Sick Week 2022 was the brain child of Tom Bailey, the driver of the world\u2019s quickest street car. The idea behind Sick Week was to feature the highest quality drag-and-drive cars ever assembled on the quarter-mile, whilst also providing a shorter and hopefully more enjoyable street drive between tracks, with the added bonus of possibly getting to the hotel early enough to share a beer at the end of each day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The event started on Sunday at Bradenton Motorsports Park. Sunday was tech day followed by a pre-party at the Freedom Factory. Monday was when Sick Week really began! <\/p>\n<\/div> Our first pass in the car EVER and our first pass on day 1 of Sick Week didn’t end the way any drag racer wishes to cross the 1\/4 mile mark. The Nova build was done to the best of our ability, with no stone unturned but unfortunately the ONLY hose on our car that wasn\u2019t held in place by an AN fitting, came loose, leading to water under the back wheels. At 7.63 seconds going sideways, this was the only fast pass we made during the week. <\/p>\n\n\n\n A top end crash on the drag strip is no small feat. Water underneath the tires at 160mph+ is enough to flip a car on its roof. We were very lucky that Stefan’s fast reaction to pull the chutes and shut off the power whilst still trying to steer the vehicle away from the wall, led to a safe stop with no injuries to himself or any of the components of the car other than the obvious body work. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The major damage was predominantly body work though the parachute mount was completely bent and had snapped in one place, and one of the two chute bags was shredded to nothing. The wing had concertinaed like a fan and the front passenger side fender was without a headlight, though miraculously, the bulb survived! The back drivers side corner was the first to hit the wall, hence the new shape of the wing. The front passenger side then impacted into the opposite wall, forcing the fiberglass hood to rip off away from the frontend, taking the dzus hood rails with it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Once the Bradenton safety staff had completed their checks and towed the car off the track, Stef was able to get a good look at what had happened in the engine bay. He was quick to notice the cause of the water spill, and was understandably angry that such a small thing could make such a huge impact. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The emotions quickly turned when the team realized it was a 7 second pass! Even though we crossed the 1\/4 mile line sideways, we were happy that the car (suspension and engine) performed well and happier still, when we realized the only thing stopping us from completing the week was the condition of the body and\/or our attitude!<\/p>\n\n\n\n We had already been on the road for over a week, from California to FuelTech in Georgia for a dyno day and then down to Florida for Sick week; so there was no way we were going to pull out of this event if there was any chance we could stay and complete the week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Back at the pits, Stefan and crew member Jerome, checked over every inch of the car and analyzed the Fueltech log. Besides the body panels and the flat spot on the tires, everything was in good working order. Luckily Mickey Thompson was a vendor at each track during Sick Week, and we had their last two 315 Radial Pros. Big thanks to Mike Finnegan for hooking us up with those and the MT guys for mounting them!<\/p>\n\n\n “The FuelTech log shows I was out of the throttle 2.1 seconds into the run, that\u2019s my first time feeling almost 3g\u2019s and it felt INSANE. I don\u2019t remember pedaling at all, maybe the G\u2019s lifted my foot from the throttle, who knows!”<\/p>\nStefan Rossi<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n We ran 4.80 @ 148mph in the 1\/8 with a slow 1.26 60ft and with pedaling at 2.1 secs (the orange line on the log is the TPS). The 60ft was slow because we pulled timing to ensure the car left straight and that we could get some good data from the pass on what the suspension was doing. This was also our first time running on a radial tire, our suspension settings worked and the car felt way more stable down the track than racing on big tires ever did. <\/p>\n\n\n\n After speaking to Tech Director Lonnie Grim about the damage and the possibility of continuing, it was determined that a few improvisations could be made to help see us down the track again. But first, we had to get to get some street driving taken care of.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ratchet straps were added as a temporary fix to help keep the front end panels from moving too much. The strongest Gorilla tape was used to make sure the damaged front and back bumpers were secure, and Stef & Jerome straightened out the wing by hand. The parachute mount was stored in the small 6′ x 4′ trailer, which is all the Drag-n-Drive teams are allowed to haul in order to be self sufficient. We were then ready to leave just before nightfall, to reach the two checkpoints of day one and then onto the hotel in Orlando.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Day 2<\/strong>‘s racing was supposed to take part at Orlando Speed World, but the Sick management team determined on Monday evening that the racing should be called off due to heavy rainfall that was due that day. Orlando was instead turned into a check point for the competitors and we were then to follow the directions to the two original check points thereafter.