Is there anything better than running autocross under the lights? Well, I don’t know . . . I’ve never had the opportunity. Heck, I’ve never even seen it done before! Thanks to Mopars and Musclecars at The Strip (MATSLV), at least I got to SEE it (maybe next year I can compete in it). Taking place on Friday and Saturday, September 10th and 11th, at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, MATSLV celebrates everything Musclecars can do. And what better way to showcase what they are capable of than going from point A to point B as fast as you can?
For me, the best way is not in a straight line! Even though it might be the fastest, where’s the fun in that? Sure, it’s is exhilarating to blast along in one direction, but no one ever said you have to go straight from point A to point B. To truly test a musclecar, you’ve got to puts some twists in the road, and autocross is one of the best ways to showcase how you can become one with your machine. Autocross allows enthusiasts to show off all the elements of what a musclecar is all about: acceleration, braking, and suspension. Both days at MATSLV saw a terrific mix of vehicles hitting the course. There were imports, musclecars, and even muscletrucks.
The course was set up on the north side of the venue on a smooth(er) patch of the parking lot near the dirt track. Rob Byrd of RacingByrds designed a fast, sweeping course that was perfect for nighttime running. Like driving on the road at night, the biggest challenges autocrossing at night are depth perception, shadows, and glare. As day transitioned into night, it must have felt like an all-new course to the participants once the lights came on after dusk. Byrd’s design was simple enough for beginners but challenging enough for experts, which is exactly what an event like MATSLV is all about. Thanks go out to the autocross sponsors, Falken Tire, Anderson Composites, and Total Cost Involved, for their support of the event.
I made a few passes by the course to snap some photos throughout the event. It’s not an easy task to shoot photography in low light without a dedicated lighting setup as the vehicles move left and right, in and out of the shadows. I’m not sure if I got photos of all of the participants, as I was all over the venue, but below are the ones I got! Enjoy the photos, and remember HIGH-RESOLUTION prints can be purchased on the Shop page. Just make sure to click on the photo to maximize it and copy down the title name before you go there.
(Note: There are two groups of photos below (Friday/Saturday) and the photos may take a minute to load. Be patient, all good things come to those who wait!)
