From High Output. 5.0s to Coyotes to Godzillas and anything in between, Ford Fest is powered by the best and brightest Blue Oval powerplants. Wild swaps, boosted builds, Over the two-day event Ford fans will see these engines on the strip, autocross circuit, burnout venue, off road track, and glimmering on the car show field.

Ford Fest Feature: Don Fotti’s Unrestored 1968 428 Cobra Jet Mustang

For over 50 years, Canadian Don Fotti has enjoyed ear-to-ear smiles behind the wheel of his ’68 Cobra Jet Mustang. Following in the footsteps of his hero Steve McQueen, the 74-year-old Fotti purchased this Cobra Jet near his hometown of Manitoba in 1971.

He paid just $2,450 for the 428-powered CJ and it’s been his prized possession ever since. “Within an hour of buying it, I was on the highway practicing launches,” Fotti said with a cheerful smile. “And, as soon as Keystone Dragway in Winnipeg opened, I was there racing. I won four of the first five events I entered, and I was hooked.”

Fotti even recalls his first pass, a 14.23 elapsed time, and in 1972 he scored the track championship. Amazingly, the car sat idle for 18 long years after starting a family, but he’s been racing it consistently for the last decade or so. The Mustang even retains a functional radio, heater and he drives it on the street as well as the strip.

Don removed the original 428 years ago and replaced it with another 428 that’s had a bit more power than stock. The current engine uses an aluminum Robert Pond block and a stroker crank with aluminum heads that was prepared by Lance Line of Line Performance in Minnesota. The engine made 733 horsepower and 662 lb-ft of torque.

Fotti made the 1,300-mile trek to Holley Ford Fest and is running 11.50 at 3,400 lbs. He doesn’t have a NHRA-certified roll bar, so he runs the car using only two of the four barrels available on his Holley 950 HP carburetor. “It’s gone 10.04 at 131 mph running out of gear, but I’m limited to 11.50s since I don’t have the bar and I’m not planning on installing one,” he said.

Ford Power Unleashed at Holley Ford Fest

Drag Racing is underway at the Holley Ford Fest at Beech Bend Raceway in Bowling Green Kentucky and Fordnatics are dropping big power on the famous quarter-mile strip.

Holley Ford Fest offers a bevy of classes including True Street, brackets, Index, Coyote Stock, Cobra Jet, Godzilla Shootout, Stick Shift, Truck and SUV, Ultra Ford and more. There’s literally something for everyone from the novice to the seasoned pro.

Racing kicked off with a little test and tune, with qualifying action going the remainder of the day. Fans are already glued to the fence, to see the high-power, wheels-up racing. Qualifying will continue into the night, with final eliminations taking place on Saturday.

The Daily-Driven Galaxie With Two Co-Pilots

The first thing you notice isn’t the car — it’s the family. Lucas Freeman leans on the fender of his ’65 Ford Galaxie, kids Eliana (4) and Fletcher (2) orbiting around him like they own the place. The Galaxie wears its age honestly, a layer of sun-baked Kentucky patina that looks right at home among the shiny paint jobs at Ford Fest.

Lucas is from Scottsville, just thirty minutes over the hill from Beech Bend Raceway, so this wasn’t a cross-country trek — but don’t mistake this for a “car show only” cruiser. “I’ve probably done at least 20,000 this year,” Lucas said, matter-of-factly. “It’s basically my daily driver.”

The Galaxie started life with a 352, but when that engine started to feel tired, Lucas decided it was time for an upgrade. “I put a 390 in it. Added bug racks, gave it a little flare, and left the original paint.”

Under the hood sits a four-barrel Holley carburetor — nothing fancy, just the kind of bolt-on that keeps an old Ford happily fed. “Big fan of the four-barrel Holley,” Lucas said. “It just works.”

