Stellar Spectacle—Holley’s Intergalactic Ford Festival delivered non-stop Blue Oval action in Bowling Green
Written by Steve Turner
Photography by the FSC staff and courtesy of Holley
While the Whipple Superchargers NMRA World Finals Presented by Scott's Trailer Sales has long been a fixture on the calendar of Ford fans across the country, the addition of the Holley Intergalactic Ford Festival turned the Blue Oval transformed the NMRA season finale into the Ford event of the year.
In 2023 that tradition continued as the Ford faithful traveled to Beech Bend Raceway in Bowling Green, Kentucky, to witness a diverse spectacle of performance endeavors. On the Beech Bend Oval, there was an autocross, a burnout contest, a drifting exhibition, and the epic paint-trading Ford Fest 50 circle track race in which purpose-built Crown Victorias proved that rubbin’ is racin’.
On Saturday night the oval-track in-field also hosted the return of the Retro Meet, which took fans back to the ’80s and early ’90s.
Not limited to the oval, the Grand Champion class, which includes autocross, drag racing, and 3S (speed, steering, and stop) competitions extended to the Beech Bend 1,320 alongside NMRA’s vast lineup of drag racing classes. Moreover, the Dyno Challenge competition kept the rollers rocking all weekend long as competitors tried to put down the biggest number in the naturally aspirated and power adder categories.
Well beyond the pavement, the Off-Road Experience hosted RTR’s Funhaver Broncos, TORR Raptors, and the wild, wacky HOOPTIE X machines on the off-road course. There were also a series of participant challenges including an obstacle course, a flex ramp, and truck tug-o-war competitions. For those who couldn’t be contained by the Beech Bend facilities, the Countryside Cruise took participants on a scavenger hunt across Bowling Green.
There was so much action at the Holley Intergalactic Ford Festival that it was a challenge to experience it all, but doing so was well worth the effort. If you were there this year, you know how much fun it was. If you missed this installment, it’s not too early to start planning for the 2024 NMRA World Finals featuring the Holley Intergalactic Ford Festival as the event returns to Beech Bend Raceway from September 26-29, 2024. Until then, let’s relive some highlights from the 2023 event.
Ford Performance Parts/RTR Vehicles Drifting
The Funhaver himself and his teammate Chelsea Denofa, who took home the 2023 Formula Drift championship before retiring, brought their slideways show to the Holley Intergalactic Ford Festival. The duo put on multiple tandem drifting displays and even traded a little paint in the process. The Funhavers put smiles on faces in Bowling Green.
It wasn’t just the season pros that were shredding tires on the Beech Bend oval, however. Cameron Griffin, who moved from an import to an S550 to join his pal Justin Bauer’s drift team, was one of many putting on a show for the fans.
Vaughn and his team didn’t keep all the fun to themselves in Bowling Green. Instead, they invited 20 enthusiasts to enjoy fun in drift, autocross, drag, and off-road environments, both driving their cars and riding along in RTR vehicles with pro drivers as part of The RTR Experience.
Scoggin Dickey Parts Center/Mustang Hub Magazine Grand Champion
Longtime Optima Ultimate Street Car competitor dominated the Grand Champion class in his VMP-supercharged, Coyote-powered 2008 Ford Shelby GT500. Though he only placed third in the Autocross segment, his repeatable performances in the Drag and 3S Challenge competitions allowed him to earn 295 points out of the 300 available.
Though his traditional chariot, a ’57 Ford, was wounded, Lars Ekberg was undeterred as he competed at the Holley Intergalactic Ford Festival in his 2003 SVT Lightning. Lars Ekberg normally drives a beautiful red 57 Ford, but that’s down for repairs in anticipation of the next Optima event at Virginia International Raceway. Instead, he brought out his 2003 Ford F-150 Lightning. He takes home the win, getting a jacket, $1,000, and a huge trophy.
Ryan Jones' 1966 Gulf livery-inspired Mustang. This classic beauty, a family project with help from friends, was transformed with a Holley setup, including Holley Sniper fuel injection and a 331-cubic-inch engine, TKX five-speed transmission, and the Gulf theme livery.
