Tom Kempf's '00 Camaro was...
Tom Kempf's '00 Camaro was in a heavy accident during testing earlier in the week, and came back to win the LSX Drag Radial class on Sunday. The team straightened the frame, and added some interesting bodywork to the right side of the car, just making qualifying on Saturday.
It Was Only A Matter Of Time before a major LS-themed event hit the radar in the world of drag racing. With the breadth of racers out there that have the newest Bow Tie powerplants in their cars, the NMCA and GM Performance Parts saw an opportunity to have an LS-themed event, the inaugural LSX Shootout held at Memphis Motorsports Park last October. Held during the NMCA World Finals, GM Performance Parts and other major sponsors came through with a slew of prizes for the competition, including a purse valued at over $60,000. "The Professor," Warren Johnson, was on hand as Grand Marshal of the event. Our sister magazine, GM High-Tech Performance, was also present, as it was the presenting publication.
Three distinct drag classes were the highlight of the racing portion of the event. Drag Radial, a heads-up category that showcased the best Lsbased vehicles (most of which were running 7s and 8s), and awarded an LS7 crate motor along with $3,000 to win. There was the Naturally Aspirated class, which was heads-up and allowed slicks. It paid $2,000 to win, plus an LS7 mill. There was an Index class that allowed just about any LS-powered machine to bracket race, with the prize being an LSX Bow Tie block and $1,000. Finally, the LS-powered entrants also received free entry into the NMCA True Street competition, which witnessed over 50 LSX entrants take it to the streets of "River City." This category was run alongside the NMCA class-the road tour train was almost 100 cars long-but the LSX participants had their own awards.
Competition was aggressive, to say the least. In the Drag Radial class, Tom Kempf, who thrashed just to get his car in the competition after suffering a testing accident a few days previous, topped Paul Major in a thrilling final-Kempf claimed the narrow victory in his turbocharged '00 Camaro, pipping Major with a 7.871 to Major's 7.892.
The NA class also saw some close action, with Kevin Patterson in his '95 Firebird taking out Judson Massngil in a '99 Camaro. Patterson ran down a 9.560 at 140.43 mph to Massingil's 9.920 at 112.80 mph. That's some serious all-motor performance. On the Index class side of things, Leopold Mcocki pedaled his '98 Trans Am to a 11.789 on an 11.50 dialin, besting Derek Carter in another '98 T/A.
The LSX True Street competition saw three Pontiacs take home hardware, with Dave Childress, in a '98 Firebird, claiming top honors. Childress' threerun average of 10.147 was good enough for him to win.
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 This Trailblazer SS wowed...  This Trailblazer SS wowed the crowd with a stout 10-second pass in early LSX Index qualification. Unfortunately, the SUV didn't have the proper safety equipment to run anything lower than an 11.49. The astute driver kindly responded to tech, "Well, it might not have a rollcage, but it does have eight airbags, will that work?" |  Spiro Pappas' stunning '69...  Spiro Pappas' stunning '69 Camaro went through the Super Street semis with a blistering 6.989 at 203.86 mph, but broke in the finals. |  GM Performance Parts brought...  GM Performance Parts brought two test mules to the event, a Hugger Orange Camaro and an Impala SS. |
 This car might be familiar...  This car might be familiar to avid Super Chevy readers, it's Joe Kosiba and his 9-second '63 Nova (February 2007). Kosiba finished fifth overall in the NMCA True Street competition with a 9.560 average over three runs. |  Paul Major traveled all the...  Paul Major traveled all the way from Ft. Solonga, New York, and came up just short in the LSX Drag Radial class finals. |  Here's one of those "other"...  Here's one of those "other" cars again, slowing down the weekend's festivities with a grenaded rear, right on the starting line. Thanks for playing. Don't call us, we'll call you for next year's event. |
 Late-model Civic Hatchback...  Late-model Civic Hatchback + 2,100 pounds + LS1 = The Civette, an LS-powered car that was just way too strange to pass up. |  We saw this and decided that...  We saw this and decided that it was time to leave the LSX Shootout. We're already making plans for next year's event, as this NMCA crew really put on a great show, coupled with an awesome turnout of LS-powered race action. |  "The Professor," Warren Johnson,...  "The Professor," Warren Johnson, was on hand all weekend as Grand Marshall of the event. The six-time NHRA Pro Stock champion was quite impressed with the event. |
 Steve Turley's '98 Camaro...  Steve Turley's '98 Camaro was fast all weekend-he was consistently in the 7.900 area-but came up short when he broke in the quarterfinals of the LSX Drag Radial class. |  Pink Crocs are clearly the...  Pink Crocs are clearly the rage on the NMCA circuit-they work great in just about any environment, and are perfect for prestaging cars. |  We came across this awesome,...  We came across this awesome, un-restored NHRA Stocker, which is presently a "daily beater" as the owner told us. It raced from 1965-69 in H/SA. |
 Comp Cams sponsored a small-block...  Comp Cams sponsored a small-block build-off challenge, and the Saturday morning teams were from the School of Automotive Machinists in Houston, Texas. Both teams thrashed the engines together in about 40 minutes. |  The SAM students are clearly...  The SAM students are clearly taught to multi-task, as this student tightens a spark plug and an intake bolt simultaneously. |  There also happened to be...  There also happened to be a car show going on during the actionpacked event, filled with some really nice Bow Tie machinery. |