Radio Tow

Joseph McQueary came to Holley’s Ford Fest from Liberty, Kentucky in Casey County. The cool thing about this RC ride is it was originally a Bronco but Joseph ‘rebodied’ it as a ‘60s F-100. Pulling tow duty, the old Blue Oval is hauling a Mustang. Joseph said that last year he had Vaughn Gittin Jr. sign the Mustang and he brought it back this year to show him. We enjoyed watching you slow-roll the setup through the car show headed toward Fun Haver’s booth, Joseph… keep on truckin’.

Grand Champion Autocross: Where Cones Meet Chaos

There's nothing quite like Ford Fest's Grand Champion autocross. The pits are buzzing, tires are squealing, and drivers are hunched over cell phones comparing times like it's exam day. The autocross portion is where street cars, track builds, and daily drivers get tossed through a sea of cones — and where seconds (and bragging rights) are won or lost.

Grand Champion brings out the diehards. These aren't just car show cruisers — they're drivers who care about getting faster with every pass.

Ford Fest's Grand Champion consists of autocross competitions on Fridays and Saturdays, 3S Speed Stop challenges on Saturday evenings, and drag racing on Friday nights under the lights. The driver with the most points in the collective competition for your class wins.

Autocrossing A Classic: Dustin Faust's 1965 Fastback

The car looked right at home on the course — low, purposeful, and wearing just enough rubber to mean business. "We built a couple of cars for customers that I got to autocross," Dustin said. "Kind of got the bug, then got the taste for it. At the time, I had a little Ranger that I autocrossed locally, so I knew that was the path I wanted to take with this car."

This particular Mustang has a long family history. It was originally finished 21 years ago for a customer of Dustin's shop, Classic Restorations of Southern Indiana. "It was mostly stock at the time," Dustin explained. "I bought it back from him three years later in about 2006, and three years ago I converted it all over to be able to autocross and have fun with it."

Under the hood is a warmed-over 289 with a cam, intake, headers, and a T5 five-speed. Power goes through a Ford 9-inch rear. The suspension is full RideTech — coilovers front and rear, four-link rear setup, tubular upper and lower control arms — with Wilwood disc brakes on all four corners. "I'm running a 245-square setup on Yokohama A052s," Dustin added, clearly proud of the combination.

Inside, the car trades stock comfort for race-day practicality. "We changed the seats out to Corbeau race seats," Dustin said. "It holds you in place a lot better."

For Dustin, autocrossing is the payoff for decades of Mustang experience. "Early Mustangs are a perfect platform for an autocross track car," he said. Judging by his grin as he strapped back in, this Fastback is precisely where it belongs — not parked under a car show tent, but out here tearing through cones and chasing faster lap times.

Ecoboost-Powered, Rear-Engine Mystery Machine Rips Ford Fest Autocross

"I've still got more in it—it's cutting out. But I'm sitting 14th in class right now," said Bobby Dilloen, catching his breath between autocross runs at Ford Fest. His heart rate was still up, and his mouth was dry. "I'm having a blast."

What Bobby brought isn't just fast—it's bizarre in the best way. From the front, it looks like something you'd expect to find in a sketchbook. "It's an EcoBoost from a Focus ST. I moved it to the back," Bobby explained casually, like we all reconfigure powertrains in our garages. The engine setup is now mid-rear, driving the back wheels, and Bobby fabricated the control arms himself. "Yep. Made those from scratch," he added, which makes more sense once you learn his day job is as a mechanical engineer.

That engineering brain is evident throughout the build—though Bobby's quick to say the car still isn't perfect. "It needs new tires, a limited slip in the rear… it just spins the right rear," he said, shrugging. The car runs a Holley Sniper fuel pump but still uses the factory Ford ECU. It's a Frankenstein, but it works.

The Family That Races Together: Sleeper Dude At Ford Fest

"Yeah, I beat my time every run — 59, 58, 56."

Natasha Dillon said it with the proud grin of someone who just discovered a new addiction. This was her first time autocrossing, but you wouldn't know it from her confidence. Helmet under her arm, still buzzing from the run, she joked about the next challenge: "He's going to drive it and see if he can beat me." If he does, it's gonna be a rough ride home.

