(Words by Jim McIlvaine) There are seven events that make up OPTIMA’s Search for the Ultimate Street Car presented by Advance Auto Parts. Once those events are run, the top contenders are invited to the SEMA Show in Las Vegas and the OPTIMA Ultimate Street Car Invitational. They can get there a couple different ways, but many rely on their point totals to earn an invitation. Others look to grab as many points as possible, in pursuit of class championships.

In that regard, quite a bit of strategy unfolds regarding which events to run and even at which point in the season to run. Historically, some early season events have offered significant opportunities to accumulate more points, than those held later in the season. Often times, this trend can be attributed to a combination of factors, including the location of the track, the desirability of the track relative to the rest of the schedule and how many competitors have their vehicles put together and dialed in to compete.

As the OPTIMA series has now completed three of these seven events, we thought we’d take a look at how these factors have played into the points chase so far this season and how they could play out as the season rolls on. We looked at the scores of competitors who have run at multiple events and compared those scores relative to the other events, to determine where the most points were accumulated.

Since the first event of the season at Thunderhill and the most-recent event at Weathertech Raceway, Laguna Seca were both considered “West Coast” events, the totals for those two events will be larger, than the second qualifying event, which took place at NOLA Motorsports Park. The reason is that many of the competitors who ran at Thunderhill also ran at Laguna Seca, but very few competitors who ran at either of those tracks also ran at  NOLA. However, the numbers tell a significant story.

If a competitor had a higher score at one track versus another, the track with the higher score received a point, while the track with the lower score lost a point. If a competitor ran at all three events, only the track with their highest score received a point, while the other two lost a point. The result so far shows +24 for Thunderhill, +8 for NOLA and -35 for Laguna Seca. What does this suggest?

It suggests both Thunderhill and NOLA were prime opportunities for competitors to accumulate a lot of points, relative to a track like Laguna Seca, where it was harder to accumulate points. Laguna Seca is a bucket list track for many enthusiasts, so that event drew a huge field that included many very competitive cars, from all over the country. While Thunderhill is an excellent facility, it was the very first event of the season, which means not everyone had their cars running and it may not have been quite the draw that Laguna Seca was, in terms of convincing competitors to travel long distances to run there.

That means the handful of competitors who ran at both Thunderhill and NOLA are likely to have accumulated higher point totals, than competitors who run at more “popular” tracks. So how does this play out as the season rolls on? The next event is at Portland International Raceway, which is a long haul for just about anyone who doesn’t live in the Pacific Northwest. While it is also an exciting, high-speed track, it probably doesn’t hold the same draw as a Laguna Seca or Daytona roval, which is coming up later this season.

That would suggest the potentially smaller field at Portland International Raceway could yield higher point totals for competitors, than they could see elsewhere this season. Why is that? After Portland, the series heads to Road America, which is always a popular track with a full field. After that, the series runs the roval at Daytona and does it under the lights, which is a rare opportunity that will undoubtedly draw a huge field. Finally, the regular season wraps up at VIRginia International Raceway.

While VIR may not hold the same allure as a Daytona or Laguna Seca, it is the last chance anyone has to win their way into a trip to Las Vegas or accumulate enough points to get there. Last season, VIR proved to be an event that offered a significant opportunity to accumulate points and because of the artificially smaller field, it could do that again this season. However, there is always a chance that a lot of heavy-hitters could show up at VIR and grab a large portion of points away from the rest of the field.

However it plays out, the 2023 season is sure to be exciting and well worth watching, when the TV series begins airing later this year on CBS Sports. Until then, you can watch the livestream coverage on the OPTIMA Network on Roku.

Viking Performance GT Class (post-1989, 3,200+ pounds, 2wd sedans, 4-seater coupes, etc…)
1. John Falkner, 2021 Chevrolet Camaro
2. Jonathan Blevins, 2008 Ford Mustang
3. Matt Ramirez, 2004 Ford Mustang

Classic Car Liquidators GTV Class (pre-1990, 3200+ pounds)
1. Ryan Breezee, 1969 Chevrolet Camaro
2. Brian Hobaugh, 1973 Chevrolet Camaro
3. John McKissack, 1966 Ford Fairlane

GTS Class (post-1989, 3200+ pounds, two-seaters & awd vehicles)
1. Bob Sobey, 2013 Nissan GT-R
2. Jordan Priestley, 2021 Tesla Model 3
3. Jon Bickford, 2020 Tesla Model 3

GTL Class (non-compacts under 3200 pounds)
1. Mike Rovere, 2008 Chevrolet Corvette
2. Austin Keys, 2002 Subaru WRX
3. Josh Cummings, 2016 Porsche GT4

No Limit Engineering GTT Class (Trucks & SUVs over 3200 pounds)
1. David Carroll, 1974 Chevrolet Blazer
2. Connor Hoovler, 1972 Ford F100
3. Stephen Dorrick, 2005 Nissan Frontier

GeauxMoto GTC Class (two-wheel drive compacts, 107-inch wheelbase or less)
1. Dayton de la Houssaye, 2016 Mazda MX-5
2. Darren Garvin, 1973 Datsun 240Z
3. Matt Davis, 2021 Mazda MX-5

Arrington Performance Lucky 7 Outlaw Class (relaxed aero rules, pro drivers allowed)
1. Duke Langley, 2002 Chevrolet Corvette
2. Danny Weller, 2019 Chevrolet Camaro
3. Mark Golovin, 2001 Chevrolet Camaro

Downforce Motorsports GTR Class (factory-licensed replicas)
1. Bob Spencer, 1963 Superformance Cobra

Summit Racing Spirit of the Event Award:
Rick Ray, 1971 Chevrolet Camaro


2023 OPTIMA Search for the Ultimate Street Car Schedule
Thunderhill Raceway March 3-5
NOLA Motorsports Park March 10-12
Laguna Seca May 5-7
Portland International Raceway July 21-23
Road America July 28-30
Daytona International Speedway August 11-13
VIRginia International Raceway October 6-8
OPTIMA Ultimate Street Car Invitational Las Vegas October 31- November 6