Think about it: No matter what dark corner of car culture you come from, the LS engine has made its way in there. And THAT… is the significance & the takeaway of LS Fest. Get outside your own opinion for a minute… because we’re thinking beyond personal opinion right now. LS Fest is not about whether you like/dislike all the LS swaps. Right? It’s not about whether you think it’s proven… or played-out. It’s bigger than that.
LS Fest is a celebration of a truly iconic engine that has touched ALL TYPES of enthusiasts….. all walks of life.
That’s what it’s about. It’s the fact that: Whether you’re 5 or 105, the LS can make the hair on the back of your neck stand up.
From drag cars to drift cars. Domestics, to JDM, to Euro. Race-cars to rock-bouncers. The LS has set precedents, smashed barriers, unlocked reliability, lowered costs, solved problems, and put a viable light at the end of so many project-car tunnels.
If you could go to LS Fest and ‘turn the sound off’… you would NEVER think this thing was focused around only 1 engine. Heck – you don’t even have to like LS’s to like LS Fest! Because the variety that LS Fest brings out, is mind-scrambling when you step back from it.
On one end of the Beech Bend facility, you have drag racing. But backed up to the staging lanes, you have autocross + drifting on rotating schedules (they even do a head-to-head mirrored auto-x challenge on Sunday called 3S). Off to the side on the hill, you have the show, with all sorts of clean LS cars… but also with all sorts of brain-child swapped insanity. On the opposite end is a massive vendor row.
And then get this: You have an amusement park… with water rides, roller coasters, and a free-fall with a spectacular view right before they drop you out of the sky.
On top of that – LS Fest breaks the cars down into 2 groups & also uses the NCM track about 15 minutes away. So about mid-day, there is a big shift change, and an entirely new group of cars come in.
What I’m getting at is: LS Fest is NOT another boring set & staged atmosphere. The event is alive & constantly morphing. And the cars are anything but ‘parked & quiet’.
Personally – I don’t have an LS-powered car. And I didn’t leave LS Fest feeling like I NEED to go drop everything & build one. But I was thoroughly invigorated & motivated by the atmosphere….. and the 100% go-fast & kick-ass attitude that all these people share. I talked to more than a few people (with imports mind you) who made sure to say that LS Fest is their favorite event of the year… and I can see why.
Great post! I had no idea an event like this existed.