That playful back-and-forth sums up the vibe around the SleeperDude pit — family, friends, kids running around, and a very unassuming 1982 Mercury Zephyr that just spent the afternoon carving cones.

If you only gave it a passing glance, you'd think it was a grandma-spec Zephyr. Under the skin, though, it's been subtly improved. "It's all stock with a Holley Sniper one-barrel on it — just four wires to hook up," Josh Dillon (aka SleeperDude) said. "It's got' 87-'88 Thunderbird Turbo Coupe sway bars and wheels, tried to make it handle a little better for the autocross today."

The Sniper was the game-changer. "This thing was broke down for two years with fuel issues," Josh said. "Replaced everything in the fuel system multiple times, and then we put the one-barrel Sniper on it a couple weeks ago, and it's been running like a champ since then."

Flying Low: The Spirit of Lemons Hits Ford Fest

"What is it?" That's the most common question Jeff Block hears, followed closely by "Why?" And if you've seen the Spirit of Lemons, you get it. It looks like a small aircraft slammed into a Toyota van, bolted to the pavement, and then picked a fight with the laws of logic.

Technically, it's a 1956 Cessna 310 airplane fuselage—just the body—sitting on the chassis of an '87 Toyota van. The powerplant? A 2.3-liter Ford EcoBoost straight out of a 2016 Mustang. It's weird. It's fast. It's real. And yes, it's Ford-powered, so it belongs at Ford Fest.

"I built it for 24 Hours of Lemons back in 2012," says Block, better known in internet circles as "Speedy Cop." Since then, it's been everywhere: drag strips, road courses, autocross, air shows, burnout pits, even Times Square. "It's just a blast," he says, grinning like a kid who figured out how to cheat physics.

Jeff chose the Toyota van chassis for its short wheelbase (around 89 inches) and narrow track width. "You sit in front of the front wheels," he adds. "The layout just worked—especially for the plane's narrow fuselage."

The Cessna shell was rescued from a hangar in Maryland, where it had sat for 40 years after a couple of crash landings. It was slated to be scrapped for aluminum. Instead, Jeff and his crew gave it wings of a different kind. "It was gonna be beer cans," he laughs. "Now it's doing laps."

The car's still registered as a Toyota van, but with Ford Performance supplying the wiring harness, ECU, upgraded turbo, and throttle body—it's got legit Blue Oval credentials.

"It's the most photographed thing I've ever built," Jeff says. "And I've got an upside-down Camaro, so that's saying something."

V8-Swapped Ranger Tears It Up on the Autocross Course

Jordan Welch showed up to Ford Fest with a 1998 Ford Ranger that didn't just look fun—it moved like it had something to prove. That's because under the hood is a 5.0-liter V8 yanked from a Ford Explorer, backed by a T5 manual transmission.

"The Ranger never came with a five-liter," Jordan admitted, "but the Explorer did—and they're almost the same chassis." Close enough. He still had to finesse a few things to get it bolted in, but the result is a Ford-blooded ripper that's been holding its own in autocross for several seasons now.

The Ranger runs Comp Cams, Ford Racing aluminum heads, Viking coilovers, and a Yukon diff out back. Suspension-wise, it's still rocking stock bushings and leaf springs, but the coilovers made a huge difference. "Being able to really stiffen it up helped a ton," Jordan said. "Before, it was all body roll."

Jordan's been racing autocross for over 11 years, but the truck has added a new kind of fun to the mix. "Mustangs are great," he said, "but the truck is just fun in a different way. Once I realized how good it could be, I started investing in it a little more."

Ford Fest Burnout Contest

Smoke billowing from wheel wells, the smell of granulated rubber permeating the oval track infield, and an enthusiastic crowd in the stands made the burnout contest a great way to end the first day of “festing” here in Bowling Green. A diverse field went to battle and as the smoke cleared Josh Dillon, and his Doller Gentral Pinto emerged with top honors.

