“Sick 66” was Sick the Magazine‘s fall season one-time-only Drag & Drive event in 2024. When they claimed it would be the “ultimate road trip,” traversing Route 66 west for eight days along with stops at numerous race tracks, we wanted in.
The Sick Group are no strangers to creating extraordinary events and has hosted Drag & Drive events since 2022. If you are unfamiliar with what a “Drag & Drive” event is, it is a multi-day event that requires racers to drag race at a series of tracks followed by a required route between each track with checkpoints. You must take a picture at each checkpoint and turn it in with your time slip the following day.
Each day consists of competition events on the track and then driving hundreds of miles in your street-legal race car afterward. The catch is that you cannot haul your car on a trailer or have a support team follow to help.
Above: The route, Leg 1 – “getting there” in yellow. Leg 2 – the Sick 66 Event route, the checkpoints in red, and Leg 3 – “getting home” in blue.
Many racers tow trailers behind their race car with spare tires, tools, parts, fuel, and whatever else they think they need to survive the event. You can bring a co-pilot to help, whose duties usually include navigating, track day prep, working on the car, and being a helper and a cheerleader. At Sick Week and Drag Week events, you can expect anything from 6-second to 15-second race cars to take on the challenge.
After a ton of preparation on our ’73 ‘Cuda (Story 1, Story 2). We were ready and hit the road on October 9th, 2024, for the event to start on the 10th. It would be a 3,000-plus-mile trip for us, but we were looking forward to the adventure, the racing, and the cruising with the crazy friends we have made participating in these events over the last three years. I was lucky to have my better half, Lily, as my co-pilot for the journey.
Drag & Drive events are just as much about friends, comradery, and good times as they are racing. Everybody is trying to accomplish the same goal, and only fellow racers and your co-pilot can help you work on the car if you are in trouble. There is no money to win, just some cool trophies and bragging rights.
Above Left: Getting ready to leave Nashville (the old Firebird did not come along for the trip). Above Right: On-the-road food delivery of some homemade snacks from the Yukon.
The community at these events is incredible and a blast to be part of. Some of our racer friends were also competing in Sick 66, so we looked forward to cruising with them. Our posse would be a fun group of racers, starting with a wild man named Rajveer (Raj) Ahuja (burnout and hot lap king) from the Yukon in Canada.
He drove his 9-second ’67 Oldsmobile an additional 1,100 miles from the outskirts of Montreal to our house in Nashville to hang out for a couple of days, do some last-minute prep, and then hit the road with us to the event start in Missouri.
In Missouri, we would meet up with the rest of our group, which included Rich Guido (the Canadian Chuck Norris) with his 8-second stick shift ’65 GTO and Bob Guido with his 5-speed swapped ’69 Mustang, who was cruising in the Sick Ward. These brothers are from Alberta and drove 2,000 miles to the event start.
Above Left: We arrived in Missouri without any problems. Above Right: After arriving, we disconnected the trailers and found a place to eat dinner.
Mike Turner of Shopdog Fabrication, in his nitrous-fed 10-second ’70 Dodge Dart Swinger, was our fellow “Mopar Guy” in the group.
Rounding out the group was Bruce Fleming in his beautiful big block, 4-speed, Gear Vendors equipped ’67 Olds 442, who was bookending his trip by traveling all of Route 66 from its start in Chicago to its end in California.
We traveled with an eclectic group of cars. Safety in numbers for these events is a benefit, and our group’s combined number of tools, knowledge, and spare parts was quite impressive.
Above Left: The crew we would be cruising with included Rich Guido in his 8-second GTO, Ravjeer Ahuja in his 9-second Olds, and Mike Turner’s Dodge Dart (in the background). Above Right: Bruce Fleming also arrived in his ’67 Olds to make the trip with us.
We hit the road on October 9th for an uneventful but efficient cruise from Nashville to Springfield. There were many thumbs-ups from folks we passed, lots of gas stops and snacking, and even an on-the-road window-to-window hand-off of some homemade snacks from the great Canadian wilderness.
