The Optima Ultimate Street Car Invitational is set to begin this afternoon at the close of the 2011 SEMA show with the competitors going on a road rally to their ultimate destination of Pahrum, Nevada where the on-track action will happen tomorrow. Yesterday, Optima announced their “Golden Ticket” selections for the event, which were 12 cars and trucks selected from the SEMA show floor to compete against some of the best Pro Touring cars in the world. The committee found some really cool stuff to throw into the mix and this promises to be an epic event, once again. 

Chad will be there announcing the autocross and keeping us up to date on all the happenings at the event. Scroll down to see the list of selections and our notes on the car that we’re familiar with.

The following participants are the finalists selected, earning a spot to compete in this year’s OPTIMA Ultimate Street Car Invitational:

· Jonathan Ward, ’52 Chevy

· Ryan Venturine, ’67 Mustang

· Jay Reynolds, ’78 Volvo – This is a wild car with a huge widebody kit, lots of rubber and an LS motor in it. The automatic trans may be a hinderance against manual transmission cars, but we are hella interested in seeing how this one fares!

· Kurt Grimes, ’98 Tahoe – This truck is a nice piece that looks to have started life as a shower/street cruiser and has evolved into a pretty serious handling machine. Not just a set of big wheels, the Tahoe may surprise some people. 

· Amber Alberta, ’07 Mustang

· Casey Scranton, ’11 Camaro

· Bret Barrett, ’10 Challenger

· Bruce Scherman, ’68 Ranchero – A gorgeous orange hue and a worked 351 Cleveland set this one apart. It has the stance and the looks to be competitive, but we did not see under the car to check the suspension setup.  

· Chris Jacobs, ’66 Chevelle – This blue ’66 is a classic Pro Touring car that is loaded with all the good stuff. Jacobs could be a dark horse in this thing to shock the heck out of people.

· Dan Weishaar, ’69 Road Runner – This is the road runner that was recently featured in Car Craft. It has a slightly worked over 383 and a full boogie suspension. The car has been autocrossed a ton and Dan is a talented shoe from the sounds of the story. Mopar B-Body power to the rescue!

· Mike Langford, ’01 PT Cruiser – Don’t laugh, this has a 426 Hemi in it. Not a metric hemi, but an old school elephant! The freak factor alone has us drooling!

· Claus Ettensberger, C63 Mercedes AMG

The OPTIMA Ultimate Street Car Invitational, presented by K&N Filters and Wilwood Disc Brakes, will feature vehicles that represent a wide variety of industry-leading muscle cars, pro-touring cars, hot rods and street trucks, from both import and domestic manufacturers. The participants range from newcomer enthusiasts to seasoned industry veterans.

“It was difficult to select a limited number of vehicles for this year’s Ultimate Street Car Invitational,” says Cam Douglass, director of product development and marketing for OPTIMA Batteries. “There are so many extraordinary vehicles at SEMA and we are always impressed with the quality of unique vehicles that are at the show. However, we did have some standout selections that will be the perfect addition to competition.”

2011 OPTIMA Ultimate Street Car Invitational Details

The main race events of the OPTIMA Ultimate Street Car Invitational take place Saturday, Nov. 5, and will offer something for every race fan with the BFGoodrich Hot Lap Challenge, Ridetech Autocross Challenge, Wilwood Disc Brakes Speed Stop Challenge, and the Raybestos Performance and Design Challenge. The Detroit Speed and Engineering Road Rally will occur following the close of the SEMA Show later today.

New this year, fans will be able to view the action from the front row for the first time ever. A limited number of spectator tickets are available for purchase. Spectators and fans can purchase tickets by visiting OPTIMAInvitational.com prior to the start of the event.

Sponsors of the 2011 OPTIMA Ultimate Street Car Invitational include the presenting sponsors are, K&N Filters and Wilwood Disc Brakes, and the race event sponsors, including BFGoodrich, Ridetech, Wilwood Disc Brakes, Raybestos, Detroit Speed and Engineering. Additionally, The Roadster Shop, MagnaFlow, RECARO, Harman Kardon and Pioneer are associate sponsors for the OPTIMA Invitational. For more information on the OPTIMA Ultimate Street Car Invitational participants, the official rules, and more, visit http://www.optimainvitational.com/.