With its tall-standing intake and blower combination, Autumn Schwalbe and Chris Bluga’s Own Boss F-100 burnout truck was also a big hit as Autumn and Chris both took turns flogging the old pickup. Ohh, and then there was the EcoBoost-swapped Cesna, Spirit of Lemons, sans wings that seemed to be everywhere at Ford Fest.

Day 2 - Coyote Capri Makes Waves at Holley Ford Fest

Cruise the pits at Holley Ford Fest and you’ll see droves of classic Mustangs, Thunderbirds, Fairmonts, Fairlanes and of course Foxbody Mustangs. You’ll even see Capris from the 1960s and ‘70s, and the bubble-back Foxes, but those are Mercury products. What you see here is a Mark I Ford Capri, belonging to James Meredith of Carrollton, Georgia.

This body style was mainly sold in Europe from 1968 to 1973, and it was followed by a Gen II model. Engines ranged from in-line four cylinders to a 5.0-liter V8.

Meredith picked up the ’73 Capri for quarter-mile competition and while the original V6 was peppy, it can’t hold a candle to the built 5.0 Coyote that now lives under the long hood.

“I’ve owned the Capri seven years now and I won the NMRA Street Bandit championship in 2024,” Meredith stated. “It has Gen 2 heads that have been ported, Mahle rods and pistons, and a Cobra Jet intake. Meredith runs the mill with a Holley HP computer and the Ford uses Holley gauges as well. His best elapsed time is 9.70 at 128 mph but he can tap the nitrous to run 9.14 at 149 mph.

Joe Grippo Is Enjoying 40 Years With His 1970 Mach 1

Joe Grippo is celebrating a 40-year anniversary of owning his 1970 Mach 1 with a trip to Holley Ford Fest 2025. Joe, along with his wife Stacey and brother Dan, made the haul from Elverson, Pennsylvania, on the eastern side of the state to Bowling Green. The Grippo’s regularly attend 10 to 20 Ford and other drag racing events per year, but it’s their first time to Ford Fest.

“I bought the car when I was 15 and my dad had to drive it home,” Joe said. “It’s been an on-going project for 40 years and it’s dialed in pretty good now,” he said.

The Mustang has been transformed from street car to race car, but it maintains a stock-type look. A 398-inch Windsor topped with AFR aluminum heads, an Edelbrock Victor Sr. intake, and a Holley 950 HP Ultra XP carburetor powers the Mach. The small-block also has a Comp roller cam, FPA step headers, and a full complement of MSD parts including a 6A Digital ignition and HVC II coils.

Joe backed the engine with a Dynamic C4 three-speed transmission, and it has a 9-inch Ford with 4.56 gears. Originally Calypso Coral, the car is now Acapulco Blue as a tribute to a car their father owned. It tips the scale at 3,410 pounds with driver and has been as quick as 10.05 at 132 mph. Joe’s no stranger to big wheelies, and that comes by way of CalTracs traction bars, Santhuff shocks, with Mickey Thompson tires supplying the contact patch.

Ford Fest Autocross Shootout

The BangShift.com Top 5 Autocross Shootout is an existing element of autocross competition you can find at Ford Fest and LS Fest. Comprising of the top fastest autocross drivers competing in a heads-up average of 3 consecutive laps. Don’t hit a cone, and make every lap count.

In a major upset, and possibly “the most bizarre shootout to date,” said announcer and sponsor Chad Reynolds (who co-owns BangShift.com). Russell Wood was leading competition entering the shootout, but after hitting cones on his first two runs, he’s average time shot him to the end of the shootout results. This put Jeff Cox and his 2010 GT500 (pictured above) on the top step of the podium.