Our itinerary was the following:
Leg 1: October 9th – Getting to the event start – 410-mile cruise from Nashville, TN, to Springfield, MO
Leg 2: October 10th – 17th, The event – 1312 miles
Day 0: event check-in and testing at Ozark Raceway Park
Day 1: racing at Ozark Raceway Park and then a 110-mile cruise to Joplin, MO
Day 2: racing at Mokan Dragway and then a 135-mile drive to Catoosa, OK
Day 3: racing at Tulsa Raceway Park and then a 115-mile cruise to Edmond, OK
Day 4: 290-mile drive day from Edmon, OK, to Amarillo, TX
Day 5: racing at Amarillo Dragway and then a 120-mile voyage to Tucumcari, NM
Day 6: 319-mile drive day from Tucumcari to Albuquerque, NM
Day 7: racing at Albuquerque Dragway and then a 219-mile cruise to Roswell, NM
Day 8: racing at Alien City Dragway and then awards ceremony/racer party
Leg 3: October 18th through the 20th – Getting back home, a 1,300-mile drive home from Roswell, NM, back to Nashville, TN
Above: Mike Turner’s nitrous-fed 10-second ’70 Dodge Dart Swinger got some test shots at the track on the day of arrival.
We arrived in Springfield, met up with the rest of our group, and were pleased to hear nobody had trouble on their way into town, so we unhooked the trailers and headed off for Tacos (another staple of the Drag and Drive community).
The excitement began on October 10th at Ozark Raceway Park. Day Zero was for event check-in, including the mandatory driver meeting, NHRA technical inspection, paperwork, applying the event banner to the car, track testing, catching up with friends, and making new ones.
After our preparation, we were relieved that we passed tech without questions. Since our car did not have a roll bar, we were placed in the “D” run group, which meant the fastest time slip we could turn in would be 7.36 seconds in the eighth mile. We would be running the eighth mile at all the tracks. Now, our goal was to get as close to 7.36 as possible.
Above: The tech line on Day 0 filled quickly. All our friends made it through tech without difficulty.
One hundred seventy-six racers passed tech and officially registered for the event, meaning nearly seventy-five dropped out due to not having their cars ready or having trouble on the way to the start. While waiting around, we were looking for other Mopars to check out and were not disappointed.
We met a gentleman named Steve Atwell, racing his original 1967 426 Hemi factory Super Stock WO23 Coronet. The car was gorgeous and only had 355 original miles on it at the start of the event. Steve raced the heck out of the vehicle, launching it at 6K plus RPM the entire event.
Above Left: After arriving and completing the tech inspection, everyone prepared their car for race mode. Above Center: Edelbrock was the title sponsor, and as part of the event, it gave away an impressive banner at the end. All racers were encouraged to sign the banner throughout the event. Above Right: Steve Atwell owned the ’67 factory Super Stock Coronet.
When I said you make some friends and see formidable vehicles at these events, the following are great examples: A high compression nitrous-fed big block ’68 Road Runner, a gorgeous ’69 Charger, and a wildly modified Jeep Wrangler were among other notable Mopars on the journey.
Tom Bailey sported a late 90s Dodge Ramcharger (only sold in Mexico) with a new twin-turbo Hurricane engine swap. Morgan Evans also raced her Hurricane swapped Dodge Ram D150, which debuted a couple of months earlier at the Roadkill Nights event.
Testing eventually started, and everyone in our group made several passes. Everybody was satisfied and did not break anything, so we ended on a high note for the day and headed to dinner and hotels afterward.
Above Left: We found this high-compression, nitrous-fed big-block ’68 Roadrunner while walking through the pits. Above Center: The owner of the car show-worthy ’69 Dodge Charger with its original big block and Torqueflite had a blast at the event. Above Right: You see everything at the Sick events. It was the wildest Jeep we have ever seen at the drag strip.
October 11th marked the first day of the actual competitions at Ozark Raceway Park. At these events, you always try to run your time (7.36 elapsed time) as early in the day as possible so you can relax and hit the road for the cruise portion. Our ‘Cuda was a fresh setup, and we had a lot to learn, so we made several passes with the rest of our group that day.
