Hot-Lapping In The Heat: Check Out Our Gallery From Optima’s Search For The Ultimate Street Car 2016 at NCM Motorsports Park!


Hot-Lapping In The Heat: Check Out Our Gallery From Optima’s Search For The Ultimate Street Car 2016 at NCM Motorsports Park!

When Bowling Green, Kentucky, gets hot in the summer, it doesn’t just get hot…it’s that sticky, sweaty, funky kind of hot that makes you sweat in the shade as your sunscreen sweats it’s way into your eyes kind of hot. And the heat was on for Optima’s Search For The Ultimate Street Car event at the National Corvette Museum’s Motorsports Park. We could honestly be talking about all of the cars that were locked in competition with each other, or be talking about the action out on the track, or about the cars themselves…but truthfully, we’re talking about the weather. It was 95 degrees ambient, and for those of you who haven’t been to NCM Motorsports Park…well, it’s a lot of blacktop, so who knows what the honest temperature was. As I roamed around snapping pictures, drivers were going from one of their four rounds of track times back to the pits, getting out of their cars, and finding relief any possible way they could. A lucky few had cool suits on, but for the other drivers who didn’t…well, we might have looked as though we went on a morning jog in Phoenix, but some of these guys were drowning in perspiration. But spirits were up, track times were coming in and while there was some carnage, none of it seemed to be too serious…meaning we didn’t hear an Armco impact before we left. Check out some highlights of the day, and be sure to click on any picture in the photo gallery below to see the action!

Optima USC @ NCM 2016_6

New-car goodness…shame we didn’t hear this Shelby GT350 run in anger on the track.

Optima USC @ NCM 2016_12

We caught Brian Finch as he was getting into his radical Camaro and asked if it was as hot as it looked inside the car. He muttered something about going back to Baja. OUCH.

Optima USC @ NCM 2016_15

The garages at NCM have been finished for a bit, and lucky racers were able to rent them out for use. We were glad to duck into the shade with Brian Sparks, Casey Woodside, and Toby and Tina Thompson every once in a while. Thanks again, guys!

That’s no good. This Cadillac CTS-V’s right muffler decided to abandon the program in fine fashion during laps. The muffler burnt it’s way through the cladding on the way out, and we never did learn if it was recovered or not.

Optima USC @ NCM 2016_32

James Otto was running this truck, “For Pete’s Sake”, hard around the course. A slight misjudge at the first chicane got the Chevy to spin out, but no harm, no foul.

Optima USC @ NCM 2016_33

Define “stacked odds”: a driver missing one arm driving a Corvette Z06 that was a test car at GM’s Yuma, Arizona proving grounds. Apparently all of the above is a non-issue to the driver!

Optima USC @ NCM 2016_88

To sum up the race in one photo…yep, this does it. Be sure to check out the gallery…meanwhile, I’m going to go stick my head in the freezer.

 


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2 thoughts on “Hot-Lapping In The Heat: Check Out Our Gallery From Optima’s Search For The Ultimate Street Car 2016 at NCM Motorsports Park!

  1. Brian Sparks

    Great photos! It was fun hanging out again. Hope to see you at the next Track-X or maybe SCCA event at NCM.

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