Exactly. Big payouts would ruin the vibe of the event, same with the original pump gas drags. That being said, I'm sure if you're willing to promote one, money is there to be made on their end. I don't think Tom Bailey would have expanded so quickly if he wasn't making money on the magazine and the initial Sick Week in 2022.

JMHO. Its great to see so many drag and drive events. There will be only one "DRAG WEEK. That said the others have their merit. Sick Week you have to hope your submission and entry is accepted. Even Tom says its a nice winter time break . Good tracks relatively short drives great DA etc. His Desert drag and drive Im glad its not in the middle of summer. LOL. As for RMRW many Drag Week class winners have gone. Bailey, Larson,Joe Barry Doc McEntire, Mike Crow etc. RMRW has a 3150 WT limit of non nitrous, NA cars. They can be 2650.DragWeek doesnt have a weight rule. I have yet to witness any issues with cash payouts. It still has a low key atmosphere. Jeff ask Joel about his RMRW experience. The mountain drives,checkpoints etc are off the charts.Part of the reason for there not being so many "Fast cars" is who wants to drag and drive in the middle of June when the track DAs are between 4700 ft and 9500 ft. LOL. I know you like new tracks Clark. You should try RMRW next year.You can race at Flying H outside of KC. JMHO.

The class structure doesn't work for my car. I like index racing but I always manage to land in the middle of two indexes and who wants to slow down? I don't go to win anything but I also don't go just to drive around. Some level of competition makes it more fun. The one year(2021) I went on DW just to go and run in the early group I got 3rd in SRSBNA, a happy accident.

He hasn't said a word about it to me, and we've talked many times since he's been back. His Coupe does't fit into the rules of a competitive car at RMRW, as the car was built to the early rules of Drag Week. Honestly, I have zero desire to ride with Joel in a "parade car", just to see some nice check points. We like the competition aspect of Drag Week, and having a car that has a chance to win class is where it is at for us. If you've seen us at the track with the Coupe, we are pretty focused at the task at hand, and don't mess around much. I actually like that. We still have fun during the drives, and goof off plenty, but at the track, it's about doing what we need to do. I'd be bored riding around in a parade car again.

I did Rocky Mountain Race Week this year in my 67 442 convert. It was not competitive, and I knew it wouldn't be. So it was a fun parade lap. RMRW was much less intense than DW, because there was dedicated drive days where you don't race that day. There was definitely a lot of opportunity to get my requisite 8 hours of sleep that DW lacks. It was so hot in Pueblo, and the racing was from 3 - 11, I hung out at the hotel making business calls all afternoon, and didn't go to the track till sun down when it dropped to under 90 degrees. That would never happen at Drag Week.
RMRW seemed to be very well organized. June, who is the lady in charge, really has her ducks in a row. When I showed up at the sign in desk and told her I was new, she very thoroughly and succinctly explained everything I needed to know without me having to ask a bunch of questions. What a nice surprise, vs. wondering around lost and confused for lack of instructions.

A drag and drive is totally different when you are trying to be competitive vs. just having fun. The main reason I decided to go this year was to add Bandimere to my list of tracks raced at before they permanently closed. I was still waiting for parts for the coupe, so I took the Olds. I picked up 3 new tracks. I like testing these different tracks, see how they operate, and I think about the challenges and the struggles that the owners face and am so thankful that they exist.

It was a cool event, and fun, with beautiful drives thru the Rockies and the prairie. There were some crazy pulls up the mountains, 7% grades for miles. I wondered how the cars pulling trailers with 5000 stall converters made it without cooking the trans. With a Doug Nash 5 speed in my Olds, of course that wasn't an issue. The absolute coolest checkpoint ever in drag and drive was the Bishop Castle. Look it up. I climbed to the top of all 4 towers. Some folks where scared to even go in it.
I love the drag and drive stuff. The combination of racing and road tripping suits me perfectly, as I have always relished both. But I am competitive, so I'd rather show up in a car that has a chance than a parade car. I definitely want to do Drag week 2024 in the HemiCoupe.

As far as DW not paying cash prizes, that's fine with me. Racing is a money pit. A $50 prize or a $10,000 prize is a fart in a hurricane, it would barely touch my wallet and then be gone. And racing would still be a money pit. I'd rather win the Drag Week jacket, something I will have and treasure the rest of my life as a reminder of the good times. I still have the trophys I won at NorthStar drag strip in 1978 and '79, and when I look at them on the shelf, it brings back great memories. A $20 prize would have been gone and forgotten. I suppose I'm sentimental about that stuff.

I'm signed up for Death Week, that will be a awesome endurance test, with lots of cool drives. https://www.sickthemagazine.com/death-week

If some used parts I am looking to buy end up in my possession, I will give this a solid attempt this year.