For Sick 66, there were no classes; instead, the fastest driver and car won. We knew we would not win, but our goal was to run as close as possible to that 7.36-second limit for which we were qualified. We finished Day 1 with a 7.46-second pass at 91.8 mph, which was a little off, but you must start somewhere.
Above Left: The Hurricane-powered Dodge Ramcharger owned by Tom Bailey ran hard at the track the entire event. Above Right: If one Hurricane engine was not enough, there was a second owned by Morgan Evans. It was neatly installed in a Dodge D150 pickup truck.
Funny enough, Tom Bailey and Steve Morris were also in the “D” run group, and we competed directly with them. If you do not know them, Tom owns Sick the magazine and is an accomplished racer, usually running cars in the 6-second quarter mile range. Steve owns Steve Morris Engines and is racing in the same caliber cars as Tom.
After turning in our time slip, Lily and I loaded up, put the street tires back on, waited for the others, and hit the road for the 110-mile day cruise. Being in the print business (Sick the Magazine), the Sick group provided an excellent booklet with directions for us to follow. Lily began dictating directions over the sound of our 3-inch TTI exhaust, and we headed to our checkpoints for the day.
Above: On Day 1, my co-pilot, Lily, and I spent some time in the staging lanes, waiting for racing to begin.
P1 Manufacturing was stop number one, offering tours for anyone interested in how they manufacture their high-end engine fasteners. Next, we picked up old Route 66, stopping at Gary Gay Parita. Visitors were welcome to wander around and look at all the antiques and pieces of Americana history scattered across the property.
Spencer Station, an old-timey market, café, and gas station, was the next stop. Next was the SuperTAM Ice Cream Parlor and Superman Museum, where everyone enjoyed a frosty treat. Our cruise ended at the hotel in Joplin. Dinner plans and parking lot partying ensued after a trouble-free day for everyone in our group.
Above Left: To get in the groove, a track official got us lined up perfectly. Above Right: The ‘Cuda left hard, trying to lift the front tires while on the track at Ozark Raceway Park. (Photo courtesy of Roadrunner Media, LLC.)
The Day 2 race event took place at Mokan Dragway. We talked friends into saving us a good pit spot in exchange for bringing them coffee at the track—we felt it was a fair exchange. We arrived, unloaded, set up the car for race mode, and watched friends race until our class was called.
Over the last few days, we noticed something was happening with our speedometer. The needle randomly bounced around, so we attempted to fix it while waiting. We were unsuccessful, so we unplugged it and decided to cruise without it rather than watch a bouncing needle.
We later learned there was some interference between the recently installed Gear Vendors Overdrive speed sensor and the Auto Meter speed sensor, which we have since resolved. Instead of a speedometer, we used our phone’s GPS and watched others for speeds and mileage for the rest of the trip.
Above: Inside the guidebook was the Day 1 route, which included directions and checkpoints for the Sick 66 competitors.
Once our class was called, we made a handful of runs and turned in a 7.41-second at 92.1 mph time slip, a slight improvement from the previous day. Plenty of spectators visited the historic Mokan Dragway to check out the cars. It is always exciting to mingle with local racers and fans who come to see these Drag & Drive events.
After a day of racing, we wrapped up and changed the ‘Cuda into its street trim and then hit the road for our 135-mile cruise ending in Catoosa, Oklahoma. Checkpoints for the day included Gearhead Curios, the Rainbow Bridge, Crosstar Flag and Tag, Hi-Way Café, and the Blue Whale of Catoosa. Almost all the venues were on old Route 66, and the day’s checkpoints were eclectic and engaging, with plenty of unique things to see at each stop.
Above Left: Day 1 checkpoint 1 – at P1 Manufacturing. Above Right: Day 1 checkpoint 2 – at Gary Gay Parita.