MSD/ProTouring.com Autocross
Jeff Cox piloted his 2010 Shelby GT500 to a runner-up finish in the Autocross competition, but when the top five finishers squared off in the three-lap, head-to-head Autocross Shootout, he triumphed with a 37.753 final score. Cox also placed second in the 3S Challenge competition.
Not all the awards were earned by a numeric metric at the Holley Intergalactic Ford Festival. Ford Fusion pilot Michael Hankus drove away with the Spirit of Ford Fest Award.
MSD/ProTouring.com 3S Challenge
In the 3S Challenge, which tests the speed, steering, and stopping power of each vehicle, it was Mike Gallagher who drove his 2021 Mustang GT to the top spot with a 24.083 score.
Indy Power Products/FordMuscle.com Dyno Challenge
Courtney Looney not only raced in Circle D Specialties True Street and TREMEC All-Female True Street, but her ride rocked the rollers as well. Her supercharged, E85-burning 2020 Mustang GT cranked out 869 rear-wheel horsepower at the behest of a Lund Racing tune to take home top honors in the Power Adder category of the Dyno Challenge.
Ford Festival 50
You can see a bit of everything at the Holley Intergalactic Ford Festival, including a circle track race. The Ford Festival 50 pits a pack of purpose-prepped Crown Victorias against one another, and trading paint is always part of the program.
Burnout Contest
Another entertaining aspect of the event is the Australian-style Burnout Contest. This year everything from one of the Hooptie-X competitors to a Coyote-swapped Mopar destroyed their rear tires to the delight of the crowd.
Retro Meet
Retro Meet returned in 2023 for another trip back to the ’80s and early ’90s. This celebration included vehicles and attire from that area along with a generous dose of tire smoke. Vaughn Gittin Jr. (right) got the tires smoking by drifting around Retro Meet founder Harris Lue’s Calypso Fox. Then Gittin pulled into the burnout box to show the future contestants how it’s done.
The burnouts are a big part of the Retro Meet attraction, and they take place within a safety cage under the watchful eye of Lue — and the huge crowd of onlookers.
Another big part of Retro Meet is the costume contest, which awards an impressive array of prizes. This year Holley’s own Bill Tichenor (left) got in the fun with his garb and participated as a judge. The contest came down to a Madonna and a Ninja Turtle, but the turtle power muscled to the top prize.
Written by Steve Turner
Photography by the FSC staff and courtesy of Holley
While the Whipple Superchargers NMRA World Finals Presented by Scott's Trailer Sales has long been a fixture on the calendar of Ford fans across the country, the addition of the Holley Intergalactic Ford Festival turned the Blue Oval transformed the NMRA season finale into the Ford event of the year.
In 2023 that tradition continued as the Ford faithful traveled to Beech Bend Raceway in Bowling Green, Kentucky, to witness a diverse spectacle of performance endeavors. On the Beech Bend Oval, there was an autocross, a burnout contest, a drifting exhibition, and the epic paint-trading Ford Fest 50 circle track race in which purpose-built Crown Victorias proved that rubbin’ is racin’.
On Saturday night the oval-track in-field also hosted the return of the Retro Meet, which took fans back to the ’80s and early ’90s.
Not limited to the oval, the Grand Champion class, which includes autocross, drag racing, and 3S (speed, steering, and stop) competitions extended to the Beech Bend 1,320 alongside NMRA’s vast lineup of drag racing classes. Moreover, the Dyno Challenge competition kept the rollers rocking all weekend long as competitors tried to put down the biggest number in the naturally aspirated and power adder categories.
Well beyond the pavement, the Off-Road Experience hosted RTR’s Funhaver Broncos, TORR Raptors, and the wild, wacky HOOPTIE X machines on the off-road course. There were also a series of participant challenges including an obstacle course, a flex ramp, and truck tug-o-war competitions. For those who couldn’t be contained by the Beech Bend facilities, the Countryside Cruise took participants on a scavenger hunt across Bowling Green.
There was so much action at the Holley Intergalactic Ford Festival that it was a challenge to experience it all, but doing so was well worth the effort. If you were there this year, you know how much fun it was. If you missed this installment, it’s not too early to start planning for the 2024 NMRA World Finals featuring the Holley Intergalactic Ford Festival as the event returns to Beech Bend Raceway from September 26-29, 2024. Until then, let’s relive some highlights from the 2023 event.
