If you were to try to describe to a non-car person that there is a massive annual event held for the modern V8 engine platform from a single automotive manufacturer that started production less than three decades ago, there is a good chance you would fail to illustrate the popularity and importance of such an event. Now try to explain how that event is so popular that there are now three held across the country – one in Kentucky, another in Texas, and one in Vegas – and they would think you were telling tall tales. Holley kicked off 2025 with LS Fest West in Las Vegas Nevada this past weekend, and it was bigger than ever!

All photography courtesy of CR23.

The premise is simple: if it has four wheels and is powered by GM’s Gen III, IV, or V small-block-Chevy engine platforms commonly referred to as the LS or LT V8, it is welcome on the grounds at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway for the three-day event starting on Friday. But this isn’t just a gathering or a car show, it’s an occasion that will leave you in shock and awe with the car community’s ability to build and fabricate just about anything their heart desires. It is also the perfect place to fuel every project-car-bad-idea you’ve ever had and more.

What started life as a small Japanese compact, the Datsun 510, is now a radical LS-swapped road-going go-kart with flares and rubber that seem to double its width.

Burnout Wars

LS Fest has several different forms of motorsport on site. Debut this year was an all-new spectacle called Burnout Wars that is all about big smoke and a big show for spectators. Much like drifting, Burnout wars are judged on entertainment instead of specific measured performance. On a large concrete pad, vehicles try their best to impress the crowd and outshine their competitors, and it proved to be a big hit. Who doesn’t love hearing eight cylinders bouncing off the rev limiter while it obliterates its rear rubber?

An E46 BMW with a roots-blown LS and zoomie headers extending past the hood screaming while it obliterates its rear tires? God bless America!

But it’s more than just who can do the biggest burnout for the longest amount of time, it is broken down into five different categories. Ten points can be awarded for how immediate smoke is generated from the start of the run, twenty points for continuous tire smoke without breaks, twenty points for the amount of smoke generated, up to twenty points for utilizing the most of the burnout pad, and a whopping thirty points for driver ability and skill while turning their tires into clouds of white smoke.

Drag and Drive

Drag and drive races and classes have been gaining popularity in recent years. A car worthy of the quarter miles that can prove its worth as a street car is challenging for racers. No trailer queens here as the racers must complete a cruise lap around Las Vegas Motor Speedway to prove their street worthiness. Followed by a twenty-minute cool down period afterwards, it’s time to hit the drag strip for three back-to-back passes with no wrenching, tuning, or repairs allowed in between.

We couldn’t catch up with the owner of this VW Beetle to get more info, but a ratty old Bug with a turbo LS certainly isn’t going to be docile.

Your three-run average elapsed time determines who wins their class. The classes are designed to keep the spirit alive for all kinds of builds — with a 9-second, 10-second, 11-second, and 15-second class. The rules are simple but keep builders from creating questionable street cars. DOT-legal tires are required along with working lights, horns, and street safety equipment. This class comes with high bragging rights to go along with the competitive edge.

Autocross

Equal in popularity to drag racing is the Autocross Shootout. These cone-lined courses are fast and tight, and the drivers are relentlessly competitive. Much like Drag and Drive, the Shootout demands three back-to-back runs without stopping, adjusting, or even touching the car. You cannot adjust your tune, tire pressures, or even repair parts that have been pushed past the limits. So you have to be fast as you are reliable.

Drift Challenge

The Drift Challenge at LS Fest is the world’s only engine-specific drift competition. Corvettes, Mustangs, Classics, and imports are all whipping their weight around the course, revving their LS and LT-powered rides to the moon and billowing smoke from the rear wheel wells while only going sideways, never straight. This style-judged competition is as popular as ever with a total of thirty-two cars entered to compete.

Corvettes, BMWs, Mustangs, and Nissans. All LS or LT powered, all here to slide sideways.

If you have never witnessed a drift event in person, it is quite a spectacle. Cars of all makes and models wear battle scars from scraping into the walls or possibly each other over the years of competing. The most amusing trait is regardless of what kind of car slides by you, be it a Nissan, BMW, or American made car, it will surely be screaming bald eagles from the tailpipe at LS Fest West.

The 3S Challenge

The 3S Challenge at LS Fest West is quick and precise. The 3S stands for Speed, Stop, and Steer. A simple route where the format is a side-by-side, parking lot drag race where the two drivers have to drive down-and-back with a 180-degree turnaround, slalom, and stop box. Think of it as a short and fast version of autocross. Mistakes or hitting cones gives the driver time penalties and the short run forces you to be aggressive but precise at the same time. Watching competitors cut the 180-degree turn as tight as possible and then try to stop perfectly in the stop-box without annihilating orange cones makes for a thrilling watch.

Off Road Domination

Hosting an event of this magnitude in the Nevada desert brings some perks, one of which is endless dirt to play in. LS Fest West is not just about LSs and LTs dominating the pavement. Big cubes, tons of grunt, and endless swap possibilities mean you can find all sorts of different trucks on the property that are Chevy-powered.

These off-road beasts are not just mall-crawling Chevy trucks and swapped Jeeps, their suspension is arguably the biggest chunk of the build budget, and the body and paint condition is certainly the smallest. It’s one thing to watch rubber grip the pavement, but seeing these radical contraptions struggle to claw at the dirt with aggressive tires combined with high horsepower brings a new meaning to the term ‘brave’.

Grand Champion

The LS Fest West Grand Champion is awarded at the end of the third day to those who dominate across the board, not just in one category. Racers have to compete in at least three of the four venues: Autocross, The 3S Challenge, Drag Racing, and the Road Course. There are a total of three Grand Champions to keep things competitive with Late Model, Vintage, and Truck classes. Returning Grand Champion Duke Langely took the late model class Grand Champion with his radical 2002 Corvette. Robby Unser claimed vintage Grand Champion with an LS-powered 1967 Cobra, and David Carroll is also a returning Grand Champion in the truck class with his 1974 canvas-topped K5 Blazer.

Truck Grand Champion David Carroll piloting his 1974 K5 Blazer.

Every year, Holley one-ups itself with its own event. LS Fest West is only one of three that they host across the country every year to showcase the best V8 ever made brilliantly incorporated into literally anything and everything enthusiasts can think of to utilize it. It may center around one engine platform, but LS Fest proves the spirit of hot-rodding is alive and well and it can still put on one hell of a spectacle.