1. Jeff Cox – 2010 Ford Mustang GT500 #6
2. Mike Roush – 2015 Ford Mustang GT #43
3. Michael Gallagher – 2021 Ford Shelby GT500 #24
4. Brayden Banion – 2020 Ford Mustang GT #38
5. Russell Wood – 1990 Ford Mustang #9

A Cooler Ride

There are companies that make conversion kits for “riding coolers” that are based on scooters. Typically, the coolers are half battery and drive unit and half cooler… although one shudders at the thought of electricity and ice in such close proximity. Here we have a Ford-themed Cobra mash-up of the concept where a child’s bike, a Rubbermade cooler, and some type of electrified powertrain are in cahoots. The blue one retains its pedal power. We like the Mustang based styling cues and the Cobra rig also has a stereo unit.

Drifting Wild Card: Chris Leonard’s RWD EcoBoost Ford Fusion

In a near endless sea of Mustangs in the drift exhibition, it's always refreshing to see something different. Years ago, Kelsey Rowlings brought her Aluminator-powered Nissan S14 Formula DRIFT PROSPEC car. David Leffel was always a fan favorite with his 1964 F-100. This year, Formula DRIFT PROSPEC competitor Chris Leonard brought his RWD-converted 2014 Ford Fusion to the party along with his S550 Mustang.

Years ago, Formula DRIFT grid master and PROSPEC judge Matt Soppa was the first to Coyote-swap and RWD convert a Fusion for the purpose of drifting. Chris took inspiration from that build to create his own.

“I had a New Edge Mustang before this that was like my drift demo car, and it drove nothing like my Pro car, so it didn't make for good practice,” Chris said. “Then I bought a BMW, and it didn't make enough power. So I was like, we need to do the Fusion thing and that's how we ended up with this.” The car, originally a FWD model with a blown up 1.5-liter EcoBoost, belonged to Chris' boss. For motivation replacement, Chris bought a rolled S550 EcoBoost Mustang for cheap on Facebook Marketplace. Everything on the inside of the car is Fusion, while basically everything mechanical is S550. “I already had a bunch of Coyote cars,” Chris said. “So I thought, let's play with another engine platform and have something that's cheaper to drive and goes through tires less quickly but makes really good power.”

The Fusion sends power to the rear wheels via the S550 driveshaft, which required swapping the gas tank to one from an AWD Fusion for clearance. For the rear suspension, Chris had to shorten the two forward factory subframe mounts by two inches, at which point everything from the Mustang pretty well lined up, a process which he said was completed in a day.

The front was a bit trickier, as the track on the FWD car was wider than the Mustang. Chris noted that there were two holes in the front chassis which served no purpose, so he welded in nuts, squared everything up and made new mounts for the front end. The wheels ended up sitting centered in the wheel wells, and the firewall, also lifted from the Mustang, had to be moved seven inches back. A Wisefab wide-angle steering kit, Feal Suspension front coilovers, and Godspeed rear arms help complete the package.

Helping maneuver the sedan is a steering rack from an S197 Mustang, swapped because Chris said he prefers the hydraulic setup to electric. Having a longer wheelbase than the S550, Chris said the Fusion actually drives better than his PROSPEC car. “The S550 is overly snappy unless you do a lot of suspension work to them,” Chris said. “Because this chassis is a little longer, it slows the snap down and make it more controllable.”

The Fusion has seen competition at events in Texas as well as several drift demos, and on top of everything, Chris said the car is a daily driver, which he says earns him some strange looks on the streets.

“It's funny, almost kind of embarrassing, because it's so beat up from drifting – the bumpers are scraped up, the doors are dented and it's straight piped through the hood so it's super loud,” Chris said. “So, if you roll up to a Fusion and don't think anything more of it, you're like, what is this shit box? And then you realize, 'oh it's a drift car,' that's kind of cool.”

Polish, Patina, and Personality: A Walk Through the Ford Fest Car Show

The Ford Fest Car Show isn't just rows of shiny paint and folding chairs. It's a living, idling, cam-lopey reminder that every Ford has a story.

You've got the retirees in bone-stock Fairlanes they've owned since new, right next to Pro-Street Mavericks with license plates that say things like "LOLPRIUS." It's the kind of show where a guy will pop the hood on a crusty F-100 and say, "It ain't pretty, but it's fast."

