The event began in 2004, co-sponsored by Sport Compact Car and Superstreet magazines, and was traditionally staged in November at Buttonwillow Raceway Park near Bakersfield, immediately before the SEMA show in Las Vegas. The finals used Buttonwillow's Clockwise 13-turn configuration (CW13). The event was held twice during its inaugural year; it otherwise ran once annually. The format draws direct inspiration from the Hyper Rev Super Battle held at Tsukuba Circuit in Japan.
Sanctioning passed from the National Auto Sport Association to the Sports Car Club of America in 2019. The series is also associated with Global Time Attack (GTA), which has presented SLB events at additional venues.
The arrival of the HKS C230R — a heavily modified Mitsubishi Evolution VIII driven by Nobuteru Taniguchi — at the 2007 event set a benchmark of 1:43.523, five seconds faster than the previous record posted by the Sun Auto "Cyber Evo" Mitsubishi Evolution VII driven by Eiji "Tarzan" Yamada in 2004. The HKS time prompted a sustained domestic effort to reclaim the record. Notable Japanese participants included the Signal Auto Nissan Skyline GT-R R34, the Cusco/Tomei Powered Subaru Impreza STI (also with Yamada, 2009), and the 5Zigen Honda Accord Euro R.
At the 2010 event, Sierra Sierra Enterprises' Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VIII driven by David "Emp" Empringham lapped in 1:41.056, and Factor X Motorsports Development's Acura NSX driven by Billy Johnson recorded 1:41.949 — both bettering the HKS mark by a significant margin. World Racing's Scion tC, driven by Chris Rado, established the Unlimited FF standing record.
Global Time Attack expanded SLB to Circuit of The Americas, with events documented in 2023, 2024, and 2025. The COTA rounds run multiple classes: Unlimited, Limited, Street, Enthusiast, GT-X, and Max Effort.
At the April 2025 COTA event, Feras Qartoumy set the fastest overall Unlimited time and a new RWD record with a 2:00.668 in a Chevrolet Corvette Z06 for Team Qartoumy. Oliver Webb and Cory Lewis led the GT-X class with a 1:59.510 in a McLaren 720 GT3X running for RAFA Racing Club, the only sub-two-minute time of the event. The Limited class RWD record was set by Allen Patten in a Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport at 2:09.454. In Street class, Kyle McKiou topped the field in a Toyota Supra at 2:15.505, with Johnny Hernandez (Honda Civic Type R, 2:25.025) setting the FWD class record.
The 2025 COTA event was presented by 8TWELVE Wheels under a partnership with Global Time Attack announced in February 2025, which also included a contingency programme for podium finishers. A concurrent Petrol Lounge Invitational was added to the 2025 weekend, celebrating the tenth anniversary of the Austin-based car and motorsport culture organisation.
At the 2024 COTA event, Cole Powelson in a Nissan GT-R for LYFE Motorsports set the AWD Unlimited record with a 2:02.538.
SLB events at COTA use a multi-class format. Unlimited class accommodates the most highly modified vehicles with no restriction on drivetrain or power. Limited class targets cars closer to factory specification. Street class is for road-legal vehicles. Enthusiast class serves less-modified entries. GT-X accommodates purpose-built GT3 and prototype machinery, making it the fastest class. Max Effort is a separate category for paired driver/co-driver combinations in highly modified production-based cars.