Do you guys remember when you donated so Eddie could go to Dragweek. Then Elvis turned around and called you guys jerks. That was kinda funny.

I vaguely remember that. He generated drama and controversy like the Hoover Dam generates kilowatts. I stayed out of it. I did think it was cool that an Elvis impersonator was racing a 7 second Mopar on Drag Week, but didn't donate.

If you need to ask for donations to go race, you should stay home. I didn't donate either.

Its a huge investment for one week in your hot rod.....for sure.

If you guys see next year's tracks announced or posted, please post it up.

And if you guys have leads on a good small trailer send me a link.

Tracks are usually announced after the first of the year. Would not surprise me if the tracks were in the Midwest again next year. The new one being built near Kansas City would be cool to go to.

They do move them around a lot....Its gotta be tough scheduling an event like that in the middle of the week at each track...I guess as long as its not too far west, or too far south.

It looks like the parts I wanted might end up in my possession, and then I might have to give this a try if that all works out.

If you've ever rebuilt a 727 I think you could do it on the side of the road, there's really only one specialized tool, the front clutch spring compressor, and that can be improvised .

In my case I don't use a trailer and don't have the room to carry full a full size jack and 4 full size jack stands that are required to get the trans out. I have accepted that unless in the right place at the right time transmission problems would end the event for me. Same with anything below the cylinder heads. I don't want ever want to bow out but I don't and can't carry the right stuff to do heavy service.

Yeah, I think at some point, you have to trust the parts you have invested in....a few TNT's should be able to allow you to build some trust. Your car seems very reliable and fast enough to be fun. My goal would be to fix what I need to on mine, which is go to a full cage, fix the wiring, and switch to a 315 radial so I can call it a small tire car and pick a class like BB NA or somthing.

My car has been streeted for years, and I think if I fix the wiring, all I have to worry about is the engine. I think a G3 is in my future after this G2....

The dude with the 4 door Chevelle called "Honk if parts fall off" has rebuilt the trans in the hotel bathtubs many times as I recall.

C-clamp vise grips will work in a pinch as a clutch spring compressor.

I saw that episode....Stayed in a Holiday Inn and rebuilt it in the bath tub or somthing...That guy is talented.

I went. Had a great time with my son. I have the 68 Dart. It was good to meet bad340fish and his beautiful Cuda, he graciously offered me a valve cover gasket in my moment of need. I’m sure I spoke to others. It was a long hard week. If you have ever thought about doing DW DO IT!!!!

Still waiting on the Drag Week track announcement, but that's expected, probably at least 2 months out from signup. I just registered for Sick Summer again- a little bummed they didn't change any of the tracks, but also wanted to make sure I did at least one event next year and it's hard to pass up a D&D that goes through GLD. I might try to swing Drag Week next year as well if it's in the midwest and goes to tracks I'm interested in.

Sick 66 looks super cool as well, sounds like 6 total tracks and 9 days, from Missouri to New Mexico. It's all 8th mile. Joel and Jeff, are you gonna attempt that one?

I'm on the wait list for Sick Week in Florida, fixin' to show up and hope and pray I get in. Jeff is busy that week, so I'm going to break in my son Cam as a substitute trunk monkey. That will be fun.

No plan to do Sick Summer. That time will be spent getting the Hemi Coupe dialed in for Drag Week.

I'm going to do everything in my power to be at Drag Week this year, loaded for bear. Jeff will be in the trunk monkey cage. I hope it is in the Midwest. It would be cool if they did something like Brainerd International, Rock Falls, Great Lakes, Cedar Falls, Brainerd.

Sick 66 in October is a possibility, I sent in the expression of interest form. And it includes 6 tracks, 5 of which will be new for me. But it is only half track racing, and I prefer 1/4 mile. One interesting thing is that it is not a loop. It starts in Missouri and ends in New Mexico. That opens up the possibility of wandering further down Rt. 66 if we are so inclined.

I did Death Week in my 67 442, that was an amazing event. The routes and the check points were some of the best ever. On the drive from Wild Horse Pass to California, across the Sonoran Desert, it was 105 Degrees. That separated the true street cars! The whole route was 2000 miles. Checkpoint highlights were the border wall, Pacific coast, Sequoia National Park, crossing Death Valley, and the Grand Canyon. We raced at Phoenix, Barona, Famoso, Phoenix,

I did Rocky Mountain Race Week this summer in the Olds as well since the Coupe was apart. That was Kearney, Bandimere, Pueblo for 2 days, then back to Kearney. It was really nice to get a chance to race at Denver before the track permanently closed.

Of all the events, Drag Week is the most grueling. You race and you drive every single day. The other events have had days where you drive and you race, but also days where you only drive, and some down time to relax and have fun. I Like the other events a lot, but Drag Week is still the king.