There's a surprising number of wagons and four-doors here — proof that the Fox-body obsession isn't limited to Mustangs. Zephyrs, Fairmonts, LTDs... all modded, all loved, all parked with pride. One guy had a sign that read: "Still cheaper than therapy."

Whether you came for the burnout smoke or just to swap paint codes with a stranger, the Ford Fest car show was the heartbeat of the weekend — parked, polished, and proud.

Like Father, Like Daughter: Two Generations, Two Fords, One Shared Passion

Joseph Brooks passed down a love of wrenching, racing, and driving Fords. At this year's Holley Ford Fest, you could find him leaning against his sleeper Crown Vic, next to daughter Nicole's bright red Fox Body Mustang GT.

"My car was originally a drag car. Just a roller when I got it—no engine, no trans, no interior," Nicole said. "My dad bought me the body when I was 18 or 19. We built it together."

That was about 10 years ago. The result is a 1989 Mustang GT street car with an old-school heart: 306-inch small block, Ford Racing cam, GT40 heads, Victor Jr. intake, and a Holley carb. It's backed by a T5 and rolls on SVE wheels from LMR.

Joseph drove his sleeper. 2004 Crown Vic SAP (Street Appearance Package), originally a government vehicle. But it's far from stock. "It was built for autocross," he said. "It's got RideTech coilovers, adjustable shocks, and a Vortech S-trim supercharger pushing around 10 psi."

The 4R70 transmission's been rebuilt and upgraded, and Joseph estimates it makes "a tick over 400 to the wheels" on 93-octane pump gas. "With E85, it'd probably make 30 or 40 more." The car also runs a long list of upgrades: stainless headers, deep sump pan, external coolers, SCT-tuned stock ECU, and bigger sway bars. "It's just a well-built car," Joseph added. "It was professionally done down in Georgia."

A “Falcon for Life"— Eric Taylor's '68 Falcon Futura

Eric Taylor's been hanging onto his '68 Falcon Futura Sports Coupe longer than most people keep a job. "My dad gave it to me when I was 11—in 1990," he said, grinning in the Kentucky sun. "I worked on it all through high school. It's my baby."

This Falcon's been in the family since 1971, passed around between uncles and cousins before landing in Eric's hands for good. It was originally sold new at a local dealership in Benton, Kentucky, and despite being a lesser-loved model in Ford's lineup, it's aged with pride. "The later-model Falcons, '66 through '70, you just can't find much for them," he explained. "If it doesn't fit a Torino or Fairlane, good luck. But I spent years hunting NOS parts to keep it together."

The restoration dates back to 1995, done in the cold of a Kentucky winter. The paint's nearly 30 years old but still holding strong. Under the hood is the matching-numbers small block with K-code heads, a 600 Holley carb.

Eric drove the Falcon three hours from Wingo, Kentucky, to be here. No trailer, no frills—just a guy and his long-term project still cruising after all these years.

Built Not Parked: Why the Ford Fest Car Show Is More Than Just Shiny Paint

This isn't just about spotless paint jobs or chrome so shiny it blinds birds overhead. It's a live-action scrapbook of Ford's past, present, and future — with a pulse.

On any given row, you might spot a numbers-matching '69 Mach 1 parked next to a Coyote-swapped Maverick. Or a well-patina'd F100 sharing space with a ProCharged S550 that still smells like high octane fuel. The cool part? These aren't trailer queens. Most of these builds were driven in. Some even competed in other events like the burnout contest. It's not unusual to see track rubber on the fenders, and brake dust on the wheels. Every car entered is judged not just on appearance but on character. And while there are awards, you get the sense that most people are here for the stories. Every owner's got one — about late nights in the garage, parts that didn't fit, and the friends who pitched in anyway.

This year featured a Best in Show, with one of the nicest Mustangs on the property, and that's saying a lot, as well as sponsored picks and a Kid's Pick.

