Las Vegas has much to offer, especially in the cooler months like March. There is so much to do that it can be overwhelming. Sure, you could dance with the devil gambling your hard-earned savings. However, if you’re like me, you avoid downtown as much as possible. I want to be in the great outdoors. More specifically, I want to be at Las Vegas Motor Speedway — one of the finest racetrack facilities in the nation — for Musclecars at the Strip (MATSLV) 2024! Now in its 21st year, MATSLV is everything musclecar — classic and modern. Featuring drag racing, a car show, and autocross, there is something for everyone, and there are usually fighter jets in the air from nearby Nellis Air Force base.
Now, if I were a gambling man, I would’ve bet on beautiful blue skies and bright sunshine before I left. The odds would be in my favor with the annual average rainfall of 5 inches per year and 294 days of sunshine. It’s a good thing I don’t bet, because I would’ve lost big time! I arrived Thursday to temperatures in the upper 40s, record rainfall (of .2 inches), and 50-mph wind gusts rifling up the valley.
Though the wind died down on Friday, Mother Nature had to outdo herself with more record rainfall of .8 inches and highs in the low 50s. For it being St. Patrick’s weekend, it looked like lady luck wasn’t on the side of MATSLV. However, if there is one thing to be said about promoter Phil Painter and his MATSLV team, it is they don’t ever give up until there is no other choice.
Racing Byrds Autocross Action
It’s a good thing weather doesn’t matter when it comes to autocross. MATSLV always has a fantastic autocross hosted by Racing Byrds out of California. As has become the norm, the competition (capped at 75 entries) sold out almost immediately after registration opened in January. The track layout at Las Vegas Motor Speedway is always huge and fast. Classes are set up rather loosely with five classes: Classic Muscle, Modern Muscle, Street Car, Truck, Ladies, and Project (lovingly referred to as Jalopy or J class).
As mentioned, Friday was wet and slippery as the rain pulled oil to the asphalt’s surface. Though times weren’t super fast, it was obvious that everyone was having fun. The breeze on Saturday morning quickly blew the autocross course dry. The competitors were ready with their cars set on kill, whether they were street cars or purpose-built autocross cars. Everyone was knocking seconds off their times.
I’m used to autocross competitions with mostly four-cylinder imports screaming around the course. MATSLV is a welcome change of pace to see big, throaty, V8-powered cars motoring through the cones. The guys from TCI Engineering and Reiss Racing brought an armada of classic muscle cars and trucks. Though most are powered by modern engines with trick, modern suspensions, it’s cool to see vintage iron being used.
I always say that you will have fun at autocross, no matter what you drive. Nowhere is this more evident than in the J-class, which is always the most entertaining. Introduced last year at MATSLV, this class features old musclecars in various states of restoration. Some look like barn finds with stock suspension and drivetrain, while others have started to add handling components and hopped-up engines. You will always see the biggest smiles on the faces of those participants. No matter the class, the camaraderie shared by autocrossers is second to none, and it is common to see competitors helping each other go faster.
MATSLV Drag Racing
Friday was essentially a washout for the record amount of drag racers, with only two classes running around midday before the rain started again. The forecast looked better for Saturday morning, but the plan to start at 7:00 a.m. wasn’t possible. With a steady breeze helping, the track crew worked throughout the morning drying and prepping the track. Actually, the track crew got a workout all weekend. If it wasn’t prepping lanes from rain, it was oil downs or crashes. With 20-plus classes on the docket, the scheduler’s pencils and erasers got a workout, too. After losing a day and a half to the weather, they had to play Tetris, condensing three days’ worth of racing into one and a half.
Saturday
Racing finally began around 9:30 a.m. Saturday morning, with opening ceremonies performed a little over three hours later with the prayer and national anthem performed acapella by Aiyana Kiefer, and again, with Las Vegas native Christian Brady doing an instrumental version on guitar. On his last note, they fired up the Pro Mods for their first round of qualifying. The planets finally seemed to align for MATSLV.
Things were rolling right along with minimal downtime until a Nostalgia ’55 Chevy Gasser flipped. Luckily, the driver was uninjured and emerged from the wreckage before the safety team arrived. The cleanup took a while, and drag racing was back in business at MATSLV. It would be a long night, but it looked like most classes would get qualifying times. That is until around 10:30 p.m. when one inexperienced racer oiled down the entire track from start to shutdown road. With an estimated cleanup time of two hours, MATSLV made the hard decision to call it a night.
Sunday
Although the schedulers had to rearrange some more classes and forgo buybacks, Sunday morning’s blue skies and bubbly clouds encouraged optimism. Eliminations went well throughout the day until 1:45 p.m. when a car swapped lanes and slapped the wall. However, it was a quick cleanup, and things were rolling again for the next two hours until the small tire class.
