A five-second stage has been set for Sick Week 2025 Presented By Gear Vendors Overdrive, with a brutal assortment of street legal machines preparing for what may be the quickest and fastest drag-and-drive event in history.
Ever since Tom Bailey’s historic 5.99 run at Hot Rod Drag Week in 2019, drag-and-drive fans have been waiting for a repeat of the feat. It seemed for a period that interest in the Unlimited class and its road-going Pro Mods had waned, but an explosion of new rides has put high expectations on Sick Week 2025 Presented By Gear Vendors Overdrive (January 27 – February 1).
The combination of excellent VP Racing track preparation and sea-level weather conditions will provide the ideal environment for quick times at the event, which was voted USA Today’s Best Motorsports Race for 2024 and Drag Illustrated’s Event of the Year in 2023.
One look at the field shows why anticipation of a new world record is at fever pitch. Brett LaSala’s “Snot Rocket” 3.0 Mustang will be in drag-and-drive competition for the first time, having already been as quick as 6.04 on the quarter-mile.
Bryant Goldstone (who won practically everything there was to win in 2024) is expected to have his new-to-him Corvette on track (the car once set a world speed record for Pro Mods at the hands of Melanie Troxel), while Sweden’s Stefan Gustafsson will also have his Pro Mod Camaro build out for the first time.
Street Outlaws star and drag-and-drive OG legend Jeff Lutz will be back with the “Mad Max” Camaro, as will Canadian nitrous addict Dave Schroeder — both cars have five-second potential. Throw in Tom Bailey himself, and it’s clear just how outrageous Sick Week 2025 Presented By Gear Vendors Overdrive will be.
LaSala’s Mustang is a fan-favorite thanks to its steel body and Coyote engine platform. He said his new 3.0 version is all about incremental improvements.
“There was nothing wrong with (2.0),” he said. “But as you try to go faster you reach limitations in different areas. It’s a lot of small changes, but in cars this fast, small changes create numbers.
“We haven’t run into a limitation yet with this car (in testing); it has been amazing. We will be continuing testing through December and January leading up to Sick Week and I believe it has the five-second number in there. Everything will have to be perfect on a run because we are at max efficiency.”
As for Goldstone, he is in a race against time to ready the final details of his Corvette. While LaSala transferred his driveline to the new Mustang, Goldstone is working on a new setup — an SMX built by his co-pilot Brian Robbins.
“We did some homework, and to likely run five-second runs, we’ll need 55-60 pounds of boost,” said Goldstone. “The current (big-block Chevy) engine in the AMC wants to lift the cylinder heads if we go past 42 pounds, and although it’s been reliable, we need more for the next step.
“I still have some work to do on the car, and I’m not going to compromise. We’ll go with the car tested and ready, or take the Javelin.”
And as for Tom Bailey himself? Between promoting a bunch of new Sick events and publishing Sick The Magazine, he’s finally had some time to give the Sick Seconds 2.0 Camaro a refresh with a sweet 1969 Pace Car livery and some love on the chassis (perfect to match Sick The Magazine’s current 1969 Camaro Pace Car Giveaway). He said Sick Week 2025 Presented By Gear Vendors Overdrive is primed to be the greatest street car drag racing event of all time.
“There’s something in the air for this year because there’s just so much potential everywhere you look,” he said. “The conditions are there, the cars are there, so there’s no excuses. Someone is going to smack one out of the park this year, and I hope it’s me, to be honest. We’ve got a car that has been 5.77 in drag-and-drive trim; we just need to do it in competition and survive the week.”
Tickets for Sick Week 2025 Presented By Gear Vendors Overdrive are now available at sickthemagazine.com/sick-week. Kids 12 and under are free.
This story was originally published on January 6, 2025. 
The post Sick Week 2025 Primed for Historic Happenings as the Fight for a Five-Second Pass Is On first appeared on Drag Illustrated.