Bigfoot #8 Stretches Its Legs At Ford Fest

The unmistakable silhouette of Bigfoot #8 rolled onto Beech Bend's circle track Saturday evening. Even parked, the truck looked like a piece of history on display — but this time, it wasn't just sitting still. That iconic blue monster thundered past the grandstands, suspension soaking up the bumps like it was still 1990.

Bigfoot #8 isn't just another Bigfoot — it's the truck that changed monster trucks forever. Built in 1989 by Bob Chandler and the Bigfoot 4x4 team, #8 was the first truck to feature a CAD-designed round-tube chassis and cantilever shocks, which let it fly farther and land softer.

The innovation was so good it actually got the truck banned from the 1990 TNT Motorsports series for being too dominant. Andy Brass eventually drove it to the 1990 championship once it was allowed back in, cementing its place in monster truck history.

Ford Fest Grand Champion: Where Bragging Rights Are Built, Not Bought

At Ford Fest, it's not enough to look good or go fast — you've got to do it all. That's the spirit behind the Grand Champion competition, a multi-day gauntlet where street cars go full gladiator across autocross, drag racing, and the 3S Challenge.

To qualify, you've got to bring a real car. No trailers. No ringers. This is for the folks who drive their builds, then put them on the edge all weekend long. The field is as diverse as it is competitive — from late-model Mustangs and built Coyote swaps to vintage Fairlanes with upgraded everything.

The autocross is tight and technical, favoring balance over brute force. The 3S Challenge — speed, steering, and stopping — cranks up the precision, forcing drivers to thread the needle between cones and hammer the brakes in a marked box. And the drag portion? Well, that's just good old-fashioned launch-it-and-hope.

Each event dishes out points, and at the end, the driver with the best combined score gets to call themselves Grand Champion. No politics. No voting. Just numbers, tires, and guts.

Ford Fest Off-Road

Among Holley Ford Fest’s wide ranging side shows was a dedicated off-road venue that brought together Ford truck and Bronco enthusiasts (not to mention a few cars that may have been lost) for a weekend of mud pits slogging, mild jumps, and other adrenaline-packed off-road challenges.

Ford Fest Drift Exhibition

At Ford Fest, drifting is always a crowd favorite, giving fans a chance to see some wide Blue Oval builds pushed to their limits in a unique way. Drivers guide their cars through controlled slides, showing off both their skill and the performance of their machines. The smoke, sound, and smooth movement through the turns add a fun, energetic element to the event.

Ford Fest Drag Racing Results

Results list winner on top and runner-up below in each category with pertinent information about their performance.

Ford 50 - Crown Vic Circle Track Race

The Ford Fest Crown Vic Ford 50 race has become one of the highlights of Ford Festival, blending grassroots racing with entertainment and nostalgia. Competitors take to the track in rugged, mostly stock Ford Crown Victorias—retired police cruisers and taxis that are cheap to buy, tough to break, and easy to repair. The race is equal parts strategy and chaos, as these big sedans battle bumper-to-bumper, creating a spectacle that is thrilling for both drivers and fans. With limited rules and a focus on fun, the event levels the playing field, attracting racers from all backgrounds who want to test their skills in an unpredictable showdown.

David Ross and his red #42 won one of the heat races in impressive fashion, lurking just behind the leaders be for pouncing in final two laps. This made him a favorite in the main event.

At the drop of the green he made work of the back-markers, as he weaved from the rear of the grid toward the front. There were a number of incidents and Ross found himself in mid-pack after a wreck that sent the #90 to the pits with a bent front suspension. Ross did well to make the podium.

As the smoke cleared after the mayhem, Joel Smith and his #777 which was painted like the car of famous driver Marty Robbins, a country singer turned NASCAR driver took control of the race. Joel, a Figure 8 champion who hails from Clarksville, IN, pulled away to take the win.

Second place went to Haydn Adams and her #20 which was a front runner in the heat races and the main. Competing for Personality Racing, she ran in the Crown Vic Future Stars class in 2024 before moving up in 2025. The race proved to be a perfect way to cap off the event.