We had no problems, but Rich and Raj developed some transmission issues that needed to be resolved. The hotel parking lot became a repair party as they dropped their transmissions to replace the GTO’s throw-out bearing and pilot bushing and the Oldsmobile’s front pump seal. Since plenty of hands were on deck to help, we snuck away for a quiet dinner and prepared for Day 3.
Racing was at Tulsa Raceway Park for Day 3. We raced at Ozark Raceway Park and Mokan Dragway at another event called “The Circuit” in 2024, but this was our first time at Tulsa. From this point forward, all the tracks would be new to us, making it even more exciting. As usual, we converted the car into its race trim and then hung out with friends while waiting for our turn on the track.
Above: Day 1 Checkpoint 4 – at SuperTAM Ice Cream Parlor and Superman Museum.
Another handful of passes resulted in a 7.43 elapsed time at 91.9 mph on the day’s time slip. It was still a bit off our goal, but the ‘Cuda was consistent. We felt our old carburetor was leaving a bit on the table, so we continued to tinker with it throughout the event.
Unfortunately, our new friend Steve Atwell, in his 1967 Hemi Super Stock Coronet, broke a U-joint and bent his driveshaft on a wicked 7,000 RPM launch. Fellow racers banded together to help him find a local garage to build a new driveshaft so he could continue. From our group, Bob hung back to ensure Steve, and the Coronet arrived at the hotel.
Above: We expected to have a great day following the Day 2 route, directions, and checkpoints from the Sick 66 Guidebook.
The new driveshaft was not right, but it allowed Steve to get down the road. Once at the hotel, he made provisions to have a proper driveshaft overnighted to the next day’s track, which allowed him to continue the event.
Our Day 3 cruise took us another 115 miles along old Route 66 with stops at the Bristow Fire Department, Route 66 Bowl, and ending at the Chicken Shack in Arcadia, Oklahoma. Route 66 Bowl was a retro-cool museum, and the Chicken Shack was a massive restaurant with indoor and outdoor entertainment areas.
Some smokey burnouts may or may not have occurred leaving the Chicken Shack, and some racers may have had the opportunity to meet the local police force.
Above Left: Day 2 Checkpoint 1 – at Gearhead Curios. Above Center: Day 2 Checkpoint 2 – at Rainbow Bridge. Above Right: Day 2 Checkpoint 3 – at Crosstar Flag and Tag.
Once everyone gathered at the hotel, we figured out dinner plans. Lily and I were graciously offered the chance to ride in Steve’s ’67 Coronet, so we ditched the ‘Cuda and took him up on the offer. How often do you get to ride in a factory Super Stock car? Roughly thirty competitors ate together at the local Mexican restaurant and enjoyed lots of laughs and cold beverages as we reviewed Day 3.
While at dinner, we unfortunately heard of several casualties, from damaged oil and transmission pans to broken suspension parts and failed trailers. At one point, we had been bottoming out and rubbing the rear tires on harsh dips, so we pulled over and cranked up the QA1 adjustable shocks.
Above Left: Day 2 Checkpoint 4 – at Hi-way Café. Above Center: Day 2 Checkpoint 5 – at Blue Whale of Catoosa. Above Right: After a day of carnage, we had a repair party in the hotel parking lot on the evening of day 2.
There was no race on Day 4, so we slept in and hit the road a little later than our friends. Day 4 was slated as a drive day, taking us through 290 miles of windy and rough Route 66 road. We were tasked with stopping at ten excellent checkpoints on our way to Amarillo. Deatschwerks, creators of high-performance fuel systems, was the first checkpoint. We were offered coffee and donuts, and the owners provided an informative tour.
Next was a historic Route 66 rest area, the Stafford Air and Space Museum, the Oklahoma Route 66 Museum, and the National Route 66 and Transportation Museum. There was little to see at the rest stop, but the Air and Space Museum was remarkably interesting, and what seems to be an endless array of quirky Route 66 museums were enjoyable to visit quickly.