Ford Performance Parts/RTR Vehicles Drifting
The Funhaver himself and his teammate Chelsea Denofa, who took home the 2023 Formula Drift championship before retiring, brought their slideways show to the Holley Intergalactic Ford Festival. The duo put on multiple tandem drifting displays and even traded a little paint in the process. The Funhavers put smiles on faces in Bowling Green.
It wasn’t just the season pros that were shredding tires on the Beech Bend oval, however. Cameron Griffin, who moved from an import to an S550 to join his pal Justin Bauer’s drift team, was one of many putting on a show for the fans.
Vaughn and his team didn’t keep all the fun to themselves in Bowling Green. Instead, they invited 20 enthusiasts to enjoy fun in drift, autocross, drag, and off-road environments, both driving their cars and riding along in RTR vehicles with pro drivers as part of The RTR Experience.
Scoggin Dickey Parts Center/Mustang Hub Magazine Grand Champion
Longtime Optima Ultimate Street Car competitor dominated the Grand Champion class in his VMP-supercharged, Coyote-powered 2008 Ford Shelby GT500. Though he only placed third in the Autocross segment, his repeatable performances in the Drag and 3S Challenge competitions allowed him to earn 295 points out of the 300 available.
Though his traditional chariot, a ’57 Ford, was wounded, Lars Ekberg was undeterred as he competed at the Holley Intergalactic Ford Festival in his 2003 SVT Lightning. Lars Ekberg normally drives a beautiful red 57 Ford, but that’s down for repairs in anticipation of the next Optima event at Virginia International Raceway. Instead, he brought out his 2003 Ford F-150 Lightning. He takes home the win, getting a jacket, $1,000, and a huge trophy.
Ryan Jones' 1966 Gulf livery-inspired Mustang. This classic beauty, a family project with help from friends, was transformed with a Holley setup, including Holley Sniper fuel injection and a 331-cubic-inch engine, TKX five-speed transmission, and the Gulf theme livery.
MSD/ProTouring.com Autocross
Jeff Cox piloted his 2010 Shelby GT500 to a runner-up finish in the Autocross competition, but when the top five finishers squared off in the three-lap, head-to-head Autocross Shootout, he triumphed with a 37.753 final score. Cox also placed second in the 3S Challenge competition.
Not all the awards were earned by a numeric metric at the Holley Intergalactic Ford Festival. Ford Fusion pilot Michael Hankus drove away with the Spirit of Ford Fest Award.
MSD/ProTouring.com 3S Challenge
In the 3S Challenge, which tests the speed, steering, and stopping power of each vehicle, it was Mike Gallagher who drove his 2021 Mustang GT to the top spot with a 24.083 score.
Indy Power Products/FordMuscle.com Dyno Challenge
Courtney Looney not only raced in Circle D Specialties True Street and TREMEC All-Female True Street, but her ride rocked the rollers as well. Her supercharged, E85-burning 2020 Mustang GT cranked out 869 rear-wheel horsepower at the behest of a Lund Racing tune to take home top honors in the Power Adder category of the Dyno Challenge.
Ford Festival 50
You can see a bit of everything at the Holley Intergalactic Ford Festival, including a circle track race. The Ford Festival 50 pits a pack of purpose-prepped Crown Victorias against one another, and trading paint is always part of the program.
Burnout Contest
Another entertaining aspect of the event is the Australian-style Burnout Contest. This year everything from one of the Hooptie-X competitors to a Coyote-swapped Mopar destroyed their rear tires to the delight of the crowd.
Retro Meet
Retro Meet returned in 2023 for another trip back to the ’80s and early ’90s. This celebration included vehicles and attire from that area along with a generous dose of tire smoke. Vaughn Gittin Jr. (right) got the tires smoking by drifting around Retro Meet founder Harris Lue’s Calypso Fox. Then Gittin pulled into the burnout box to show the future contestants how it’s done.
The burnouts are a big part of the Retro Meet attraction, and they take place within a safety cage under the watchful eye of Lue — and the huge crowd of onlookers.
Another big part of Retro Meet is the costume contest, which awards an impressive array of prizes. This year Holley’s own Bill Tichenor (left) got in the fun with his garb and participated as a judge. The contest came down to a Madonna and a Ninja Turtle, but the turtle power muscled to the top prize.