LS Fest West 2018

Fans of GM’s All-Conquering V8 Gather in Las Vegas

It’s hard to believe, but 2018 marks the 21st anniversary of the introduction of the original LS1 engine for the 1997 model year. In those two decades, the LS family of V8 engines has become all things to all people and has been swapped into practically everything that moves – not just cars ranging from Mustangs to hot rods, but boats, aircraft, and even helicopters. 

It’s easy to make power with these inexpensive and anvil-tough engines, and if you can’t find the parts you want in a junkyard waiting to be reborn, the aftermarket has you covered with everything you need; blocks, internal components, engine management, and even swap kits to make installation paint-by-numbers simple. 

Recognizing how important the LS engine had become, back in 2010 Holley Performance Products organized their first LS Fest in Bowling Green, Kentucky, and ever since then, the annual event has drawn larger and larger crowds, with participants coming from all corners of the continent. It’s more than a car show, though – there’s something going on from the time the gates open until they close, on the dragstrip, the drift and autocross circuit, the chassis dyno, or the swap challenge tent. “An assault on the senses” is sort of a cliché, but it’s a totally appropriate description for a day at LS Fest.

In 2017, Holley added a second event to the schedule, the LS Fest West, taking over the sprawling dragstrip and motorsports complex at The Strip in Las Vegas, Nevada. May 2018 marked the second annual spring event, and as anticipated, it was even bigger than the inaugural LS Fest West.

“The best way I can put it to you is that LS Fest events are a party,” says Holley’s Blane Burnett. “Sure, there are competitions that take place within the event, but for the most part, everyone is here to enjoy what they’ve built and have a good time.” In case you think that Burnett might just be saying that to earn a paycheck, know this – He’s a True Believer with the cleanest daily-driven (and autocrossed) LS-swapped Nissan S14 you’ve ever seen. 

Speaking of swaps, one of the most striking things about LS Fest West 2018 was the sheer variety and number of LS-powered vehicles on the property. While the event runs three full days, it’s almost not enough time to take it all in, between all the various competitive events including drag racing, drifting, a road course time attack, and even off-road competition, then trying to see everything in the show-n-shine. 

We only got to experience a fraction of everything that was going on this year, but as you can see, if you are a fan of late-model GM performance (no matter what is wrapped around that engine) there’s a compelling reason not to miss LS Fest West 2019.

Holley Performance LS Fest West 2018

Who knew you could have so much variety from just one engine design? Holley Performance LS Fest West was the perfect way to show that and celebrate all things GM and LS V8.

LS Fest has been a staple of Holley Performance since 2010 but the West was begging for their own event. So, last year, Holley brought their famed celebration to Las Vegas and with it came a variety of automotive disciplines to show off the amazing LS engine. 2018 brought some changes, improvements, and expansions with two new exhibitions.

One of the substantial changes that came this year was combining the Autocross, 3S Challenge, and Drifting into a single area. This made getting to and from those events and the off-road or drag racing a much shorter trip. Not far from it were the new attractions – the Hoonigan “Thunderdome” and Mr. Chow’s Side Show, a demonstration of the NorCal car stunting culture that normally takes place illegally on city streets. Basically, it’s doing donuts in an enclosed area but doing so legally as compared to what normally happens.

Drag racing and LS engines just go together, so of course The Strip would be open for all three days with the Three Pedals Rumble, Cam Motion True Street, SAM Tech Street King, Vortech Late Model Heads-Up, Earl’s LS Truck 1/8-mile and MSD LS Outlaw 275 1/8-mile classes. For those not looking for compete or just wanting to run for fun, Hooker Headers opened the drag strip to Grudge Racing and Test-and-Tune, as well.

Over on the off-road side, with the Nitto Tires Off-Road Challenge, Loren Healy in the MBRP/Nitto Ultra4 4400 rig took the win. This is his older 4400 that might have seen its last race with him behind the wheel of it. It’s potentially sold and his new Unlimited ready for Ultra4 Racing’s Metal Cloak Stampede at Prairie City SVRA on May 11th and 12th.

For on-road, it was dominance by Rich Willhoff and his 2006 Corvette Z06. On the QA1 Autocross Course, Willhoff set fastest time with a 32.067-second run while on the Super Chevy 3S Challenge, he finished first with a 26.174. The Racepak Road Course Challenge saw him on top for a third time with a 1:22.388 time. The Lucas Oil Drift Challenge brought out the youngest winner so far in LS Fest History with Branden Sorensen taking first place in LS-swapped 212 Performance BMW. Second went to Noah Michaels in his Torqstorm supercharged S13 Nissan 240SX while Ian McDougall took third in his Drift Shop S14 Nissan 240SX Coupe.

That was it from LS Fest West in 2018 and they have promised to come back with even more in 2019. We’ll be there as well and look forward to bringing it to you next May!