Tom Bailey Rockets to NHRA Fame with 263-mph Chicago Run

Tom Bailey made history at the 2025 NHRA Peak Street Car Shootout in Chicago with a run that everyone in the racing world is still talking about. On May 20, Bailey drove his twin-turbo 1969 Camaro down the dragstrip at Route 66 Raceway and crossed the finish line at 263 mph.

This was the fastest pass ever by a door car at an NHRA national event, and it happened in a car that’s street legal and registered for regular driving. Bailey even mentioned that he lifted off the throttle just after 1,100 feet, joking that the car hadn’t even been set to its hottest tuneup.

Bailey isn’t a full-time pro racer but has become a legend for what he does with street/strip cars. His story started with a 1976 Jeep J10, running down backroads and racing at small Ohio tracks.

He stepped away from racing for a stretch to focus on his family and work, but a magazine article about Drag Week brought him back. He found a 1969 Camaro on eBay, built it into a race car, and made his first Drag Week appearance in 2010.

Since then, he has chased the goal of building the world’s quickest street car, leading to his creation of the famous Sick 1.0 and then the even stronger Sick 2.0 versions of his Camaro.

Every run Bailey makes carries a bit of history. He’s competed at the highest levels of the street car scene, including appearances at major NHRA events like the U.S. Nationals.

The Chicago run in 2025, however, stood out. Despite sharing the weekend with powerful Pro Mods and 330-mph Top Fuel cars, Bailey’s Camaro drew much of the attention.

After the run, he said, “It was straight as an arrow. Didn’t need to pedal it. I just pointed it, and it went.” That smooth but blistering pass set a new mark for what’s possible with home-built cars.

A big part of Bailey’s achievements comes from his crew, especially his son Aydan. Now 22 years old, Aydan has grown from helping with small tasks like tire pressure at the track to handling tune-ups that unleash over 4,000 horsepower.

Bailey credits these moments, working with his son and his close-knit crew, as some of the most rewarding parts of his racing career. Fans and fellow racers have compared Bailey’s record run to big moments from the past, including Kenny Bernstein’s legendary 300-mph milestone.

Yet Bailey says his car “doesn’t even feel like 263” when it’s running right—it just feels smooth and controlled.

Bailey’s drive has always come from the challenge to go faster, and to prove that garage-built street cars can compete with the sport’s best. Many see his 263 mph pass as a victory for every enthusiast who works late nights in their own shop, testing new ideas and refusing to give up on their goals.

Achievements like this echo the NHRA’s grassroots spirit, a tradition dating back to Wally Parks and now entering its 75th year.

After the record-setting run in Chicago, Bailey went on to win the Peak Street Car Shootout event. Not content with a single record, he’s already looking forward to his next event: Sick On the Green at Beech Bend Raceway in Kentucky, scheduled for May 29-31.

For now, Bailey’s run in Chicago goes into the books as an official NHRA milestone and a new standard for what a street/strip car can achieve. Bailey says he’s just waiting for his certificate—proof to hang on the wall that, on one spring day in Chicago, a door car did something nobody had seen before.

Nicholas Rivera

Nicholas Rivera delivers NHRA Top Fuel and Funny Car news, including eliminator-round results and reaction-time stats. He brings track-side interviews, contender profiles, and championship-point breakdowns straight from drag-racing’s biggest national events.