LS Fest X Is Coming—Are You Ready for the Madness?

Now in its 10th anniversary, LS Fest has showcased modern General Motors performance like no other event in the world.

On September 6 – 8, Holley LS Fest will take place at Beech Bend Raceway Park in Bowling Green, Kentucky, and the nearby National Corvette Museum Motorsports Park. And when it comes to showcasing the legendary LS-based engine family, there is truly nothing in the world that comes close to rivaling this event.

During the three-day festival of American muscle, the LS and modern LT engines are put to the test in just about every key form of motorsport, from drifting to drag racing to a multitude of handling-based competition such as autocross, time attack and more.

However, this isn’t just about racing. There is a huge show-n-shine area, a dyno competition, a burnout competition, preplanned cruise routes and the unique bolt-on challenge, so no matter what type of automotive events pique your interest, LS Fest has it.

LS Fest Participants

If you are not familiar with the LS Fest format, it is not open exclusively to vehicles which came from the factory with an LS1, LS2, LS3, LS7, LS9 or any derivative of the popular engine family. Any vehicle that is powered by an LS engine or a modern LT (LT1, LT4, LT5) engine is eligible, including non-General Motors’ vehicles that have been upgraded to a real performance engine.

Because of this, you will see a variety of import vehicles, as well as classics, trucks and lots of other assorted vehicles with an LS-swap from other American brands.

LS and LT Racing

The popularity of the LS and new LT engine families stem from their ability to shine bright in all sorts of motorsports venues, so it should come as little surprise that this festival of GM performance includes a bunch of racing. Of course, you have your basics such as drag racing, autocross, drifting and road course time attack, but LS Fest includes a few less common events including Track X and the 3S Challenge.

Track X takes place on a road course, but it has added gates that you would find on an autocross track, adding a heightened level of technical difficulty to each lap.

The “3S” in the 3S Challenger stands for speed, stop and steering, being slightly similar to autocross in the general layout. The competitors battle side-by-side on a cone course that includes a tight 180-degree turnout, a slalom and a stop box, so more than any other competition at LS Fest, the 3S Challenge really focuses hard on everything other than power.

Burnouts and Dyno Time

Next up, we have a couple competitions at LS Fest X that are literally all about power and nothing else, except for maybe some tire smoke. The burnout competition is an Aussie-style smoke show shootout with competitors tossing their vehicles around a large skid pad. We have included a video below as an example.

Of course, the Dyno Challenge is pretty self-explanatory, with competitors strapping down to the dynamometer to see who sends the most power to the rear wheels, with classes for Power Adders and Non-Power Adders.

It should be noted that the Dyno Challenge isn’t a class that you sign up for like the drag racing or autocross program. Instead, any vehicle that is registered for other classes at LS Fest can sign up for the dyno battle at the event on a first come, first served basis, so you aren’t likely to see a dyno queen take home this title.

Car Show, Cruise and the Bolt-On Challenge

Finally, for those who like a little more relaxed automotive experience, we have the quieter, calmer aspects of LS Fest X. This begins with the Show-N-Shine which is really a car show since there are classes and awards, while the “Countryside Cruise” allows attendees a chance to enjoy their LS-powered machine on the scenic roads of rural Kentucky.

Finally, the Bolt-On Challenge is another unique aspect of the event, but it is not what you think. Based on the name, you might think that it is a sort of dyno competition to see who can make the most power with simple bolt-ons, but it is actually nothing like that. The Bolt-On Challenge is literally a race to see who can properly disassemble a stock LS engine on a stand, adding aftermarket components such as the intake manifold, headers and other external engine parts.

The prices of LS Fest X vary depending on what you plan to do with your vehicle. For example, the three-day drag racing pass is $100 while the two-day road course time attack pass is $250 and the three-day car show pass is $60. As for spectators, it only costs $20 a day to visit both venues and enjoy all of the LS- and LT-based high performance fun.

For more information on the event, the competitions themselves, registration or tons more pictures and videos from past years, click here to visit the official LS Fest website.

Photos: Holley 

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Patrick Rall

"Before I was old enough to walk, my dad was taking me to various types of racing events, from local drag racing to the Daytona 500," says Patrick Rall, a lifetime automotive expert, diehard Dodge fan, and respected auto journalist for over 10 years. "He owned a repair shop and had a variety of performance cars when I was young, but by the time I was 16, he was ready to build me my first drag car – a 1983 Dodge Mirada that ran low 12s. I spent 10 years traveling around the country, racing with my dad by my side. While we live in different areas of the country, my dad still drag races at 80 years old in the car that he built when I was 16 while I race other vehicles, including my 2017 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat and my 1972 Dodge Demon 340.

"Although I went to college for accounting, my time in my dad’s shop growing up allowed me the knowledge to spend time working as a mechanic before getting my accounting degree, at which point I worked in the office of a dealership group. While I was working in the accounting world, I continued racing and taking pictures of cars at the track. Over time, I began showing off those pictures online and that led to my writing.

"Ten years ago, I left the accounting world to become a full-time automotive writer and I am living proof that if you love what you do, you will never “work” a day in your life," adds Rall, who has clocked in time as an auto mechanic, longtime drag racer and now automotive journalist who contributes to nearly a dozen popular auto websites dedicated to fellow enthusiasts.

"I love covering the automotive industry and everything involved with the job. I was fortunate to turn my love of the automotive world into a hobby that led to an exciting career, with my past of working as a mechanic and as an accountant in the automotive world provides me with a unique perspective of the industry.

"My experience drag racing for more than 20 years coupled with a newfound interest in road racing over the past decade allows me to push performance cars to their limit, while my role as a horse stable manager gives me vast experience towing and hauling with all of the newest trucks on the market today.

"Being based on Detroit," says Rall, "I never miss the North American International Auto Show, the Woodward Dream Cruise and Roadkill Nights, along with spending plenty of time raising hell on Detroit's Woodward Avenue with the best muscle car crowd in the world.

Rall can be contacted at QuickMirada@Yahoo.com