Above Left: Day 3 started at Tulsa Raceway Park. Above Left: “Co-pilot Lily” turned into “Lineup Girl Lily,” preparing us for a pass at Tulsa Raceway Park. (Photo courtesy of Roadrunner Media, LLC)
Our group was not immune from the carnage; some friends were replacing suspension parts at a gas station. When we pulled up to see what was happening, we were informed we were leaking gas, so it looked like we would also have some work to do. On a ’73 ’Cuda, the four vent lines from the fuel tank go into a canister mounted above the rear end. A single fuel line is routed to the engine bay from the canister.
The original line to the engine bay was long gone and is now vented to a rollover valve. The rough roads broke the welds on one of the old canister’s inlet tubes, allowing fuel to leak. We decided to plug all four vent line hoses and run with the gas cap cracked for venting. We would worry about a more permanent fix upon returning to Tennessee.
Above: Day 3 was a short drive, only 115 miles. The guidebook provided the route, directions, and checkpoints for the day.
After all our repairs, we all cruised to the sixth checkpoint, the Sandhill Curiosity Shop. The description in our guidebook said, “This checkpoint contains a real character named Harley. Do not go inside if you are sensitive to cussing, drugs, alcohol, and inappropriate jokes of all kinds.”
So, we had to go inside—at least we tried. A group of maybe twenty people was chased off as Harley mumbled he had errands to do and could not just sit around all day waiting for us. He reconsidered and invited us in while we were returning to our cars.
Above Left: Day 3 Checkpoint 1 – at Bristow Fire Department. Above Right: Day 3 Checkpoint 3 – at Chicken Shack.
A fascinating collection of items he started accumulating in the 60s were squirreled away or displayed throughout the building. From there, we continued to the Conoco Tower Station and U-Drop Inn Café, the Devil’s Rope Museum, a neat little restored Phillips 66 Gas Station, and finally onto the last stop, The Big Texan Steak Ranch.
We all decided to eat at The Big Texan. Tom Bailey and his staff invited about thirty racers to dinner. Entertainment and massive steaks were plentiful. After dinner, we drove to the hotel to prepare for Day 5.
Above Left: It is not every day you get to ride in a 1967 factory Super Stock Coronet. Above Right: Two heavy hitters took the group to dinner; one was an 8-second GTO owned by Rich Guido, and the other was Steve Atwell’s ’67 Coronet.
It was a beautiful morning in Amarillo. Therefore, we needed to play George Straits’ Amarillo by Morning while driving to the track on day 5. When the racing began, we learned how higher elevations affect engine power. The 3,594-foot elevation, as compared to the 600-to-1,500 foot elevations of the previous three tracks, challenged us all day.
We made ten passes while tinkering with the carburetor between runs. Eventually, we stuck a float and flooded the engine, so we stopped for the day, carding a best run of 7.93 seconds at 86.7 mph.
Above: Day 4 was full of events, so the route and directions from the Sick 66 Guidebook were spread out over multiple pages.
We would need a game plan for the next track, which was at an even higher elevation. Because the engine is naturally aspirated, we knew we would not achieve our best elapsed time, but we felt we could do better than our current high-altitude runs. Another benefit of traveling with other seasoned racers is brainstorming things like this over dinner.
Unfortunately, Rich had the transmission out of his GTO again for another pilot/throw-out bearing issue. We checked on him, and a few folks were staying to help, so Lily and I went sightseeing to view a couple of specific checkpoints in the daylight.
Above Left: Day 4 Checkpoint 1 – at Deatschwerks Headquarters. Above Center: Day 4 Checkpoint 2 – at Historic Route 66 Rest Area. Above Right: Day 4 Checkpoint 4 – at Oklahoma Route 66 Museum.
With our car packed, we embarked on the 120-mile cruise ending in Tucumcari, New Mexico. We ran solo but knew friends were not far behind if we ran into trouble. Checkpoint one was the famous Cadillac Ranch, which we wanted to see during daylight. It was interesting. You do not see ten Cadillacs sticking out of the desert earth saturated with inches of spray paint from visitors daily.
Checkpoint 2 was a great photo-op at the Midway Point of Route 66, and checkpoint three was thought-provoking. The subject was “cruise up and down Tucumcari Blvd and find something retro and cool to take a photo with.” There was no shortage of cool old neon signs, so we pulled into the Palomino Motel and snapped a picture.
