Sick Summer drag and drive race burns rubber through Cedar Rapids

Cedar Rapids saw a parade of hundreds of hot rods Thursday as part of Sick Summer, an event that combines two distinctly American things: road trips and drag racing.

The drag and drive race challenges car lovers to drive street-legal drag-race cars to five Midwest race tracks in five days following a set route. At each track, cars run quarter-mile time trials for crowds of fellow hot rod lovers.

The drag-race cars must be driven to each track, stopping at check points along the way. If something breaks, racers can make repairs, but they can only rely on the tools and parts they or other racers brought with them.

HotRods by Havliks in southwest Cedar Rapids served as a check point Thursday as racers made their way along the route after completing runs at TriState Raceway in Earlville. This marked day four of the race.

‘It’s been such a long journey’

At the racetrack, Tony Wisman of West Liberty was in high spirits. The Gazette previously reported that Wisman had been rebuilding his ‘69 Dodge Dart GT for 12 years — much of it with the help of Brian and Jesse “Jes” Havlik at HotRods by Havliks. Hours before Sick Summer tech testing began, Wisman’s hot rod started.

“We drove it literally a block up the road and a block back and loaded it up,” Wisman said.

  Buy Photo

His 23-year-old daughter Tamra Wisman surprised her dad by taking the week off work to watch him race. Tamra is set to inherit the ‘69 Dodge Dart GT, which Tony bought when she was 11.

“I am so proud of him; it is an understatement,” Tamra said. “That first pass on Monday after he came back around, I was in tears. I was so happy. It’s been such a long journey. I’ve seen him get defeated by it and then he gets excited again and then defeated. So this week was so great.”

At the last minute, Wisman’s 15-year-old son Carter Wisman asked to ride with Tony and his co-pilot, Tony’s brother Chris.

  Buy Photo

“I’m like, well yeah. Family comes first and these are memories that will live forever,” Tony said. “My family has been following me around all week and keeping everybody posted because I haven’t been able to ‘cause it’s been go, go, go [and] thrash, thrash, thrash.”

Wisman almost had to pull out of the race Wednesday when a distributor cap rotor blew up while doing a burnout and set the car on fire underneath the dashboard.

“The last pass that we got, another friend of Brian’s [Havlik] had the part but he was in line [to race] and the lanes were closed,” Wisman said.

Meanwhile, the tracks were set to close in minutes. If Wisman couldn’t make the pass, he would be out of the race.

“I was actually getting in the car as they were putting the part on,” Wisman said.

He was able to make his pass and stay in the race.

Drag racing in Iowa’s neck of the woods

Central City residents Anita and Gerald Silver brought their grandkids to TriState Raceway for the event Thursday. The Silvers said the boys are “gear heads” and love drag racing.

“We have a couple cars at home,” Gerald said. “Every time the car fires, they’re in it. So they like the noise and the smell of the fuel. It’s a family tradition, I guess.”

  Buy Photo

Typically, the Silvers have to drive to Illinois or Minnesota for car events.

“[I] never thought we’d see one this close to home, which is cool,” Gerald Silver said. “It makes it easy to bring the grandkids and come see an event like this and expose them to something like this.”

What it’s like to drive Sick Summer

Brian and Jes Havlik love the challenge of drag and drive races and have competed in the past, individually and together with Jes as the co-pilot.

This is not the type of road trip with car karaoke and spontaneous sightseeing. The co-pilot’s job is to ensure they stay fed, hydrated and in the race. Jes described the in-car dynamic.

“When we’re driving the car it’s more like, ‘Did you hear that?’, ‘Does that sound OK?’, ‘Should we pull over?’, that’s what our conversations are,” Jes said. “But the first day, it’s not too bad, but you get towards the end of the week and you start hearing noises and you start hearing things that don’t seem right. That’s the main conversation.”

  Buy Photo

When the Havliks heard Sick Magazine was planning a Midwest route for Sick Summer 2023, they volunteered their shop as a checkpoint for the race. This invited hundreds of hot rods and drag-race cars to the city.

“I guarantee you it’ll be the most horsepower driving through Cedar Rapids, ever.” Brian said.

Brian Havlik competed in Sick Summer 2023 with his 17-year-old son Briar Havlik as co-pilot. Unfortunately, engine problems cut their trip short.

Sick Summer kicked off at Cordova Dragway in Illinois on June 5. After racing in Illinois and Wisconsin, racers came to Iowa before returning to Cordova Dragway to complete the route.

Comments: bailey.cichon@thegazette.com