There are races. There are road trips. And then… there are Drag N’ Drive events such as Drag Week and Sick Week.
In a time when racing is increasingly polished, sanctioned, and compartmentalized, Drag Week and Sick Week rip the lid off tradition and drives straight into the heart of what hot rodding used to be—and what it still can be. It’s not just an event. It’s a rite of passage. It’s where horsepower meets hardship, where speed meets street, and where 400 of the baddest machines on Earth drive 1,000 miles just to run at five tracks… if they make it that far.
And if you’ve ever twisted a wrench at midnight under a streetlight in a Waffle House parking lot, or zip-tied a radiator hose just to make it to the next track—then you already understand.
Back to Where It All Started
In many ways, Drag Week is the ultimate throwback. Before big money, before big trailers, before cookie-cutter pro mods and race-only cars, there was you, your buddies, and your car. That car had to do it all—street and strip. Whether you were building it in your garage or borrowing parts from a friend of a friend, you ran what you brought and you hoped to God it held together.
Drag N’ Drive events bring that spirit back in full force.
These events draw hundreds of racers from around the country—and often beyond—meet up, line up, and hit the road. The rules are simple: drive the vehicle you race, no support vehicles, no backup rides. You race, you drive, you wrench. You repeat. From track to track, state to state, you rely only on your tools, your teammates, and your creativity. There are checkpoints, scenic byways, detours, and heartbreaks. And when it rains? You drive through it.
It’s a journey built for people who love cars—not just building them, not just racing them, but living in them.
Five-Second Passes on Radials and Registration Plates
If you’re wondering whether this is just a cruise with some racing thrown in, think again.
This is where five-second street cars make passes that rival NHRA Pro Mods. In 2019, Tom Bailey changed the game forever with a 5.998-second pass at 250 mph. His 1969 Camaro, Sick Seconds 2.0, is an engineering marvel—and a legal street car. That’s the kind of history Drag Week births. And every year, others push the limits even further.
You’ll see twin-turbo big blocks running on E85, small-tire Mustangs laying down low-7s, and even naturally aspirated sleepers sneaking into the top ten with nothing more than sweat equity and nitrous. Everyone is welcome. Everyone is tested.
Bragging Rights Are the Trophy
There’s no cash prize. No massive payout. No corporate spotlight. The reward? Bragging rights when comparing the cost of the ride and the cost to attend the week. A name in the books. Maybe a magazine feature. And the quiet pride of knowing you survived the week.
It’s brutal. It’s exhausting. And it’s the coolest damn thing in our sport.
Every year, stories pour out of cracked pistons, fried clutches, and miracle repairs. Entire engines have been swapped on the side of the road. Transmissions have been installed behind gas stations. Racers help each other, even as they compete—because that’s what this is all about. Hot rodding at its core.
Where Past and Future Collide
Here at DragCoverage, we’ve written about grassroots racing, about the return to back-of-the-truck hot rodding, about how true street cars represent the soul of the sport. Well, Drag Week and Sick Week ties it all together. It’s grassroots. It’s high-tech. It’s DIY. It’s elite.
The average Drag Week car isn’t average at all—it’s the product of nights in the garage, of blown paychecks, of lessons learned the hard way. But it’s also the future: EFI tuning, data logging, overdrive transmissions, and cooling systems built for gridlock and glory.
It’s where technology and tradition meet. Where garage-built dreams prove they can hang with anyone. Where you don’t need a million-dollar hauler to be the man.
A Rolling Legacy
Hot Rod Magazine gave us Drag Week, and Sick the Magazine gives us Sick Week, but the racers made it legendary. These events seem to be becoming more popular than ever as racers pour back to the roots of tradition.
From the old guys reliving their youth in steel-bodied Novas,to the new generation of 3D-printing brackets for twin-turbo Coyote swaps, everyone has a story. And Drag Week gives them a stage.
So is it the ultimate racing experience?
Hell yes, it is.
It’s the only one that demands you be a driver, a tuner, a mechanic, a navigator, and—sometimes—a miracle worker.
It’s not for the weak. It’s not for the lazy. But if you want to find the soul of drag racing again… look no further than the long, hot highways between these eventsstarting line and its final pass.
Because out there, in the middle of nowhere, on the back roads and pit lanes of America—that’s where legends are made.
-Kline
