{"id":1032357,"date":"2024-08-30T10:31:42","date_gmt":"2024-08-30T17:31:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bangshift.com\/?p=1032357"},"modified":"2024-08-30T10:31:42","modified_gmt":"2024-08-30T17:31:42","slug":"optimas-ultimate-street-car-at-summit-point-raceway-we-take-a-look-at-the-points-chase-leading-up-to-the-regular-season-finale","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bangshift.com\/bangshiftapex\/optimas-ultimate-street-car-at-summit-point-raceway-we-take-a-look-at-the-points-chase-leading-up-to-the-regular-season-finale\/","title":{"rendered":"OPTIMA\u2019s Ultimate Street Car at Summit Point Raceway. We take a look at the points chase leading up to the regular season finale!"},"content":{"rendered":"

(Words by Jim McIlvaine. Photos by Kaleb Kelley) <\/strong>Six of seven events are now in the books for OPTIMA\u2019s Ultimate Street Car series, presented Advance Auto Parts. While some points battles across the seven different classes are all but decided, others are anything but! We\u2019ll take a brief look at who the top contenders are in each class and then try to predict who might get points invitations to the SEMA Show and OPTIMA Ultimate Street Car Invitational (OUSCI) at the end of the season.<\/p>\n

The Nine Lives Racing Lucky 7 Outlaw Class points chase is one of the tightest battles in the series. Duke Langley\u2019s \u201902 Corvette currently holds a one-point lead over Jeff Gordon\u2019s \u201907 Cobalt SS (which won at Summit Point) and Danny Weller\u2019s \u201919 Camaro. The math also works for Jon Bickford\u2019s \u201920 Tesla Model 3 and Frankie Trutanic\u2019s \u201917 Corvette to make a run at the regular season crown at VIR in October. As of this writing, Gordon will be at VIR for sure, Langley won\u2019t and the other three are up in the air.<\/p>\n

In terms of who will be included in the \u201cLucky 7,\u201d the list looks like this right now:<\/p>\n

Duke Langely 2002 Chevrolet Corvette<\/p>\n

Jeff Gordon 2007 Chevrolet Cobalt SS<\/p>\n

Danny Weller 2019 Chevrolet Camaro<\/p>\n

Jon Bickford 2020 Tesla Model 3<\/p>\n

Frankie Trutanic 2017 Chevrolet Corvette<\/p>\n

Jim Boller 2010 Chevrolet Corvette<\/p>\n

Ronald Merlino 2004 Nissan 350Z<\/p>\n

In the Speedtech GTV Class for pre-1990 vehicles, Chris Smith\u2019s \u201970 Camaro turned in another dominant win at Summit Point, but his son, Jason, changed the math at Summit Point in his \u201987 Camaro. A competitor\u2019s best two finishes count toward their season long point total, so with Jason\u2019s 491-point weekend at Summit Point, he now has a mathematical chance of not only winning the GTV Class, but the regular season grand championship. He\u2019ll need to beat his dad for that to happen and if Jason has a shot at both, then Chris, who sits well ahead of him in points has an even great chance.<\/p>\n

Looking at the potential remaining invitations from the GTV Class for Las Vegas, we could see Jason Bottenfield\u2019s \u201969 Camaro grabbing the GTV Class invitation at VIR, which would then leave three guaranteed class invitations based on point totals. Those are projected to go to Ron Scott\u2019s \u201963 Corvette, Tom Farrington\u2019s \u201966 Chevelle and Mike Dapkus\u2019 \u201969 Javelin. Ten invitations are also distributed regardless of class and there are plenty of GTV cars in contention for those spots, but we\u2019ll look at those at the end of this article.<\/p>\n

For now, we\u2019ll move to the No-Limit Engineering GTT Class for trucks, where Dustin Reed\u2019s \u201972 C10 holds a four-point lead over David Carroll\u2019s \u201974 Blazer and Stephen Dorrick\u2019s \u201905 Nissan Frontier is potentially within 10 points of the top spot with his win at Summit Point. Whether any or all show up at VIR (Dorrick will for sure), they\u2019ll all square off at the OUSCI in November. They could be joined by Fran Marchand\u2019s \u201950 Chevy pickup, which is currently the only truck registered for VIR, that has not yet received an invitation to Las Vegas. The three class entries could then end up with Jeff Glowniak\u2019s \u201969 F100, Wes McFarland\u2019s \u201974 C10 and Logan Melson\u2019s \u201900 Ford Ranger.<\/p>\n

