The first day of Sick Week 2025 Presented By Gear Vendors Overdrive was a wild one, as the Super Bowl of drag-and-drive kicked off at South Georgia Motorsports Park.
Overnight rain left the track crew with much work to do and racing was delayed until 11am to create a safe racing surface. From there, over 380 racers took over as drama took hold and records fell. With each racer only getting one run reach, the pressure was on.
Leading after day one was last year’s Sick Week overall winner Brett LaSala and his Snot Rocket 3.0 Ford Mustang. LaSala drove to a 6.488 pass that he said should have been quicker.
“We had a couple of cylinders out that pass with an O2 sensor issue and it was running really rich, so it should have been a high 6.20,” he said. “A 6.48 is not where we want to be but we’re leaving number one. It’s unfortunate for who had aborted runs but it’s how these things go.”
Steve Morris and his unique Buick Roadmaster wagon raced to second place thanks to a 6.678, while Alex Taylor was happy to take a 6.711 for third place in her ’55 Chevy.
Event favorites Jeff Lutz and Tom Bailey are already out after horror starts. Lutz broke a rod in testing with his Mad Max Camaro on Sunday, while Bailey crossed the center line in his only pass of competition. Having lost his chance at a five-second average by taking a 20-second slip, Bailey decided not to chance the remainder of the event.
But the news was much better for some racers. Ed Ensor carded the quickest naturally aspirated pass in the history of drag-and-drive with a stunning 7.090 at 193.43mph.
The first six-second pass in the history of the Super Street class was made by Doug Cook with a 6.852/207.78mph, but the Nova torched a cylinder head through the finish line, leaving Cook with a long night of work ahead.
On a day where every racer would be one-and-done, getting down the track was what counted. Nine racers in total made six-second passes, with Graham Hayes (6.889), Les Smith (6.897), Nick Rinehart (6.949), Shayne Propst (6.961) and Glenn Hunter (6.991) all joining the club.
After a long day at the track, the hard part was only just starting with the longest drive of the week taking place right away, as a 320 miles separated racers at SGMP from Bradenton Motorsports Park. The day’s only checkpoint was at the brand new drag strip Lead Foot City, just outside Brooksville, Florida. Racers were given behind-the-scenes tours of the stunning new venue before continuing on their way south.
The second day of competition for Sick Week 2025 Presented By Gear Vendors Overdrive takes place at Bradenton Motorsports Park, with racing from 9am.
This story was originally published on January 29, 2025. 
The post Reigning Champion Brett LaSala Leads Day One of Sick Week 2025 first appeared on Drag Illustrated.