Hot Rod Drag Week has hosted events as far West as Amarillo, TX, East as far as Acton, NJ, South to Montgomery, AL and North to Kaukauna, WI.

But, where have they been the most???

Where do you want them to host HRDW 2027?

What started as an offhand joke became one of the most recognizable names—and cars—in drag and drive. Matt Donovan’s “Garbage That Barfed” is a 9-second Gasser capable of winning anywhere it shows up. From the tire-shredding burnouts, orange helmets and unforgettable name is a story of constant improvement, hard work, and a racer who never forgot how much fun this is supposed to be.

I made the trip to Mo-Kan Dragway yesterday to see the cars and people of the second running of Sick 66. With a planned trip along Route 66, the cars that attended were ready for the track and the Mother Road as the 100th Anniversary moves into the final months. 186 racers took to Mo-Kan Dragway after a morning of rainfall. Many racers were worried they would cancel racing for the day, but Mo-Kan worked their butts off drying the track and staging lanes to give the racers a chance at the track.

So, just forget Larry Larson’s 5.977 pass at Drag Week 2026??

As with all things drag and drive, there are certain caveats that have to be made when considering records and feats. We don’t want a racer bringing a legit ProMod with some headlights taped on and blasting the record into oblivion on Day One while never actually driving one mile on the street. That can’t count, right?

No one has completed more Hot Rod Drag Week’s than the team of Steve Eden and Pete Holm. HRDW 2026 marked Steve and Pete’s 18th completion of one of the hardest car guy trips you can take. 

Historic Streak Continues

Beginning in 2007, Steve Eden and Pete Holm loaded Steve’s Nova down with slicks, tools, supplies and clothes to compete in the third annual Hot Rod Drag Week. Steve has told me that he “would have competed in the first one but didn’t hear about it until coverage came out in Hot Rod magazine. The next year, we didn’t have the car together in time.”

There may be no better way to celebrate the 100th anniversary of historic Route 66 than with the return of Edelbrock Sick 66, as 200 of America’s quickest street cars prepare to tackle one of the most ambitious drag-and-drive events in the country.

From September 26 through October 3, competitors will race and road-trip their way along Route 66, combining six days of drag racing with more than 1,400 miles of highway driving through the heart of America.

There is one rule for this award, you can’t have submitted a pass quicker than 11.50 throughout the week, just like any other index class. 

Congratulations to the Winners of the 11.50 for Fun Index Award at Hot Rod Drag Week 2026

#1: Thomas Van Tessel: 1991 Ford Mustang - 11.515 Avg (11.531, 11.535, 11.536, 11.515)

#2: Chuck Fryer: 1962 Volkswagen Beetle - 11.598 Avg (11.636, 11.618, 11.550, 11.58)

#3: Monte Buck: 1971 Chevrolet Chevelle - 11.628 Avg (11.537, 11.578, 11.794, 11.603)

Street Machine Eliminator Top 16 are separated by LESS THAN a TENTH.

For just the third time in class history, a Perfect Pass of 10.000 was submitted. Ryan Majchrowski put his ‘67 Dodge Dart on the number at 10.000 at 134 mph to lock in the Top Spot leaving Day One.

But, and it’s a biggggggg but, they have decided to change a few things……you know, four days before the event…..

A testament to Drag and Drive: I always wanted to write down my dad's and mine progression in the Drag N Drive experience. What is hard for me to fathom is my dad started doing these events when he was 58 years old. I am only 55 years old now and I appreciate what it takes to do these events for this long even at my young age. My dad is an iron man in my opinion in this sport. He is 79 years old and still can get in and out of the car better than me, and will always be the heart and driving force in our cars and efforts.

Ned’s first run tripped the beams at 3.963 at 202.55 mph, this was off the trailer and the car’s first trip down the track. This should give you an idea of the outright potential this car holds. After getting the car cooled and turned around, he put down a 3.981 at 199 mph. As the temperature rose, the track seemed to stay together but the timing clocks malfunctioned on his third pass, resulting in no times being displayed. As the final pass of the day, in the heat, the Viper rocketed to a 3.953 at 203.28 mph for their quickest pass of the day.

It is wild to think that a Naturally Aspirated Street Driven car can go this quick while also driving 1,000+ street miles in a single week. If you average his averages you end up with an 8.80. But, the last 10 years have all been quicker. In fact, since 2016, Doc’s Camaro dropped the average to 8.19 with one Seven Second average and three 8.0x averages. 

The consistency of racing the same car over the years, while continually adding power, makes this such a great story and should stand as a blueprint for most racers.

Three weeks before Hot Rod Drag Week 2026, Brian Acton and Jay Blanchard of Fast Act Racing, alongside a dedicated team from Baker Engineering, set out on an epic thrash nearly TWO Years in the making. Brian wanted to find out if there really is no replacement for displacement.

With Hot Rod Drag Week a month away, we wanted to touch base with the cars that are destined to run at the front. Get ready for updates from Larry Larson, as he makes his return after a 12 year break from HRDW, Ned Dunphy, the Quickest Man to ever do it with his Record Setting 6.17 Average from HRDW 2025, Dave Schroeder, whose nitrous Corvette has clocked the Quickest Pass of 2026 at 6.09, Ryan Hargett, who looks to debut a brand-new build that he feels can run up front with its Coyote powerplant, and hopefully Jeff Lutz, the man that held the Overall Record for nearly 10 years.

Heads Up Hustle 2026 gave racers an experience only available with this event. For three days, racers and copilots raced and drove 300+ miles in northern Ohio and southern Michigan. With tracks like Dragway 42 and Milan Dragway, racers were offered tracks that could handle anything thrown at them. We knew this event was going to be different from the very first round of passes.

50,000+ Street Miles. 32 Drag and Drive Events. Jesse Madaffari is one of the best people to ever do it.

Episode 159 of the Drag Drive Repeat Show, presented by Summit Racing, mixed a security masterclass, a full fuel-system breakdown, and international race results. Hosts Mike Narx and Eric White brought on CJ Stevenson (Side by Side Tracker/Sick GPS) and Mark Campbell (DeatschWerks) for two deep-dive conversations.

Goals?  Have fun, help others, meet others and make life long friendships. I’ve met people that we’ve kept in contact with by random chance and we just hit it off. Keep in touch and hang out when doing the events we happen to be at. Random texts or calls to see how a build is going or asking for advice. It’s cool to know people from Queens NY, Nashville TN, Canadian Yukon, Pittsburgh, Kansas, Arkansas, and the UK as examples

“Cool” is more than a description. It is a state of being. An innate quality. And if you look in the dictionary you might find a picture of Kelvin Poe and his yellow GTO. A fella that has been representing the drag and drive movement for over a decade.

Hey! Thanks for being part of the Drag Drive Repeat community! Our motto is “Your source for drag and drive News and Entertainment” and we are about committing to that like you’ve never seen from us.

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