The Covid pandemic pushed the 2021 rendition of Muscle Cars at the Strip (MATSLV) in Las Vegas, Nevada, from its usual Springtime timeslot to September 10-11. With super-hot daytime temps at Las Vegas Motor Speedway (LVMS) this time of year, the organizers decided to condense the normally three-day event into a two-night affair from 5 pm to 10 pm. Featuring a car show, autocross, swap meet, and drag racing, MATSLV “Under The Lights” made for quite a unique experience, especially for autocross participants.

On Friday afternoon, as the opening time approached, a rare thunderstorm rolled through the valley heading straight toward LVMS. The storm didn’t last long, but it certainly caused some major traffic problems in the downtown area. The timing may have affected the car show car count, but it didn’t damper the spirits of drag racers who moved in on Thursday night or earlier in the day. The area dried quickly, and racing began on time, with Modern Muscle Happy Hour kicking off the festivities.

The Dodge Challenger might be taking over from the Ford Mustang for the most-raced modern muscle car. There were plenty of both at MATSLV.

Previously an old-school Mopar muscle car-only event, MATSLV opened up to other makes and newer models a couple of years ago. Though it still leans heavily toward Mopar, Chevys and Fords are beginning to eek their way into the event, allowing for a Battle of the Brands bracket race. Mike Owens took the title in his gorgeous Dodge Dart over Jeff Roper in his ‘64 Dodge Polara. Saturday’s action saw drag racing of all types of classes: modern, Super Pro, Pro, Big Tire, Small Tire, Street, Stock, Super Stock, Truck, Footbrake, Gen3 Hemi, Hellcat Shootout, Pony Car Wars, and more. LVMS is one of the nicest racing facilities in the country, and the racers seemed to love running under the lights.

The autocross was hosted by RacingByrds, run by Rob Byrd. There was a great mix of old muscle, new muscle, imports, and even trucks. The course was fast and open, so novices and experts alike could really push themselves with the lights on. Some gorgeous cars were pushing themselves to the limits of adhesion, with Jason Wilcox taking the top spot in the Classic Muscle class in his Camaro just 5/10ths quicker than Channon Foster in his ‘99 Corvette in the Modern Muscle class.

Over in the car show area, there was a special display for barn-find Mopars recently featured in Hot Rod magazine and another for the 50th Anniversary of the Musclecar, which had some significant cars from ‘70 and ‘71. The general open car show was split for Mopar, Chevy, and Ford.

As mentioned earlier, participation was a little light, but the non-traditional start time and the thunderstorm undoubtedly affected the count. However, that didn’t mean the quality was low and didn’t stop those in attendance from having a good time. Each winner got their pictures taken with their plaque and two Vegas Showgirls.

During the awards ceremony, event promoter Phil Painter made a special presentation to Steve Cutler, John Huff, and crew for the work they did saving a rare Petty Blue ‘69 Roadrunner four-speed convertible. They rebuilt it for Luke Adams, a 15-year old battling cancer. Courtney Hansen was on hand to unveil the build on Saturday, which will be featured on ROYL Garage. It was a fitting tribute to show how many people can come together in the car community to make others’ lives better. The event is expected to be back in its usual time slot in the Spring of 2022. As if you needed a reason to go to Vegas, now you have one!