On The Green, May 29th – 31st, 2025 at Beech Bend Raceway Park in Kentucky.

In addition to classes inspired by the former National Muscle Car Association / National Mustang Racers Association series, we will bring our new Sick Street Car Challenge class, as well as the popular Lil Gangsta’s 5.30 No-Time class, to Bowling Green, Kentucky!

This second Sick The Magazine smaller event of 2025 already boasts north of $60,000 in payouts, and following the results of our recently held event in North Carolina, we have high hopes for the Sick On The Green event. “We appreciate everyone that came out to Rockingham to be a part of Sick At The Rock,” said Tom Bailey. “We looked at results, listened to competitors, and made a few changes for our next event, Sick On The Green.”

With north of $50,000 on the line in payouts for the first Sick At The Rock Presented by Motion Raceworks, Rockingham Dragway saw some solid competition show up to battle in North Carolina. Despite the cool temperatures and losing a day on track to weather conditions, winners were determined on track before the clock struck midnight on Saturday April 12th.

Leading the headlines was the new Sick Street Challenge class, where Tom Bailey put up more than $30,000 for 32 categories. Originally designed to be a 2-day drag and drive, competitors would be required to turn in a minimum of one time slip from Friday and one from Saturday.

Because of late night Thursday showers, Friday’s racing was nixed. But the Sick Street Challenge class competitors would do the street drive and check point photos to cover half the requirements. Saturday featured four chances to make runs, with a competitor required to submit a pair of time slips for their average. Who walked away with their share of the $32K?

The drag and drive calendar is just starting to get underway, and Sick The Magazine’s first venture outside a full drag and drive weeklong event got underway on Thursday, April 10th for Sick At The Rock.

From Tom Bailey's 3-second 'Sick Seconds' '69 Camaro to some double takes on the scoreboards in some new classes to the Sick The Mag crew, it was a solid day to start our Rockingham Dragway visit.

We've got 2 more days of cars and action - today is qualifying, plus the 'Pro Mods At The Rock' is scheduled with 16 Pro Mods fighting for a spot to earn one of eight spots to battle for $7500 to win!

After being away from the drag and drive game for a little over seven years, Jeff Lutz made his return at the 2024 edition of Sick Week.

That appearance ended one day short of a complete event, but it sparked Jeff’s interest in the drag and drive game once again, and Jeff will bring the iconic ’69 Camaro known as ‘Mad Max’ to the Sick At The Rock Presented by Motion Raceworks event, at Rockingham Dragway, to participate in the new Sick Street Car Challenge class!

“My son got a hold of me about the event, and said ‘we need to go do this event,’” said Jeff. “I asked him what he was taking, and he said ‘I’m riding with you.’”

Can the father and son combo outlast the Sick Street Car Challenge field?

Sick The Magazine started our print magazine in 2021 as a way to cover and highlight the drag and drive lifestyle, cars and people.

Recently, our flagship event, Sick Week Presented by Gear Vendors Overdrive, has been nominated by USA Today 10Best as a ‘Best Motorsports Race in the United States’ finalist.

“When we started the magazine in 2021, I knew an event would be the next step,” said Tom Bailey, founder of Sick The Magazine. “What I didn’t expect was how quickly Sick Week came to fruition, and the support of the community.”

“From the competitors that continue to amaze us with their performances, to the staff and volunteers that run the event, Sick Ward participants and the thousands of fans that come out to watch the action and cheer on their favorites, it means so much to so many.”

Despite the popularity of Sick The Magazine’s week-long major drag and drive events, Tom Bailey toyed with the idea of doing a smaller 2-3 day event format, with a shorter drive / cruise for street car-based classes, more categories with good payouts, and some additional classes to round out the event.

That idea, combined with some of the classes from the defunct National Muscle Car Association (NMCA) and National Mustang Racers Association (NMRA) series, has morphed into a pair of 3-day Sick The Mag events. The latest one, Sick On The Green, being held May 29th – 31st, 2025, is now open for registration!

The second Sick The Mag 3-day event of 2025, Sick On The Green, boasting over $60,000 in payouts, lands at the popular Beech Bend Raceway Park in Bowling Green, Kentucky. In addition to the popular Lil Gangsta’s class for a $10K payout, and Sick The Mag’s newest class, the Sick Street Car Challenge with over $30K in payouts, five popular classes will complete the list for Sick On The Green’s racing activities.

The class line-up includes:

- Small Tire Pro Stock: a 7-second naturally aspirated quarter-mile class on a 10.5" width slick.

- Coyote Stock: Ford cars with factory sealed Coyote crate engines and manual transmissions, on a 28 x 10.5" width slick tire, stick shifting to wheelies and 9-second times.

- Street Race 8.60 Index: Street cars and trucks vying in side-by-side competition, on an 8.60-second quarter-mile index, with a mandatory cruise.

- Open Comp: Cars and trucks in the 7-14 second range, quarter-mile competition format, using commonly accepted Open Comp class rules.

- Nostalgia Super Stock / Nostalgia Muscle Car Combo: 1955-1985 period-correct nostalgia cars in the 8-15 second range, on a quarter-mile distance, big and small tire cars (Nostalgia Super Stock), and small tire cars (Nostalgia Muscle Car).

- The Sick Street Car Challenge: a two-day drag and drive format (Friday May 30th and Saturday May 31st), competing on an eighth-mile distance, where street legal machines will battle for $32,000 in prize money across over two-dozen categories, with the ability to stack more than one category for huge payouts!

- Lil Gangsta’s 5.30 No-Time: a class that combines a $10,000 winner-take-all payout with a no time slips / scoreboards off format to keep the competition interesting. The class is based around a 4-tenths pro tree, a 5.30 index on the eighth-mile, and a small tire format.

Some cars will come and go, but the ones that make for some of the best stories are the ones that have history with their owners. Colin Nowak has owned this 1995 Ford Mustang since high school, and after a dozen years cruising and racing it, he’s ready to roll into Rockingham Dragway for next month’s Sick At The Rock and tackle the Sick Street Car Challenge class.

If this supercharged Mustang looks familiar, it’s because Colin made a presence at the 2024 edition of Sick Summer Presented by Motion Raceworks, finishing second in the Modified class with a 9.18 average.

“Car did great,” said Colin. “We didn't have to mess with anything other than swapping tires, shock settings and fuel. Was pretty wild to see after day one I was in third.” He eventually moved to second on day three, where he would stay until the event was completed.

Now, he’s prepping for Sick Summer, Sick Smokies, and Sick At The Rock in 2025.

When it comes to survival of an engine, almost no component is as important as the motor oil protecting the internal components. In the harsh environment of drag-and-drive, one company has developed oil technology to the next level — Driven Racing Oil.

The Memphis, TN-based company developed its first formulations for NASCAR’s Joe Gibbs Racing team in the early 2000s. Since then, they have broadened their blends into oils suitable for a range of applications, including street and strip vehicles.

Sick The Magazine is proud to announce that Driven Racing Oil will be the presenting sponsor of Sick Michigan Miles, being held from August 10-17, 2025 around the great state of Michigan. From the Mackinac Bridge to the Woodward Dream Cruise, it will be a gearhead’s ultimate adventure.

As a partner with Sick, Driven Racing Oil has seen their sales boom as more racers and gearheads find out about the quality of the product. Tom Bailey from Sick The Magazine said Driven Racing Oil was the perfect presenting sponsor for Sick Michigan Miles.