Holley LS Fest West: Third Stage Ignition!

Fans of the new-gen small-block Chevy light the third stage of the LS rocket!

For guys who like power, standing in the midway of the Holley LS Fest West is a surreal experience. To one side is a three-acre patch of pavement where Corvettes and Camaros are pounding hard through cones, on the other side is the drag strip where doorslammers grapple for traction and reach for the sky, and above your head is a formation of F-18 Hornets on full afterburner screaming overhead. Even the interstate highway adjacent to the track has a 75mph speed limit that folks back east can only dream of. There is so much octane in the air here that one becomes nearly giddy with the overload of choices.

The Grand Champion Road Course Challenge happens at the 1.7-mile road course at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Here, competitors are segregated into groups for their experience and vehicle performance.

The irony is that perhaps three days is simply too short to enjoy all the stuff you want to see and do at the Holley LS Fest West, which is presented in 2018 by Car Craft magazine (May 4 – 6, 2018). As Sunday unfolds—the third and final day of LS Fest West—spectators, drivers, vendors, and the press have a newfound sense of urgency: having leisurely watched one or two of their favorite things for two days, the realization sets in that there’s a whole bunch of cool stuff they haven’t yet experienced.

The Holley LS Fest West is a family-friendly event, which is why Kevin Mullen brought his two daughters, Kyndall (2) and Jayde (5). “I like this car because it’s purple!” says Kyndall. We like it too, but the transplanted LS3 is what got us excited.

Among the activities we’ve yet to report on are the Grand Champion Road Course Challenge, the DiabloSport Side Show Donut Pit, the Hoover Dam Poker Run, the Off-Road Challenge, the Hoonigan Thunderdome, the S3 Challenge, the Off-Road Challenge, and the burnout contest. (We’re forgetting some for sure…) And we’re usually quite happy with just drag racing, a car show, and some autocross! In the end, however, we just couldn’t get to all of these things, but we made a really strong effort.

When we saw Andy Trujillo’s 1972 C-10 in the pits on Saturday, we perhaps didn’t fully understand how violent a ride it is with its F1x Procharger, Holley HP EFI, and 427ci LS3. Andy had it on the bumper for a solid 100 feet.

For all but a few who live in the area, Las Vegas as a motorsports destination is a pretty grueling journey from any corner of the country, but the payoff on that investment—if it’s LS Fest West—is huge. Holley has always been at the forefront of performance and innovation, so we don’t find it strange that they also apply the same level of excellence as it pertains to event planning. All we can say is that Car Craft is proud to be a part of such a well-oiled machine.

Max Ziebell’s 2005 Subaru Legacy GT wagon is just one of many imports turning to LS power. The lesson here that foreign automakers need to learn is that Americans want V8 power. Toyota, Nissan, and even Hyundai have V-8s in their portfolio already, but apparently have no idea what to do with them. Little car + big engine = much fun!

Among the highlights from day 3 was the Hoonigan Thunderdome. These guys had a self-contained sideshow that was part car show, cage match, giveaway, smoke show, and demolition derby. Hoonigan even brought their own grandstands and a bumpin’ PA system to really get the crowd involved. (The Hoonigan fans were by far the most animated spectators at LS Fest West.) With no real quantifiable scale or clock to define performance, it’s all about how much the driver wants to thrill the crowd, and how much the crowd and emcee can encourage the driver.

Dario Gaiga (Calgary, Alberta) heats the tires before another 8-second pass in his 1976 Chevy Chevette. Remember what we said about little car + big engine = much fun? Here’s an example for ya! It weighs 2,350 (empty) and is powered by a stock 5.3L short-block with older CNC-ported NASCAR Camping World Truck Series heads and twin Borg-Warner S369 turbos.

Elsewhere, car crafters and drivers focused on their driving skill and track set-up for the Grand Champion Challenge, a timed road course event on the 1.7-mile road course. Wide open with lots of safe run-off area, the high-speed grip facility had drivers exploiting the power of their LS engines with abandon. Here, new Corvettes and Camaros diced it up with LS-swapped muscle cars, trucks, and imports. Drivers were divided into groups based on their level of experience and equipment; this avoids problems associated with faster cars closing in on slower cars—something neither group wants.

QA1 always has new suspension goodies coming out, and Eric Morrow was pretty excited about their front suspension for Chevy C-10 trucks. “We can get your C-10 to handle like a sportscar,” Eric told us about QA1’s modular system. Priced competitively, the pieces in their C-10 system can be added as time and money allows. (www.QA1.net, 800-721-7761) You can also choose to retain a stock coil spring/shock set-up, or convert to a single- or double-adjustable coilover shock.

In a first for us, we also took in the Off-Road Challenge at the dirt track. (Those who want to see what it’s all about should go to the Car Craft Facebook page to watch the playback of the live video feed.) We were impressed with the level of car building this requires, as these vehicles really take a beating when they launch off dirt ramps and come down hard. The course had been specially prepared by professional off-roaders with bumps, jumps, and banked turns.

Brian Monello (near lane) goes heads-up against Blade Boubon in the finals for LS 275 Outlaw.

Taking a more balanced approach to street performance was the Baer Brakes 3S Challenge. Think of it as a drag race, but with turns and stopping. (3S stands for speed, stop, steer.) Two cars run simultaneously in parallel tracks with opposite turns, then switch lanes and do it again. The two left-/right-side times are added together, and the fastest aggregate e.t. is the winner. This exercise happened where the regular autocross had been for Friday and Saturday, but was re-coned for the new layout.

Rick Shewell (ST. George, UT) must be a solid friend to car owner Bret Madsen, because Bret left Rick to do the dirty work on his 413ci, 2.9L Whipple-charged, LS3-powered ’68 Camaro! The new set-up had teething problems and needed a colder set of plugs to quell some detonation issues.

With each successive year, Holley and their partner tracks (Beech Bend and The Strip At Las Vegas) develop and refine ways to improve the driver and spectator experience, and as a result LS Fest and LS Fest West are two of the most professionally run events we attend all year. (And that’s a LOT of events.) With all this goodness coming to fans of the new-gen Chevy small-block, we have to wonder when the same attention will be paid to Chrysler Hemi and Ford Coyote fans. Yes, there are plenty of events and promoters catering to that audience, but it just isn’t the same. Holley truly has the DNA of running an engine-specific event down pat, and when they do turn their attention to the others, they will be winners for sure!

See More Holley LS Fest West!

Check out Friday’s giant preview gallery here: http://www.hotrod.com/articles/huge-holley-ls-fest-west-preview-gallery-las-vegas/

Day 2: Turn It Up To 11!: http://www.hotrod.com/articles/holley-ls-fest-west-day-2-turn-11/

Join Us For LS Fest West: https://www.lsfest.com/west/

HOLLEY LS FEST WEST DRAG RESULTS

LS Outlaw 275