Kansas’ Heartland Park Topeka was the destination for day two of Drag Week 2014, and already, we’re seeing some of the heavy hitters run into troubles early on in this brutal torture test.

As we reported in our day one recap, a full 18 cars head already dropped out of Drag Week before the close of the first day, and as the week rolls on, it’s only expected that more attrition will take place. But no one expected the reigning champion of Drag Week, and the early leader in the Unlimited category, Tom Bailey, to bow out early after a nearly flawless five days of competition a year ago with his Steve Morris Racing Engines-powered machine. Bailey cracked a cylinder head on his Camaro on a 6.61-second hit at Topeka, and despite the team’s efforts, it was later discovered that the engine block was also fractured, effectively ending Bailey’s run at a title defense. With his departure, that places Jeff Lutz in the hot seat with his “Evil Twin” ’57 Chevy, with a 6.733 average through the first two days of competition. Lutz, a many-time runner-up to Larry Larson at Drag Week, leads the five-time champion by a little over a tenth of a second in average elapsed time.

In Pro Street Power Adder, Mike Roy and his strong-running Monte Carlo have a commanding lead with a 7.66 average, while Eddie Miller and his Duster have nearly two full seconds on the Pro Street N/A field. The Modified Power Adder battle remains a tight one, with Chris Oetting and his ’68 Camaro leading with an 8.66 to second-place Kevin Clockers’ 8.78 from his Vega.

Browse our other photo galleries from Registration Day and Day One at Tulsa.

Keep up with Hot Rod’s own coverage of Drag Week, including their daily live feed, on the Hot Rod Magazine website.

Photos by Dominick Damato