The 16th annual Chevrolet Performance LSX Shootout was celebrated during the 2022 NMRA/NMCA Super Bowl of Street-Legal Drag Racing, which was held at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway in Madison, Illinois, on May 12-15, and it continued to show just how popular the LS engine platform still is after its debut in 1997.
The LSX Shootout currently includes four drag racing classes, with two heads-up and two-index eliminators available to racers, with each class winner receiving a Chevrolet Performance LSX engine block for their efforts. The quickest cars compete in the Brian Tooley Racing LS Xtreme Street Shootout, which is comprised of LS- or LT -powered vehicles that also qualify for the NMCA Xtreme Street category.
The LS Xtreme Street Shootout was comprised of four contenders, three of whom were previous class winners. 2018 winner Jessie Coulter squared off against 202 winner Bill Trovato in round one, with Trovato taking the win with a 4.65 to 4.87. The other pairing pitted last year’s runner up, Tom Hammonds, against 2021 winner, Nick McGrath, with Hammonds earning his second final-round appearance in the category. In the final, Trovato’s 5-th Gen Camaro powered past Hammonds’ classic 1969 machine for the win, 4.63 to 4.76.
The second heads-up class is Chevrolet Performance Stock presented by Scoggin Dickey Parts Center. This is the DR525 crate engine-based eliminator that is run in conjunction with the NMCA. Jason Dietsch filled in for former CPS champion Glenn Pushis, and drove his CRC Camaro to the top spot in qualifying with a 9.925 run.
In eliminations, Dietsch enjoyed a first-round bye and then defeated Shawn Calabrese and Haley Burkhammer to get the final round where he faced Kevin Lumsden. Just as with the LS XS Shootout, it was classic versus modern Camaro, with Lumsden and his 1969 Camaro taking the class win, 9.97 to 10.05.
Proform Rumble presented by Chevrolet Performance has been a part of the LSX Shootout since the event’s early days, and early on in the weekend, 2021 class champion DeWayne Massengale bowed out of competition with a failed engine. Current points leader Regina Puckett, however, continued he charge for the championship and found her way to the final round. In the opposite lane, however, was Keith Vaughn who competes in CPS and occasionally Rumble with his C6 Corvette. And it was Vaughn who was victorious, running 13.003 on his 13.00 index over Puckett with an 11.84 on her 11.75 bid.
Sprouting from the Rumble category is LME Street King presented by Chevrolet Performance, which rounded up the quicker cars and offers a slightly different rule set. Defending champion Kurt Anderson went out in the quarter-finals to newcomer Michael Pryka, who in turn was taken out by Dennis Pearson and his 1998 Camaro. Pearson met class regular Bryan Williams, who returned to Street King competition at this event. While Williams claimed a slight starting-line advantage, Pearson had the tighter package at the stripe, running 10.358 to his 10.25 versus Williams 10.801 on a 10.75 index for the final-round victory.
Aside from the racing, the LSX Shootout is long known for its racer appreciation dinner and prize giveaway held at the start of the event. This year, the track’s beer garden pavilion played host to the party, and giveaway prizes totaled over $50,000. Numerous racers collected prizes throughout the evening, with Cody Poston winning the top prize, the coveted Chevrolet Performance LSX engine block.
The LSX Shootout currently includes four drag racing classes, with two heads-up and two-index eliminators available to racers, with each class winner receiving a Chevrolet Performance LSX engine block for their efforts. The quickest cars compete in the Brian Tooley Racing LS Xtreme Street Shootout, which is comprised of LS- or LT -powered vehicles that also qualify for the NMCA Xtreme Street category.
The LS Xtreme Street Shootout was comprised of four contenders, three of whom were previous class winners. 2018 winner Jessie Coulter squared off against 202 winner Bill Trovato in round one, with Trovato taking the win with a 4.65 to 4.87. The other pairing pitted last year’s runner up, Tom Hammonds, against 2021 winner, Nick McGrath, with Hammonds earning his second final-round appearance in the category. In the final, Trovato’s 5-th Gen Camaro powered past Hammonds’ classic 1969 machine for the win, 4.63 to 4.76.
The second heads-up class is Chevrolet Performance Stock presented by Scoggin Dickey Parts Center. This is the DR525 crate engine-based eliminator that is run in conjunction with the NMCA. Jason Dietsch filled in for former CPS champion Glenn Pushis, and drove his CRC Camaro to the top spot in qualifying with a 9.925 run.
In eliminations, Dietsch enjoyed a first-round bye and then defeated Shawn Calabrese and Haley Burkhammer to get the final round where he faced Kevin Lumsden. Just as with the LS XS Shootout, it was classic versus modern Camaro, with Lumsden and his 1969 Camaro taking the class win, 9.97 to 10.05.
Proform Rumble presented by Chevrolet Performance has been a part of the LSX Shootout since the event’s early days, and early on in the weekend, 2021 class champion DeWayne Massengale bowed out of competition with a failed engine. Current points leader Regina Puckett, however, continued he charge for the championship and found her way to the final round. In the opposite lane, however, was Keith Vaughn who competes in CPS and occasionally Rumble with his C6 Corvette. And it was Vaughn who was victorious, running 13.003 on his 13.00 index over Puckett with an 11.84 on her 11.75 bid.
Sprouting from the Rumble category is LME Street King presented by Chevrolet Performance, which rounded up the quicker cars and offers a slightly different rule set. Defending champion Kurt Anderson went out in the quarter-finals to newcomer Michael Pryka, who in turn was taken out by Dennis Pearson and his 1998 Camaro. Pearson met class regular Bryan Williams, who returned to Street King competition at this event. While Williams claimed a slight starting-line advantage, Pearson had the tighter package at the stripe, running 10.358 to his 10.25 versus Williams 10.801 on a 10.75 index for the final-round victory.
Aside from the racing, the LSX Shootout is long known for its racer appreciation dinner and prize giveaway held at the start of the event. This year, the track’s beer garden pavilion played host to the party, and giveaway prizes totaled over $50,000. Numerous racers collected prizes throughout the evening, with Cody Poston winning the top prize, the coveted Chevrolet Performance LSX engine block.