Back in 2010, Holley came up with the idea of hosting an event to celebrate everything great about GM’s line of LS engines. After all, it seemed like the perfect way to show the company’s big move into electronic fuel injection (EFI) and all the parts they were churning out to make LS engines faster and swaps as painless as possible. This was the seventh September where Beech Bend Raceway in Bowling Green, Kentucky, has hosted the event, and it was the biggest yet.

Those “not in the know” might think an event just for the LS (and the new GM LT lineup) engine crowd might be too specific. Well, given the popularity of the platform, it wasn’t tough to sell out and fill the venue. In fact, the event has become so large that Holley added driving events at the NCM Motorsports Park (located a mile away) to handle the hundreds of cars looking to have some tire-squealing fun.

Keeping everyone entertained, Holley arranged for a number of activities. For those who wanted to drive, there were two autocross courses, a 3S “Speed Stop” Challenge, and of course, drag racing. There was also a small section to “fun run” the NCM Motorsports Park track or for a few bucks you could run the larger track. There was even a drifting demonstration and the loud, but stationary, Dyno Challenge. In addition to all of this our sister title Car Craft sponsored an event where two teams of wrench twisters competed to perform an LS engine swap in the fastest time. How fast can you pull a small-block, install an LS engine and go on a cruise? With a major prize awaiting the winner the answer this year was 1 hour and 26 minutes. (What was the major prize you ask? The winners kept all of the parts and pieces required to make the swap … now that’s a grand prize!) Add in a vendor’s midway showing off the latest and greatest LS products along with a smokin’ hot car show, and there was plenty to keep the thousands of spectators entertained. Except for a mid-afternoon Saturday squall, the weather was perfect for running both new and old Corvettes in the various venues.

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As expected, the field was thick with Corvettes with Danny Popp dominating both autocrosses and the 3S Challenge in Todd Rumpke’s badass C6 Z06. (Rumpke passed away prior to the event and Popp thought running Rumpke’s Vette would be a great tribute to his friend.) The big prize for the weekend was the Grand Champion (GC) award that is given to the driver that gathers the most points in the two autocrosses, dragstrip, and the 3S Challenge. Popp won it last year, so he was ineligible this year, but, if you do the math he would have won this year, too, in terms of points. At the end of the event Rumpke was named honorary Grand Champion of the event, a very fitting tribute. One third of the cars in attendance were Corvettes. In fact, 10 of the top 13 cars were Corvettes. No shocker there! Add in all the fast Vettes on the dragstrip and Corvettes had a great weekend in terms of racing success. So, if you have a new Vette or an older one with a modern mill, then mark your calendar and be sure to get in on the action next year.

Complete Event Results can be found at: Complete Event Results can be found at: https://www.holley.com/blog/post/2016_holley_ls_fest_overall_event_results/

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