Holley LS Fest Brought the Best of LS V8s to the Beech
As the smoke cleared from the 2025 iteration of Holley LS Fest East, the original event famous for all things LS-powered wrapped up perhaps its most popular year yet.
Tens of thousands of gear heads made the pilgrimage to Beech Bend Raceway in Bowling Green, KY, just down the road from the Corvette factory, to either participate in or bare witness to a grand celebration of GM's venerable power plant in all its variations. With drag racing, autocross, drifting, off-road, burnout contests and a car show spread among the grounds—if you were there and not entertained, you simply weren't trying. From sunup until after sundown, the throaty roar of GM's legendary V8 filled the air for almost three full days, despite some intermittent rain showers on Friday and Saturday.
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If it has an engine bay, you can put an LS V8 in it.
Not Just Hot Rods and Dragsters
Wandering through the car show, one could find an LS-swap in just about every platform you could think of. Traditional old-school American cars? By the droves. A Land Rover Defender? Check. Ford F-250? Yep. An '80s Toyota Celica? Why not? There was a good chance that no matter what you drove, one of the dozens of vendors on hand could sell you something to make your LS-powered dreams come true.
Off the pavement in the newly revamped off-road course, Ultra4 competition took center stage with Phillip McGilton ultimately taking top honors in the final race of the weekend in the 4400 unlimited class, with Paul Horschel and Bill McGibbon bringing home silver and bronze, respectively.
Autocross is the most accessible form of motorsports as all you need is enough empty space, some cones, and people to chase them when knocked over.
On the autocross course, competitors in multiple classes ran time attack-style to get the fastest time around the cones. From new C8 Corvettes to vintage square bodies, S-10s to Monte Carlos, the field varied just as wildly as the drag racing staging lanes. Taking home top honors was multi-year winner Danny Popp in a borrowed '25 Corvette E-Ray, with Rob Unser (yes, that Unser family) standing in second place with his Speedway Motors Cobra Kit car. Third place went to Christopher Jensen, piloting his '86 Mazda RX-7 with a smattering of literal Home Depot aero parts.
Nothing beats the wheels up excitement of quarter-mile drag racing.
Though drag racing is at the heart of LS Fest, the intermittent rain showers Friday and Saturday caused several competition delays and the straight-line shenanigans were forced to call it a day early Friday evening and didn't get to fully resume until late afternoon Saturday. Despite the setbacks, competitors and fans alike remained vigilant and track staff worked tirelessly to dry and prep the track for fierce competition across ten categories, ranging from “run what ya brung” to fully built, seemingly unlimited budget builds.
Sliding Around the Beech Bend
The LS V8 has been the top engine of choice among those who live life sideways.
Saturday evening brought the LS Fest Drift Challenge top sixteen competition, an event that is arguably the most popular of the storied weekend. Over 80 drivers registered, just under 50 showed up, and after having completed the Top 32 competition earlier Saturday in the rain, drivers and fans were excited for a complete smoke-show in dry conditions. Talent from grassroots regulars to Formula Drift and Prospec series drivers ensured a diverse competition field, with 2024 champion and FD driver Connor O'Sullivan back to defend his title. Regulars and fan favorites Dirk Stratton, Jonathan Nerren, Jonathan Hurst, and Hooman Rahimi made sure no driver had an easy path to victory.
Raising Hell and Praising Dale is the motto of Taylor Hull as of recently.
Taylor Hull, who last won the 2018 and 2019 drift challenge, emerged on top once again but the win was anything but gifted. Piloting one of the only GM G-body cars in the sport, complete with a Dale Earnhardt-themed livery with the famous stylized “3” on the doors, the former FD driver went to all-out war against current Prospec driver Brian Hoplamazian and his Nissan S13 in the finals. In the first battle of the finals, Hull's follow run was all but flawless and he stuck like glue to Hoplamazian's door from outer zone one until the end. When they switched positions, Hoplamazian dove too deep transitioning to outer zone two and straightened out. He caught up to Hull coming into the final turn in another dive, trying to out-intimidate the Intimidator imitator and making contact, but it was too little too late for the judges who had decided the winner.
Down Unda Burnouts
It may not be drifting, but the Burnout Wars were on fire, literally.
As if everyone in attendance hadn't inhaled enough tire smoke for a weekend, after the drift competition was over the Burnout Wars competition started. Arguably this was the rowdiest event of the weekend. Nearly 40 competitors, with several from Australia in their RHD Holdens, lined up to absolutely punish their engines and tires. The format was simple: each had two minutes to enter the burnout area aggressively, pop their tires, and then drive off the pad. Many kept on banging the rev limiter until headers glowed an eerie red, clutch plates liquefied, flames shot out the exhaust or the vehicle itself was on fire.
Yes, it really was that insane inside the burnout box.
It was, perhaps, the truest torture test of machine endurance of the event. Texas Speed & Performance handled the judging, with Kyle Douglas and Ricky Bass taking first and second, while Craig Bailey, Seth Ritter and Kevin Smith tied for third.
It was an exciting end to LS Fest East, but Mopar and Ford action comes later for Holley and Beech Bend Park!
It is obvious, but as expansive as LS Fest was for 2025, it only stands to grow larger in 2026. For those who can't be bothered with the LS engine, Holley also has the Moparty for the Mopar crowd and Ford Fest putting all-things Blue Oval front and center. You can catch all these events in 2026 at Beech Bend Park in Bowling Green, Kentucky.
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