Brandon James was hooked up all weekend with his blown ’67 Nova, laying down some amazing times in the eighth mile. On his previous pass, the car was dancing the front wheels. He was on another barnburner this time, only he wasn’t so lucky. With the rear of the Nova squatting almost to the bumper, the front end came up again just before the finish line. This time, it took flight as air got under the front clip.
Though you could hear Brandon get off the gas, the harrowing flight had already begun. When the car reached the quarter-mile mark, it was sideways and a good 10-15 feet in the air! The skyward trajectory immediately stopped when the Zeus fasteners gave way, ejecting the front clip, and the parachute deployed. The car slammed hard nose down into the ground, blowing the right front wheel off and sending it hurtling toward the return road. Amazingly, the car didn’t roll or hit either wall. Thankfully, Brandon was alert and mostly unhurt, though he probably needed some clean underwear.
Needless to say, it shut the track down again for a short time, which they couldn’t afford. However, the MATSLV team stuck with the plan to get through eliminations, and that was the last major slowdown. Racing went on well into the night, with the finals for every category contested under the bright lights of LVMS. Here are the winners and runner-ups for some of the major class:
Pontiac
Win: Carolin German
RU: Jr Mora
Pro Mod
Win: Nick Januik
RU: Josh Kalich
Unlimited Modern Muscle
Win: Al Jimenez
RU: Tom Hall
Demon 170
Win: Mike Mulder
RU: Johnny Anderson
Battle of the Brands
Win: Kaitlyn Tripp
RU: Monte Beagle
Stock/Super Stock
Win: Trey Vetter
RU: John Grey
MATSLV Car Show
Attendance of the car show at MATSLV has had me scratching my head for a few years now. Not that the numbers are horrible, but for a large regional event with as many years under its belt as MATSLV, I’d love to see them improve. The drag racing and autocross part of the event sells out every year without fail. But for some reason, car show participation doesn’t seem to be growing despite all the other activities to keep participants occupied while they are there. LVMS is one of the premier automotive event facilities in the nation; there is no reason people shouldn’t be supporting it. And Vegas is a huge city with plenty of nightlife for after-hours fun!
Despite my complaints and the not-so-favorable forecast, there were a good number of cars in the show this year. However, MATSLV provides a massive area for the car show with enough room to fit thousands of cars. They provide gorgeous trophies and bring outstanding feature cars, vendors, and celebrities to the event. Unfortunately, Friday was a complete washout for the car show. There were a few diehards that stuck it out, but we’d have to wait until Saturday to see the shiny bits.
The roads were a little damp Saturday morning, so folks were slightly lazy to arrive. But by mid-morning, the spaces started filling up quickly near the stage. Everyone got to work wiping down their cars and shining up the paint.
As you may know, several years ago, the “M” in MATSLV used to stand for Mopars before it turned into Musclecars. Given that legacy, the car show leans more toward Chrysler and Dodge. However, a few GM and FoMoCo rides are starting to creep into the mix. It’s always good to see a variety of makes, models, and years at a car show. We’d love to see more of them!
Speaking of variety, there is always a terrific mix of classic and modern muscle at MATSLV. Several car clubs also show up in force, especially when it comes to the new muscle. It’s good to see the camaraderie between the members. The feature car area under the tent has some significant vehicles that are always a popular draw for spectators. This year, Wally Elder towed his amazing 2,000-plus horsepower Pro Street Daytona out to the desert all the way from Dittmer, Missouri. Paul Rossi was also there with two of his historic Dodge drag cars.
MATSLV Charity Giveaway Car
Inspired by Quinn Peterson’s courageous battle against bone cancer, MATSLV partnered with Relentless Muscle Car Club to give away a 1966 Plymouth Satellite. All the proceeds benefitted Children’s Cancer Charity. Tickets were just $5, could be bought online, and the winner didn’t have to be present.
The winning ticket was drawn by Quinn during a break in drag racing action. With well in excess of 5,000 tickets sold, it was incredible that the winner, Nicholas Ariotti of Boulder City, Utah, was present at the event. Well, in actuality, Nicholas was on his way back from his home to pick up his drag cars with his trailer. When they called him, he had to turn around to get a bigger trailer! As a bonus, his son made it to the finals in his class, but not before he checked out the Satellite with his girlfriend.
Conclusion
Despite the two-day record rainfall and the trying times on the drag strip, MATSLV 2024 was a resounding success for its 21st year. We’re sure there were some who might have been upset by the schedule changes due to the weather, but what is one to do? When you have an outdoor event, you are always dancing with the devil. The MATSLV team did the best with the hand they were dealt. Everyone I talked to was excited to be there and appreciative of the effort to make their weekend a success. Keep an eye on the Musclecars at the Stip website for an announcement on the 2025 dates.
Lastly, if you want to see what happened last year, check out the article from last year here!
