If it is powered by an LS or current-generation LT engine, you will probably find it at the ninth annual Holley LS Fest September 7-9 at Bowling Green’s Beech Bend Raceway Park. Gearheads from all over the country will converge on Southern Kentucky, drawn by the biggest celebration of General Motors’ all-conquering LS and current gen-LT engines in the country. Street rods, muscle cars, racecars, and trucks will be everywhere, and there’s sure to be something for everyone in attendance – drifting, drag racing, auto crossing, a 3S challenge, and a dyno exhibition, to name just a few. Read on to learn more about the largest automotive event in south central Kentucky, and don’t forget to mark your calendars!
SCOGGIN-DICKEY PARTS CENTER DRAG RACING
Take in all the smoke and noise as high-powered LS machines battle side-by-side on the full quarter-mile drag strip at historic Beech Bend Raceway Park, one of the top tracks in drag racing since the 1960s.
New for 2018 – the Lil’ John Motorsports Stock Block Shootout and the Monster Clutch Stick Shift/Banger Class. These classes join an already stacked class roster at LS Fest. The Lingenfelter COPO Battle At The Green class is designed specifically for Chevrolet’s COPO Camaros. These factory-built racecars come straight from General Motors with Holley EFI, Holley manifolds, and Earl’s oil coolers. Race your ride or watch the thrilling action from the stands!
Other available classes are the Frankenstein Engine Dynamics Late Model Heads Up class, Magnuson Superchargers Drag Radial, Three Pedals Rumble (Index), Sam Tech Street King, Scoggins Dickey Chevrolet Performance Stock, and Cam Motion True Street!
If your car vehicle doesn’t fit into one of the standard LS Fest drag classes, the Speedtech Grudge Test-N-Tune class lets anyone run all weekend!
QA1 AUTOCROSS
The twisting, challenging NCM Motorsports Park course puts drivers and vehicles to the test every year. But don’t just watch everybody else having all the fun – climb behind the wheel yourself and take on a course that features all kinds of curves, including chicanes, wide sweepers, hairpins, and slaloms. This moderate-speed event is a perfect showcase to prove which car and driver exhibit the best acceleration, handling, and braking.
BAER BRAKES 3S CHALLENGE
The 3S Challenge tests drivers in three essential driving skills: speed, stopping, and steering. This event merges aspects of autocross and speed/stop into a single competition where drivers push their vehicles right to the limit on two different courses, knowing in the back of their minds that if they a strike a single course marker or cone they’ll be disqualified.
LUCAS OIL DRIFT CHALLENGE
Bring your family and bring your friends to watch some of the craziest driving in motorsport! Lightweight, rear-wheel drive, and, of course, LS powered, these cars and their talented drivers are a sight you do not want to miss. This invitation-only showdown showcases experienced drivers from around the country who kick up incredible clouds of smoke while expertly sliding their rides around a predetermined course, oftentimes door-to-door during competition. Sharp-eyed judges will rate their driving performance in four key areas – line, speed, angle, and overall style.
FORGELINE WHEELS ROAD COURSE CHALLENGE
The Road Course Challenge is designed for one thing: to let drivers of all skill levels make as many laps as possible on the two-mile West Course of the NCM Motorsports Park over the course of Friday and Saturday at LS Fest. Weather permitting, a total of ten 20-minute track sessions will be conducted during the challenge. Naturally, it’s open to any make and model of vehicle powered by a LS or current-gen LT engine, and prizes are awarded to participants in three different categories for the fastest lap – expert, intermediate, and novice.
THE TUNING SCHOOL DYNO CHALLENGE
At LS Fest, fun and excitement aren’t just confined to the racetrack. The Dyno Challenge is the perfect stage for engine builders to show just what they’ve been able to accomplish with the LS platform. Any registered LS Fest participant can stick his or her entry on the dyno and find out just how much power they really have under the hood, and first-, second-, and third-place prizes will be awarded to the top power producers in both Power Adder and Non-Power Adder divisions.
PSI CONVERSIONS SHOW-N-SHINE
Feast your eyes on one hot rod, muscle car, rat rod, and classic after another in an endless sea of amazing LS-powered machinery. Every kind of wild build you can imagine – and a ton of non-GM vehicles you’d never think could be powered with an LS engine – will be on display, and hard-fought awards will be presented in more than a dozen different individual categories.
HOOINGAN BURNOUT CHALLENGE
No LS Fest would be complete without blinding clouds of billowing tire smoke, the sound of eight cylinders screaming at high RPM, and the smell of burning rubber. The Hoonigan Burnout Challenge just so happens to be the perfect place to see, hear, and smell it all. Set for Saturday night, right before the Drift Challenge, it’s an “Aussie-style” competition where the only limit to each driver’s performance is his or her imagination and the clock. There’s an established area on the oval that drivers must stay within, but other than that it’s wide open.
BRIAN TOOLEY RACING BOLT-ON POWER CHALLENGE
In this always-exciting spectacle, two teams of talented mechanics compete head-to-head with their own LS-powered vehicles to see who can pick up the most power on a percentage basis. Both squads will be handed a car enthusiast’s dream of performance components from Brian Tooley Racing, Holley EFI, and other quality brands. Their task: to choose the right components to generate the highest percentage increase in horsepower. Only one team will roll off the chassis dyno as the winner, but both teams will keep the Holley EFI systems they install during the event.
AMERICAN POWERTRAIN TRACK X
Merging the most challenging aspects of both autocross and road-course racing in a single event, Track X competition involves a series of gates and chicanes on the east portion of NCM Motorsports Park. Driving skill and car setups are critical in this increasingly popular event segment of LS Fest that’s open to all autocross and all-access drivers.
BOWLER PERFORMANCE TRANSMISSIONS COUNTRYSIDE CRUISE
The Countryside Cruise is unlike any other portion of fast-paced, action-packed LS Fest. It’s a laid-back break from fierce competition at the racetrack and an opportunity to socialize with other participants and their families and friends. The highlight is a digital scavenger hunt that involves a map and a checklist of items that must be photographed as the driver and ride-along photographer traverse the scenic pre-planned route.