Above Left: Day 4 Checkpoint 5 – at National Route 66 and Transportation Museum. Above Right: Day 4 Checkpoint 6 – at Sandhill Curiosity Shop.
In Tucumcari, we had dinner with some Sick staff, including Steve Morris, his lovely wife Val, and a few other racers. Hanging out with your friends is always a blast. It is a pleasure to share stories of the week with other racers and make new friends along the way. We retired to the hotel shortly after, where we reconnected with our group for some late-night parking lot beverages.
Day 6 was another drive-only day, taking us 319 miles to Albuquerque, New Mexico. Our friends hit the road early, but we wanted a nice breakfast, so we ended up on the route a bit later (after overeating). The day’s drive was long, and Old Route 66 showed its age in New Mexico. It was rough, but it was amusing bouncing down the road on Super Stock springs and shocks set on the stiffest setting to avoid undercarriage carnage.
Above Left: Day 4 Checkpoint 7 – at Conoco Tower Station and U-Drop Inn Cafe. Above Right: We had a great dinner at The Big Texan in Amarillo.
Checkpoint one took us down some dirt roads to an Old Route 66 underpass. Additional dirt roads brought us to checkpoint two, Cuervo Ghost Town, where we needed to take a photo with the church.
Moving forward, checkpoint three was Route 66 Auto Museum, which had its share of interesting vehicles scattered around, and checkpoint four was the Pecos River Station. The main gate of Los Alamos (where the US government developed the first atomic bomb) was checkpoint five.
Above Left: We evaluated a wild-looking scoop at Amarillo Dragway. (Photo courtesy of Roadrunner Media, LLC) Above Center: The guidebook listed the elevations of each track we were visiting. Above Right: Just another day at a Drag and Drive required us to do whatever was needed to keep the car moving from track to track. Rich Guido had several transmission problems. He was getting ready to reinstall his transmission at Amarillo Dragway.
From there, you had a choice: continue up what was described as a spectacular mountain pass or turn around and take an easier route to the final checkpoint. Steve Atwell, with his ’67 Super Stock Coronet, was also at the checkpoint, so we asked him what he was doing. He said he was going over the mountain with the Hemi, so we joined him on the pass without much arm twisting. It was a steep, windy, and beautiful route.
The road, combined with the heavy ‘Cuda and trailer, worked the high-stall converter hard. Our Gear Vendors’ overdrive and big transmission cooler paid dividends on this portion of the trip, and the gear splitting made this trek much more enjoyable.
Above: Day 5 route and directions from the Sick 66 Guidebook.
Towards the end of the mountain pass, we encountered a two-hour traffic jam due to mountain road construction. Race cars and locals were all stuck together. We spotted our friends several miles ahead via the smoke signal they sent from the Oldsmobile’s rear tires while sitting in traffic. Most found it entertaining, but we felt the flashing red and blue lights that showed up five minutes later were not as awestruck as the cheering onlookers.
Eventually, we made it through the construction and hit our last checkpoint at Bosque Brewing in Albuquerque. When we reached the hotel, it was dark, so we grabbed a bunch of pizzas and beer and retired to the parking lot with friends.
Above Left: Day 5 Checkpoint 1 – at The Cadillac Ranch. Above Center: Day 5 Checkpoint 2 – at Midway Point of Route 66. Above Right: Day 5 Checkpoint 3 – at Palomino Motel, Tucumcari, NM.
Day 7, and it was back to racing at Albuquerque Dragway. While looking at the event standings going into the fifth race day, we noticed we were within a few thousandths of our friend Bruce Fleming in his red Oldsmobile. There had been some friendly trash-talking the last few days, but he was ahead of us after our poor performance at Amarillo.
We needed to figure out some things about Albuquerque, which is located at 5,304-feet of elevation. After several passes, we were pleased with a 7.70-second pass at 88.5 mph. Bruce struggled with the elevation, and we edged him out going into the final day, but we were still .006 seconds behind him for the event.
