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Holley EFI Racers Succeed @ 2020 King of the Hammers

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Staff Writer

02/20/2020

10 min read

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Holley EFI Racers Succeed @ 2020 King of the Hammers

Holley EFI Racers Succeed @ 2020 King of the Hammers

Staff Writer

02/20/2020

10 min read

Vaughn Gittin Jr. and co-driver Eric Davis fought hard against the tough course and were able to complete the event (an impressive feat considering only 44 teams were able to take the checkered flag). Finishing in 38th position at just over the 12 hour mark, An on-course repair set the duo back, but they can hang their helmets on a high note after persevering through the harsh, frigid conditions. Chip MacLaughlin in car #4 took the green flag in 58th position and after nearly 10 and a half grueling hours on course, methodically picking off cars came home in the 24th position. A tremendous accomplishment finishing in the top 25 with his 10 hour 26 minute race time. Other drivers such as Zandy Willems suffered an unfortunate transmission failure on lap two while Quintin Hilburn also had to accept a DNF finish during his second lap. IMAGE COURTESY OF JONATHAN MILLSTEIN

John Grounds of Daystar made the switch to Holley EFI this year after converting his 4500 class machine to Mopar power. John set off 54th overall in the 120 vehicle field and after hours of grueling competition took home a top 10 finish! "Our new Mopar drivetrain and Holley EFI performed flawlessly with our new tune from CBM. - This sets us off to a great pace for the rest of the season for national points!" exclaimed John after learning of his 9th place finish. Tony Pellegrino of GenRight Off-Road brought his personal Jeep Wrangler JKU to compete in the Unlimited 4400 class. This Jeep was built using only commercial off-the-shelf parts and utilizes a GM LS3 controlled by Holley's Dominator ECU. Out of over 100 vehicles entered, the GenRight Jeep left the starting line in 86th position. Completing the course in 11.5 hours (2.5 hours before the deadline), it finished 32nd out of the 44 total that completed the event. "-they beat 73 purpose-built Unlimited 4400 off-road race cars in a Jeep. The first this feat was accomplished in a full bodied Jeep Wrangler JKU". IMAGE COURTESY OF JOHN GROUNDS

The theme of youthful ascendancy arose at the Holley EFI Shootout Presented by King Shocks and Action Sports Canopies. Formerly known as the Backdoor Shootout, this event started when rockcrawling enthusiasts would gather at the huge vertical climb known as Backdoor to challenge each other for bragging rights as the quickest driver up the ten-foot tall ledge. Held adjacent to Chocolate Thunder this year, on a rock climb called “Not Her Problem,” the Holley EFI Shootout has outgrown Backdoor without forgetting its roots. ULTRA4 cars, rock bouncers from the Southern Rock Racing Series, and home built rockcrawlers duked it out to be the fastest up a series of steep, loose rock ledges with plenty of parking and viewing for the thousands of spectators on hand, and live coverage for those watching from home. The rock bouncers continued their dominance at the Shootout, with 31-year-old Stephen Rogers scaling the hill in a mere 38 seconds in his Jimmy Smith-built buggy dubbed “Unloyal”. To put this accomplishment in perspective, over half of the 29-vehicle field didn’t make it to the top of the course at all! IMAGE COURTESY OF MAX MOTORSPORTS

<br>2020 Holley EFI Shootout Top 10 Results

Position	Name	Time (Seconds)
1	Stephen Rogers	38.26
2	Josh Parrish	49.35
3	Luke Wilson	60.23
4	William Stewart	65.54
5	Wes Kean	72
6	Ryan Webb	72.61
7	Chris Kaufman	77.43
8	Jason Bartram	93.66
9	Paul Passien	99.1
10	Kevin Meyers	126.58

Luke Wilson of Max Motorsports drug his bouncer "Rock Candy" across the country for the Holley EFI shootout with zero run time. Featuring an LQ9 LS engine, the crawler had been finished with a Terminator X efi system. Arriving two days before the event, the crew found a suitable place in the California desert for testing. Breaking a steering pump and fighting cooling issues, the team patched the bouncer up and prepared for battle. With only one hour of run time, the Terminator X powered ride climbed the rock face in just over a minute! Good enough for Wilson to claim 3rd place overall. "The Rock Candy buggy was run hard for only an hour and the Holley Terminator X did its thing with the tune. The buggy was strong and ran flawlessly during the Holley EFI Shootout. If the Holley Terminator X engine management system was not easy to install and tune, there is no way it could have made the starting line." - Scott Lomax / Max Motorsports IMAGE COURTESY OF MAX MOTORSPORTS