Holley FordFest 2026: Blue Oval Builds Run Wild at Beech Bend

Holley's Ford Fest has been a fixture for years, and the 2026 edition kept the formula working. Car show, drag strip, drift arena, autocross and off-road sections all ran in the same space, so a Mustang owner could spend the morning at a stand-up drag strip and the afternoon watching tandem drift runs. The scope is what makes this event worth the drive.

The Car Show Is Where the Real Surprises Live

We've attended Holley's single-marque events since the very first LS Fest, and the variety on the show field still catches us off guard. Just when you think you've seen every Ford-powered idea, somebody rolls in with something you didn't know could exist. That's the appeal for enthusiasts who've been around a while.

Jack Garris's 1969 Mach 1 is a good example. It started life with an R-Code 428 Cobra Jet, held two national records as “The Pony Express,” and was later restored and driven to all 48 contiguous states. These days it runs a 455-inch FE with Edelbrock heads and intake and a TREMEC TKX five-speed. That's a car with a racing past and a touring present, which is a rarer combination than it sounds.

A Falcon-Bronco Hybrid Built in a Classroom

The most unusual build on the grounds might be Joey Aytes's Destroyer Gray Ford Falcon. Underneath, it sits on a four-wheel-drive '74 Bronco chassis and carries that truck's 302 V8, three-speed transmission and Dana 20 transfer case. The Dana 44 front axle and Ford 9-inch rear finish the driveline, so the mechanical package is sound even if the body is a mashup.

The car was built at the Morgan County Career and Technical Center in Wartburg, Tennessee, where Aytes teaches high-school shop. He says more than a thousand students worked on it over five years. That's a project that works as a teaching tool and as a show car, and it's a reminder that a lot of the Ford hobby's next generation is learning on projects like this one.

Drift Trains and the Sound of Tire Smoke

The Drift Exhibition pulls crowds whether it's your first Holley event or your tenth. Even the drag racers stopped to watch. Vaughn Gittin Jr. and the RTR Vehicles team ran alongside a roster of grassroots Mustang drivers, and they adapted quickly to a slick, wet track on Day 1 before making maximum tire smoke on Saturday. The highlights were the aggressive, high-angle tandem runs from the RTR pros and the drift trains of 10 to 15 cars screaming door-to-door through The Arena. Those trains are the moment where the crowd gets loud.

Drag Strip Fox Bodies and a 12-Second Hybrid

Beech Bend Raceway is known for drag racing, and the quarter-mile delivered. Whether you ran True Street or the wheels-up Coyote Stock crowd, there was a lane where you could show what the car could do. Jeff Maggs of Franklin, Ohio, took the 9-second True Street crown in a 1990 Ford Mustang with a supercharged Fox body. It looks like a mid-'90s car and runs like a modern one, which is the kind of build that keeps the class interesting.

Ryan Augustine made the trip from Pennsylvania with a 351-swapped '85 GT. The five-speed car ran a best-ever 12.30 at 109 mph, which is a good number for a Fox that spent its life in a different era of performance. Then there's Mike Meidinger, who we're fairly sure was the only North Dakota entrant running a 1957 Ranchero. His 428 CJ and four-speed hybrid, half car and half truck, ran 12.88 at 108 mph.

Fox Bodies, Interchangeability and Why They Keep Showing Up

We never get tired of Fox bodies, whether they're stock or heavily modified, Mustang, Capri or Fairmont/Zephyr. Parts interchange across the platform, which makes them a practical base for drag racing, open track days, autocross or whatever your automotive plan happens to be. There were hundreds of them in Bowling Green, and that's no surprise. Shane Weckerly's ProCharged five-speed LX showed the old-school approach, with “Pony” rims that still look right.

Mercury Zephyr and Fairmont cars made their own appearances, too. A Zephyr LM7 attacking an autocross course is the kind of sight you only get at an event like this, and it shows how wide the Blue Oval net really is.

How Grand Champion Is Scored

Grand Champion competition asks for more than straight-line speed. Entrants ran autocross, the 3S Challenge and drag racing, and driver skill mattered as much as the car. A machine that dominated the quarter-mile wasn't always the one that finished on top for the weekend. The format rewards acceleration, braking, handling and driving ability together, which explains why such a wide range of vehicles shows up to compete.

The stacked-headlight full-size Fords from 1965 to 1967 never fail to draw a crowd, and a “more-door” '66 on modern wheels was a standout in that group.

Grand Champion Winners and Class Results

Grand Champion winners:

Late-Model: Brayden O'Banion, Coxs Creek, KY, 2020 Ford Mustang GT

Truck: Kevin Wilbourn, Tekonsha, MI, 2023 Ford F-150

Vintage: Ron Schoch, Lawrenceburg, IN, 1965 Ford Mustang

Grand Champion Autocross results:

1. Russell Wood, Goshen, KY, 1990 Ford Mustang
2. Ron Schoch, Lawrenceburg, IN, 1965 Ford Mustang
3. Brayden O'Banion, Coxs Creek, KY, 2020 Mustang GT

Grand Champion Drag Race results:

1. Kevin Wilbourn, Tekonsha, MI, 2023 Ford F-150
2. Bradley Davidson, Mason, OH, 2020 Ford GT500
3. Mike Gallagher, Kankakee, IL, 2021 Ford Shelby GT500

3S Challenge results:

1. Kevin Wilbourn, Tekonsha, MI, 2023 Ford F-150
2. Ron Schoch, Lawrenceburg, IN, 1965 Ford Mustang
3. Michael Lukens, Newburgh, IN, 2017 Ford Focus RS

Kevin Wilbourn's sweep of the truck class, the drag race and the 3S Challenge is the headline result, and Ron Schoch's Mustang finishing near the top in both the vintage class and two events is a strong showing for a 1965 car. The pattern suggests that a well-sorted car with a capable driver still beats raw horsepower on a mixed course.

If you're thinking about joining the crowd next year, my read is that the Fox-body and Mustang side of the event will keep growing, and the Bronco-Falcon and Ranchero-style builds are where the surprises will come from. Bring a camera and a spare set of ears.