Above: Day 6 route and directions from the Sick 66 Guidebook.
While we were preoccupied with tuning and our Oldsmobile battle, we learned the Guido brothers were not having a good day. Rich’s clutch disc was toast, and Bob’s Ford lost a couple of roller lifters and destroyed the camshaft.
A fellow racer donated a stock-style organic disc to Rich to limp his 1,500-horsepower Pontiac to the next track while he had another clutch sent overnight to the next day’s event. Bob had a spare camshaft and lifters set, so everyone pitched in and helped get both cars operational. It was a late evening at the track.
Above Left: Day 6 Checkpoint 1 – at Old Route 66 underpass. Above Center: Day 6 Checkpoint 2 – at Cuervo Ghost Town Church. Above Right: Day 6 Checkpoint 3 – at Route 66 Auto Museum.
We wrapped up vehicle repairs and hit the road for the cruise portion of Day 7 during a terrible windstorm that pelted us all with sand and rolling tumbleweeds. The sun was setting soon, so we decided to cruise as fast as possible to the hotel after stopping for a much-needed Taco dinner.
When it arrived the following day, Rich would need to install the new clutch, and everyone was already tired, so getting to Roswell as fast as possible was our priority. We covered 219 miles quickly. Luckily, it was a beautiful starry night, and the nighttime desert scenes were incredible.
Above Left: Day 6 Checkpoint 4 – at Pecos River Station. Above Center: Day 6 Checkpoint 5 – at Los Alamos Main Gate. Above Right: This is how the yellow Oldsmobile owned by Rajveer Ahuja sends smoke signals to his friends while stuck in traffic.
We cruised into the three checkpoints, took our photos, and left. The three stops were Lewis Antique Auto and Toy Museum, Clines Corners, and Penny’s Diner. We knew we were near Roswell when we started seeing alien decorations, spaceships, and murals everywhere.
We made it to day 8, the final day of racing at Alien City Dragway, and what an incredible facility it was. The track is next to the Roswell Air Center, which was once known as the Roswell Army Airfield during World War II. The track location appears to have been part of the airport property when you look at the timeworn hangars along one side of the track.
Above Left: Day 6 Checkpoint 6 – at Bosque Brewing. Above Right: Our ‘Cuda and our competition, Bruce Fleming, in his Olds 442.
Legend has it that the findings from the Roswell Incident were first brought to the hangar building adjacent to the track. On the other side of the track is the boneyard section of the neighboring airport, which gives you an awe-inspiring view of partially torn apart and retired aircraft as you race down the track and turn off to head back to your pits.
Many fans showed up for the event’s conclusion, and there was again no shortage of Alien-themed decorations and even people in costumes wandering around. We technically needed to break the beams to complete the event, but we had an Oldsmobile to beat.
Above: Day 7 route and directions from the Sick 66 Guidebook.
The elevation at Roswell was 3,630 feet, which was a tad higher than Amarillo, where we had our slow 7.9-second run. We were confident in our tuning tweaks but also yanked some weight out of the car for day 8. The rear seat, passenger seat, trailer hitch, and floor mats were piled next to our trailer.
We lucked into a heads-up run with Bruce in his Olds and bested his 7.94-second run with a 7.81 elapsed time, but we were not sure that would be enough to take the lead back from him. We both made rounds all day, trying to get our best pass. We ended the day with a 7.70-second 88.5-mph pass.
Above Left: Day 7 Checkpoint 1 – at Lewis Antique Auto and Toy Museum. Above Right: Day 7 Checkpoint 2 – at Clines Corners.
We also lined up several times with Tom Bailey’s Hurricane-powered Ramcharger and had a front-row seat to see how that engine performs (it runs well). Everyone in our group survived the day and the event, so we all celebrated with a cold one, swapped vehicles back to street mode, and headed to one of the abandoned hangars for the racer party.
Sick 66 did not have multiple classes like Sick Week and Drag Week, just an overall winner. Whoever had the fastest average time overall won the event. In his 1980 Chevy Malibu, Jason Rousseau won the event with an average of 5.47 seconds at 132.7 mph.
