Drivers vying for the Grand National championship at Holley LS Fest West 2024 must compete in an interdisciplinary quadrathlon that includes drag racing, autocross, Track X, and the S3 Challenge. Track X is a longer, faster track than the tight and technical autocross, and drag racing is self-explanatory, but the S3 Challenge deserves an introduction.

The name of the event stems from the fact that vehicles must speed away from the starting line, steer through a 180-degree turn to head back as quickly as possible before stopping inside a box without knocking over or even hitting any cones. Competitors start at the same time on courses that are a mirror image of each other, one with a left turn, the other with a right turn. While it looks like a heads-up race, they’re really racing against the clock, trying to get two good times to set their score.

Competitors are lined up evenly so they each have a similar head start before triggering the starting beam in their lane. Then, both drivers give the starter a thumbs up to indicate they’re ready before getting waved to start. Drivers leave hard but must keep under control as they make the big, sweeping turn and head back. We visited the pits and saw some racers looking at their Pro Dash, replaying the run to see where they could squeeze out a tenth of a second.

As fun as it is to watch the vehicles dive and lock up the brakes as they squirm to a stop and occasionally punt a traffic cone when they overshoot, it’s even more fun for the drivers.