LS Fest Texas Grand Champion Racing Event: A Battle of Speed and Skill

The LS Fest Texas Grand Champion Racing Event took center stage, captivating participants and spectators alike with a thrilling display of speed, skill, and automotive prowess, with an ever-eclectic mix of LS- and LT-powered vehicles.

Participants are welcome to run strictly one form of "grip racing" (such as autocross or Track X), but Grand Champion participants get to run all forms, including autocross, Track X, S3 Challenge, and drag racing. Then, scores from each racing form are combined with car-show scores, where they're rated on their build quality. This opens the doors for a mix of competition.

Of course, there's only one major rule: You must be LS or LT powered. The actual vehicle doesn't matter. This year sold out with 150 autocross entries, with 110 running in the Grand Champion competition. LS Fest Texas is only in its second year but features an overall 30 percent increase in participants this year.

What makes LS Fest Texas unique is it's all inside the Texas Motor Speedway’s 1.5-mile track. "It's a nighttime event, so the personality is slightly different. We start later and go later into the night," said Jimi Day, Competition Director with LS Fest Events. "Running under the lights is a unique experience for many here. The cars look better and faster under the lights."

Scoggin Dickey Parts Center and Holley Motorlife Grand Champion Classes

• Classes include the Rekudo Vintage Class for all competitors in vehicles 1989 and older.
• The Detroit Speed Late Model Class features all 1990 and newer model year cars.
• The Holley Classic Trucks Truck Class includes trucks regardless of the year or manufacturer.

The weekend starts with the Speedtech Engineering and Lateral-G Autocross, with a series of tight corners marked by cones. Later that night, Grand Champions get the opportunity to run three consecutive 1/8th-mile passes on the drag strip—which at LS Fest Texas is the Texas Motor Speedway's pit road—for BoostDistrict and LSX Magazine Drag Racing.

The next day is the Hurst Track X Challenge, which uses the track's infield road course with various long sweeping corners and tight cone-marked chicanes. The autocross course is then repurposed into the Baer Brakes and Pro Touring G-Machines 3S Challenge. This is similar to a speed stop, where two cars leave from a stop, perform a 180 turn, and then race back to the finish line. But they must stop within the box, or they're penalized.

Check back here at Motorlife for photos and results. Each class winner will go home with $1,000, a special winner's plaque, and a jacket.