<\/p>\n\n\n After leaving Orlando Speed World, the rain came down and did not stop! Just 30 minutes away from the first official checkpoint at Daytona Beach, the rain would throw another issue at us. Having no hood, the engine bay was getting soaked and eventually led to Stefan and Jerome losing power on a bridge. They managed to roll back down to a safe place and check out the issue. <\/p>\n\n\n\n FuelTech’s FT Spark Ignition box is made with pro-mods in mind, not street cars with no hood, in a day long Florida downpour, therefore the rain seeped in and destroyed the internals. With help from FT’s owner Anderson Dick, we were able to source a local-ish FT dealer who were willing to offer us the FT Spark box off their own personal race car in order for us to continue! The only issue we had now, was the 160 mile round trip in an Uber that meant we would be back at the rain soaked car in the dark. Some plastic grocery bags were placed over the turbos and off we went on the 3 hour trip. <\/p>\n\n\n With the new FT Spark Ignition box fitted on the side of the road and ‘double bagged’ to keep it out of the rain, we were back on track to the checkpoints en-route to Gainesville for day 3<\/strong> of Sick Week. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Thankfully the next morning the sun was out in full force, meaning the grocery bags could come off the FT Spark box before a quick trip to Lowes for supplies to fix the front sheet metal.<\/p>\n\n\n The ratchet straps were replaced by metal braces, allowing us to get back down the track for Day 3<\/strong>. Although Stefan didn’t feel comfortable getting into the drivers seat for any more high powered passes this week, at least we could get a timing slip and stay in the competition, albeit a 10 second one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We arrived in South Georgia on the evening ready for the next day – Day 4<\/strong> at South Georgia Motorsports Park.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Once at SGMP, Stefan and Jerome carried out some maintenance on the center section, before welding the parachute mount back together where it had snapped upon impact with the wall on Monday. Big thanks to Doug Cook of Motion Racework’s for supplying a spare parachute bag!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Another timing slip was obtained and we left for dinner with some fellow Brits, Al and Paul in their single turbo Volvo, before heading back to Florida for the Don Garlits Museum checkpoint.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n A good nights’ sleep was had after the museum and a nice early start was made to get to back to Bradenton Motorsports Park for the fifth and final day of Sick Week 2022. We gained our last timing slip meaning we had successfully(?!) completed the week. It was both extremely relieving and quite sad at the same time!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Other than the obvious body work issue that arised, we are over the moon with how the car did during the week. The engine performed flawlessly, and we didn\u2019t have to remove the valve covers all week, thanks to our hydraulic roller set-up. The only maintenance we did to the engine throughout the whole event was spark plug and oil changes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Camera Shy Stef had his fair share of interviews throughout the week, with the penultimate interview being the acceptance of the “Sickest of the Sick” award!<\/p>\n\n\n\n We were all so surprised but absolutely honored to take home this awesome award. It was a humbling experience to know so many people had been watching and rooting for us! There are so many people we have to thank for their help and for making the week an experience like no other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A huge thank you to all the vendors for their badass parts. Without them these events wouldn’t exist! <\/p>\n\n\n\n Our 1966 Nova and conventionally headed 427ci LS Next 2 was built by Stefan Rossi at ACE Racing Engines<\/a> consisting of Dart Machinery,<\/a> Callies Performance Products<\/a>, MGP Connecting Rods,<\/a>Ross Pistons<\/a>, Total Seal Piston Rings, <\/a>Clark Copper Head Gaskets, <\/a>Brian Tooley Racing, <\/a>Shaun’s Custom Alloy,<\/a>, Manton Pushrods, <\/a>RCD Engineering, Inc, <\/a>ARP<\/a>, Dailey Engineering, <\/a>Peterson Fluid Systems<\/a>, System 1 Filters, <\/a>Aeromotive Fuel Systems<\/a>, FuelTech<\/a>, Turbosmart<\/a>, Gear Vendors, <\/a>Strange Engineering<\/a>, Dynamic Drivelines<\/a>, Driven Racing Oil, LAT Racing Oil. <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Thank you to our sponsors – Dart (heads), Garrett<\/a> (turbos) and Sander Engineering<\/a> (wheels).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Shout out to Nick Evdos<\/a> at BTR for the record breaking hydraulic roller camshaft, and to Pete Nichols<\/a> for the billet converter that makes this all work! Jacob for track side and 24 hour assistance, Garrett Chastain<\/a>, Lu\u00eds de Leon<\/a>, Anderson Dick and the rest of the FuelTech crew for helping us break the LS Hydraulic Roller HP record the week before Sick Week and tuning the Turbosmart E-gates. Pro Line Racing<\/a> for letting us use their shop. Thanks to Doug Cook<\/a> for the chute bag, Justin Martin<\/a> and Larry Larson<\/a> for the suspension tips and to Mike Finnegan<\/a> for the tires! When we broke down in the rain Robert Willinger<\/a> came to the rescue with the tailgate of their hire car so that we could work somewhat out of the rain. Thank you to all the photographers, professional and hobbyists, that captured all these amazing memories. And of course to Tom Bailey<\/a>, Luke Nieuwhof<\/a> and the rest of the Sick team for putting on such a badass event! To everyone here in the US and back in the UK that supported us and kept us going throughout the week- thank you! Hopefully next year we can do you all proud and maybe come away with a guitar! <\/p>\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/ace-engines.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Photo-Feb-06-18-07-27-1024x768.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n![\"SIck](\"https:\/\/ace-engines.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/SKC_1767-2-scaled.jpg\")
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