Above Left: Day 7 Checkpoint 3 – at Penny’s Diner. Above Right: The ‘Cuda on the track at Alien City Dragway. (Photo courtesy of Roadrunner Media, LLC)
The event had awards from Quickest Mopar, Stick Shift, and Diesel to the slowest overall elapsed time, etc. In all, twenty-five awards were handed out. Many laughs and stories were shared in the eerie hangar building while we stuffed our faces with the pizza provided and watched our friends receive awards.
Our group did not do too badly. Even with the transmission trouble, Rich Guido finished 7th with a blistering 6.01 second at 123.8 mph average and won the Quickest Stick Shift award in the GTO. Raj finished 9th with an average of 6.33 at 109.2 mph and won the Quickest Oldsmobile award.
Above Left: It was a heads-up race against Bruce Fleming in his ’67 Olds 442. First to the finish line would take the win of our class for the event. Above Right: At the last event, we visited the hangar that allegedly first held the findings from the Roswell Incident. It was the location for our racer party after the end of the event.
Mike Turner placed 32nd in his Dodge Dart with an average of 7.36 at 91.5 mph. And drum roll, we edged out Bruce and placed 50th with an average of 7.608 seconds at 90.06 mph. Bruce placed 51st with an average of 7.612 at 94.17 mph. We squeezed past the big block Olds by .004 seconds.
A 2022 Dodge Challenger took the award for Quickest Mopar, and Morgan Evans took the prize for Quickest 6 Cylinder in her Hurricane-powered Dodge D150. A 1990 D150 won Quickest Diesel, and a 1937 Dodge Pickup won Quickest Hot Rod.
Above Left: Everyone packed into the hangar for the racer party. We shared endless slices of pizza and even more laughs. Above Right: Group picture (left to right), Rajveer Ahuja, Mike Turner, Rich Guido, Chris Wozniak, Lily Wray-Davis, and Bob Guido.
With over 1700 miles logged so far on the trip, nearly sixty passes down the track, and finishing 50th out of 176 in our first event with the ‘Cuda, we were happy enough. However, we already had a game plan for changes and upgrades to get ready for Sick Week in February 2025.
We woke up the morning of the 18th, said goodbye to our racecar friends, grabbed coffee and breakfast, and began the 1300-mile journey home. We did not have a route planned; we just had a general direction. Rich headed north back to Alberta, Mike headed northeast towards Michigan, Bruce headed west to finish Route 66 to the California coast, and Raj decided to cruise with us back to Nashville on his way home to Montreal.
Above Left: Bonus Checkpoint somewhere in Texas on the way home. Above Right: Extra Checkpoint at the Stockyards in Texas.
Our trek involved passing east across New Mexico, passing into Texas, and stopping at random places that looked interesting for what we called “bonus checkpoints.” We stopped at the Stock Yards outside of Fort Worth for what turned into a half-day of entertainment, meaning we did not make it as far as we wanted that day.
We continued through Shreveport and eventually picked up the Natchez Trace Parkway just west of Jackson, Mississippi. We took the Natchez Trace to Nashville, and it was a gorgeous drive. As we rejoined civilization in Nashville, the Oldsmobile started making a horrible noise from the rear, so we limped it to our house, tore it apart, and found many teeth from the ring and pinion gears had decided to jump ship.
Above: We worked so hard to get the “I Survived shirt,” and got it.
Thirty thousand street miles and 1,000s of track passes and burnouts was a reasonable lifespan for a GM 12-bolt with a spool, but this meant Raj would be hanging out a few more days while we repaired his car.
Eventually, we unpacked, sent Raj on his way, and returned to work. The withdrawals from racing and cruising every day for the last eleven days finally subsided as we waited for our token “I Survived” shirts to arrive in the mail. Sick 66 was hard work, but we had an indescribable amount of enjoyment and generated memories that would last a lifetime. We cannot wait to prep the ‘Cuda for the next epic adventure.
