Holley LS Fest 2014 – Sunday

IMG_8838Overnight showers cooled the air but didn’t dampen enthusiasm in Bowling Green, and the Sunday program for the 5th annual Holley LS Fest kicked off right on schedule.

Click here for Friday Coverage

Click here for Saturday Coverage

After a full weekend of competition across multiple disciplines, Josh Leisinger took the Grand Champion title by just a single point over last year's defending champ, Danny Popp.

After a full weekend of competition across multiple disciplines from autocross to drag racing, Josh Leisinger took the Grand Champion title by just a single point over last year’s defending champ, Danny Popp.

All Motor champ (and SAM school founder) Judson Massingill

All Motor champ (and SAM school founder) Judson Massingill

All Motor

Don Baskin inadvertently drew a 'slippery pavement' sign with his wild burnout technique

Don Baskin inadvertently drew a ‘slippery pavement’ sign with his wild burnout technique

The no-power-adder all motor class kicked off Sunday with Jud Massingill and and Robert Strong squaring off to sort out who would run against pole-sitter Don Baskin in the finals for the three-entry field. Unfortunately, the matchup was over before it began, with Strong’s Monte Carlo pushed back after the burnout, and Massingill taking the uncontested win after hooking left at the line and lifting at half track.

For his part, Baskin ran out his competition single, performing the same style of crossed-up burnout we’ve seen all weekend, then driving through a jink to the right just past the tree to an 8.361 pass, a full hundredth quicker than his best run in qualifying.

In the finals, Massingill laid the tree in Baskin’s lap with a .051-.104 holeshot, and when the red Chevy II jinked sideways once again coming off the line, the die was cast. Massingill ran out his starting line advantage to an 8.198-8.348 win and the All Motor title for 2014.

It may turn out to be the final LS Fest All Motor title as well, as rumor has it that the low car counts in the class have spurred a look at rule changes that will merge N/A combinations into the Real Street category next year.

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Drag Radial champ Mark Carlyle

Drag Radial champ Mark Carlyle

Drag Radial

The eighth-mile Drag Radial class kicked off with the number three and four qualifiers, Mark Koehler (who was showing no apparent ill effects from his close encounter with the wall during the previous evening’s final qualifying) and Anthony Manna pairing up first. At the tree, Manna clicked off a respectable .076 light, but Koehler nailed a lightning-quick .010, and down-track he poured on the coal to extend his lead, winning 4.683 to 4.718.

Next up were Mark Carlyle and Bill Trovato, who had also had an incident the evening prior with a starting line nitrous sneeze that produced a fireball that was more dramatic than harmful. Against the orange Corvette, Trovato got his 5th Gen Camaro off the mark first with a minor holeshot, but quickly lost steam. His 5.213, though a personal best for the weekend, didn’t have anything for Carlyle’s 4.684.

Thanks to his top qualifying spot, Mike Brown earned the odd-field golden ticket out of the first round. Not taking it for granted, he laid down a new quick pass with a killer 60-foot and a smooth 4.554 on his single.

The semis paired Brown and Koehler, while second-qualified Carlyle got the bye into the finals. Though Koehler got a scant .02 advantage at the tree, immediate tire spin took him out of contention and he could only watch Brown click off another clockwork four-fiddy to move on to the money round.

In the deciding matchup, Carlyle and Brown ran a clean, close race, with slow but near identical reaction times. Down-track, Brown lost just a tiny bit of his mojo, running the better part of four tenths off his previous pace, while Carlyle had saved the best for last, winning the class with a 4.577 to Brown’s 4.915.

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Real Street winner Greg Delaney

Real Street winner Greg Delaney

Real Street

The most populous heads-up class kicked things off on Sunday with some hot Ray-on-Ray action, Litz and Bulach pairing up first. Litz was away first when the ambers flashed, and Bulach lost traction and cut right before shutting it off and coasting through the traps. Next at bat were Adam Preston and Josh Pratt. That match was over before it began when Pratt overshot the beams bumping in, giving the uncontested win to Preston.

George Farkouh and Thadd Dawson followed third, with Farkouh a full tenth behind in reaction time but simply driving past Dawson’s 8.863 with an 8.122. Paul Falcon and John Schaeffer came next, with both cars going wheels-up at the hit. Though he gave up the holeshot, Falcon had Schaeffer covered by almost seven tenths and drove on to the next round.

Second-qualified Greg Delaney pared up with Charles Polly, and again both cars hung the hoops, the drivers cutting all but identical reaction times. Down track, Delaney pulled away and won the round, 8.220 to 8.408. Jessie Coulter and Ron Belcher were the final pair, or would have been, had Belcher been able to make the call – Coulter ran his surprise single out to an 8.315 after driving through a hard right cut. That left only Kevin Rounsavall to make his competition bye run, and he put the class on notice again with a 7.990 right down the center of the groove.

Round two began with Farkouh taking on Coulter. Quicker by two hundredths at the hit, Coulter went up hard on the bumper, began to cut right, and had to lift to avoid unpleasantness, giving Farkouh and his 7.998 the win. Next, Falcon gave up the holeshot to Litz, but despite pulling a high-then-higher wheelstand, managed to rein it back in and pull ahead to an 8.236-8.578 win.

Preston and Rounsavall followed, and Preston grabbed a big lead off the staring line – Rounsavall, though quicker through the traps, just ran out of track before he was able to make up for his soft 60-foot. That left Delaney to collect his competition bye for his number two qualifying spot, which he ran out to an undramatic, clean pass.

Delaney (left) and Falcon in the Real Street finals

Delaney (left) and Falcon in the Real Street finals

Four cars left meant it was time for the semifinals, with Delaney and Farkouh meeting first. Farkouh took the tree, but jinked hard left at the 100-foot mark and lost traction, while Delaney ran out an eight-oh pass. That left Falcon and Preston, and the two were locked door to door to half track, but at the thousand foot mark Preston’s brake lights came on and stayed on, while Falcon flew past and into the finals.

The Real Street finals saw a clean race between Delaney and Falcon – both drivers made smooth, straight runs, but Delaney managed to drive around a four-hundredths holeshot to win the day, 8.049 to Falcon’s 8.141.

ers

 

David Adkins was the only game in town in Pro Extreme LSX, winning by default.

David Adkins was the only game in town in Pro Extreme LSX, winning by default.

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COPO Shootout

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C7 Corvette

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5th Gen Camaro

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LSX Rumble

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About the author

Paul Huizenga

After some close calls on the street in his late teens and early twenties, Paul Huizenga discovered organized drag racing and never looked back, becoming a SFI-Certified tech inspector and avid bracket racer. Formerly the editor of OverRev and Race Pages magazines, Huizenga set out on his own in 2009 to become a freelance writer and editor.
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