The Never Lift 1/2 mile racing event took place two weeks ago and was hosted by Motovicity Distribution and ShiftS3ctor in Coalinga, CA on April 28-29, 2018. Never Lift is a side-by-side, adrenaline-pumping airstrip half-mile racing event with speeds sometimes topping and then blowing by 200 mph!! The two-day action-packed event featured over 200 high-powered vehicles competing for bragging rights and impressive prizes. CSF was there not just to support the event as a vendor, but we also brought out 2 of our company cars to compete!
When Motovicity Distribution, the largest wholesale distributor of CSF products, approached us last year about the Never Lift event, we were instantly on board as one of the sponsors. Motovicity is one of CSF’s largest high-performance distribution accounts, and we’re very glad we have the type of relationship with them where we can count on and support each other. We’ve worked with them in previous inaugural racing events such as The Speed Ring, which they kicked off in Southern California at the Auto Club Speedway a couple of years ago. That event has continued to be a successful annual event that is in its 3rd year in 2018.
As airstrip racing popularity continues to grow around the country, especially on the west coast, the Shift S3ctor / Never Lift continues to ride the momentum at the right time. I can foresee these types of racing events gaining even more traction among the racing industry across the country in the near future. With that being said, there’s no better place for grassroots half-mile racing on the west coast than the Coalinga Municipal Airport.
I was extremely excited for this event as this was my first time attending a ShiftS3ctor event, and it was the first time the #CSFEvoX would hit the track. Immediately after SEMA, the Evo X began its transformation from show car to racecar. If you want to see the build from the ground up, there’s a series of blogs (currently in the works) that cover each stage of the build. Check out part 1 here.
The preparations for the Evo leading up to this Never Lift event was a roller coaster ride. As if it were SEMA all over again. A little over a month before the event, the engine went through a complete rebuild by MotoIQ. They also developed some aero components to make it a little more aerodynamic. Then after that, Rywire finished up some plumbing and wiring for the rear diff cooler to ensure we got efficient power to all four wheels. They also did one complete look over the rest of the plumbing/wiring to ensure everything was good to go. Last stop was 5150 Racing for some fine tuning.
So the first day of the event was Saturday, April 28, 2018, and I was literally at 5150 Racing until mid-night Friday night getting a last minute tune before the event. Once the car was done getting tuned, there was still the 4 ½ hour road trip to Coalinga, CA. After arriving at nearly 5 am Saturday morning, I had a brief moment to rest before heading to the event to set up by 7 am. I’ll tell you one thing; there’s nothing like waking up to the smell of cow manure to start your morning. That was soon to be replaced with a mixture of burning corn, racing fuel, exhaust, and rubber, which is more tolerable!
I began to grow more anxious as we approached the Coalinga Municipal Airport. Like a kid on Christmas morning, I was ready to dive right in, set up, and get the racing going. After all the butterflies have left my stomach, the reality began to sink in. The Evo has been unloaded; booth was set up, now on to the driver’s meeting. Ryan Fisher, co-owner of ShiftS3ctor, laid down the LAW (no pun intended, if you didn’t know, he’s a Lawyer by day). Like any other race event, safety is a priority especially when it comes to high horsepower/top speed racing at an airport that was still active during the event.
Not a second was spared after the driver’s meeting as cars already began to line up in the staging area. I’ve got to say, the layout for the event was well thought out. The staging area ran right down the middle of vendor row. This was great for all the vendors. It drew a lot of traffic from cars, drivers and spectators. It’s like cruising down the Main Street of vendor row. This also gave us front seats to all the action.
To kick off the event, the first pass was an R35 Nissan Skyline GTR chased by a cruiser from the Coalinga Police Department. It was like a chase scene from Need for Speed Most Wanted. In the beginning, most of the cars that made their first passes were a little modest, as I’m sure they were just shaking things down and getting things dialed in. However, as the day went by, the faster the cars went. You can hear the crowd as cars began to hit the 200 mph mark.
Motovicity was giving out over $35,000 in cash and prizes over the two-day event. The top prize/award was the Fastest Badass of Never Lift. The winner would get $2,500 for overall fastest, Fastest Badass Trophy, Free Weekend Registration for Never Lift 2019 and an Invite to have their car featured in Motovicity’s booth at the PRI Show w/expenses covered! That was just one of many categories up for grabs. To check out the full results and winners of each category, visit Motvicity’s Never Lift Page.
There were many winners over the weekend, but nobody was as fast as Morris Malone’s little red Corvette. Talk about wiping out the competition. Not only did he earn FASTEST BADASS with the overall top speed, but he also won 1st place in the RWD class on Saturday AND Sunday. Sunday was the day he broke the RWD half-mile world record of 236 mph.
As usual, Team English Racing came out in full effect. They swept both AWD & FWD categories both days and won 1st place Sedan on Saturday. Myles Kerr (@gringointegra) broke his record and hit a top speed of 207.47 mph dubbing his Acura Integra as the world’s fastest FWD Honda/Acura.
Our buddy Chuck (@turbo_chuck) caught the attention of many with his 4-door Honda Civic. He clocked in at 189.7 mph making him the world’s fastest Honda/Acura sedan. Chucks cooling setup includes CSF’s Ultimate K-Swap Radiator.
Andy Costello, representing BMW of San Rafael made his mark over the weekend. Everyone was looking forward to his burnouts in the staging area. He had the top speed of 172.22 mph. Andy’s F80 is COOLED by CSF’s Top Mount Dual-Pass Charge-Air-Cooler.
The CSF BMW F10 M5 made numerous passes. The fastest pass was 152.91 mph. I was able to take it out for a spin as well, but I only got it up to 149 mph. I’m sure I weighed it down just a tad bit, and at the same time I was blasting the A/C and jammin’ to some tunes. It was an amazing experience nonetheless! The CSF BMW F10 M5 showcased the ALL-NEW Twin Charge-Air-Cooler Set powder coated in a custom Fire engine red color that turned the heads of many during the times the hood was open.
Jeff Dapra’s Porsche (997) 911 Turbo was making consistent passes throughout the day on Sunday. He stayed within the 170’s mph, hoping to break into the 180 mph mark, but he topped out at 175.44 mph, which is pretty solid for his build. Jeff’s 911 Turbo is outfitted with CSF’s World’s Best All-Aluminum Porsche Radiators that kept it cool throughout the event.
I don’t care how big you think your cojones are, none are bigger than these guys who were making 170-180+ mph passes. There were times we experienced random gusts of wind that could have easily knocked them off balance. Mad props gents!!
I’m amazed at the diversity of cars that showed up. With over 200 registered cars ranging from JDM imports, domestics, euro and exotics, there was something for everyone to enjoy. The quality of the builds, the excitement of breaking records, the adrenaline rush of pushing cars to its limits and the incredible hospitality from Motovicity and ShiftS3ctor made this event a once in a lifetime experience. I am looking forward to the next Never Lift event. Rest assured, the CSF EVO X will make a comeback and make more passes for the fans to see. Congratulations to all the winners and Motovicity for a successful event! Till next time – Stay COOL!!
For additional coverage and more amazing photos of the event, visit our media partner SpeedHunters. Shout out to Trevor Yale Ryan for capturing some epic footage of the Never Lift 2018 event. Check out his stories here:
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