In the After Dark Speed GTS Class, Bob Sobey\u2019s \u201913 Nissan GT-R seems to have a handle on the regular season championship, but is in a tight battle with Dave Schotz\u2019s \u201922 Camaro and Chris Smith\u2019s \u201970 Camaro for the regular season series Grand Championship. Sobey made the trip Eastward from Arizona to VIR last season, but already declared he will not make the drive this year. Smith will be there for sure, so it remains to be seen if Schotz\u2019s Camaro will join him.<\/p>\n

Tony Prutch\u2019s C8 Corvette picked up the class win and OUSCI invitation at Summit Point and we project Aimel Baron\u2019s C7 Corvette is likely to do the same at VIR. If that happens, the three GTS Class invitations are likely to be awarded to Scott Lezchuk\u2019s \u201920 Tesla Model 3, Jordan Cooke\u2019s \u201916 Corvette and Robert Foster\u2019s \u201912 Corvette.<\/p>\n

Lane Farka\u2019s \u201915 Porsche GT3 holds a similar stranglehold on the Lingenfelter GTL Class as Sobey\u2019s GT-R does in the GTS Class and with a 492 on the board at Portland, the math is out there for Farka to make a run at the Grand Championship, but he\u2019s given no indication he\u2019ll make that long haul from Utah to Virginia. While Ryan Mathews\u2019 Corvette may win at VIR, we project the GTL Class invitation would go to Pat Duncan\u2019s \u201903 Corvette. That could leave the GTL Class invitations to Josh Cummings\u2019 \u201916 Porsche GT4, Al Radonski\u2019s \u201908 Corvette and Dan Bullis\u2019 \u201909 Corvette.<\/p>\n

Darren Garvin\u2019s \u201973 Datsun 240Z picked up the Geaux Moto GTC class win at Summit Point, but he had already earned his invitation at Road America. That meant Tony Phillips\u2019 \u201920 Subaru BRZ received the invitation, which was a nice turnaround from the rough weekend he had with his \u201955 Chevy Bel Air at Portland.<\/p>\n

Tony\u2019s BRZ is set to square off with John McKissack\u2019s \u201971 MG BGT at VIR and since Tony already has an invitation, McKissack will receive one, win or lose. After that, GTC Class invitations would go to Troy de la Houssaye\u2019s \u201909 Mazda MX-5, Jordan Filip\u2019s \u201903 Toyota Corolla and Adam Perling\u2019s \u201906 Miata.<\/p>\n

Finally, there\u2019s the Viking Performance GT Class for late-model musclecars. Dave Schotz has a commanding lead there, but a tight battle with Sobey and Smith for the regular season series Grand Championship. He hasn\u2019t indicated whether he\u2019ll go to VIR, but his car already came East for UMI\u2019s King of the Mountain and will likely stick around at least through the SCCA Solo Nationals. James Thomas\u2019 \u201916 Shelby GT350 picked up it\u2019s first class win at Summit Point and he\u2019ll be back for VIR. He could catch second-place Matt Ramirez\u2019s Mustang at VIR, but he won\u2019t catch Schotz.<\/p>\n

Thomas could still come away with his second class win in a row at VIR, but we project Tim Gordon\u2019s \u201910 Camaro will receive the GT Class OUSCI invitation. That leaves GT Class invitations for Brian Reilly\u2019s \u201918 Camaro, Jake Jackson\u2019s \u201918 Camaro and Chris Pokorny\u2019s \u201992 Mustang. With class invitation projections complete, we\u2019ll take a moment to remind everyone these are only predictions of what could transpire and not set in stone. With that, we\u2019ll share what we project will be the final ten points entries, as well as the five cars on the wrong side of the points bubble.<\/p>\n

First Five<\/p>\n

1. Sean Aldinger 1969 Camaro GTV 886 points<\/p>\n

2. Scott Bowers 1984 Mustang GTV 880 points<\/p>\n

3. Chris King 1969 Camaro GTV 860 points<\/p>\n

4. Angela Payne 1969 Corvette GTV 841 points<\/p>\n

5. Jason Trantham 2021 Corvette GTS 840 points<\/p>\n

Last Five<\/p>\n

6. John Lawrence 2017 Corvette GTS 835 points<\/p>\n

7. Randall Garrett 1970 Corvette GTV 829 points<\/p>\n

8. Kenny Ayers 1968 Camaro GTV 816 points<\/p>\n

9. Michael Johnson 2020 Mustang GT 814 points<\/p>\n

10. James Pierce 2017 Camaro GT 808 points<\/p>\n

First Five Out<\/p>\n

11. Mills Robinson 1967 Camaro GTV 803 points<\/p>\n

12. Christine Crutcher 2004 Corvette GTS 798 points<\/p>\n

13. Darren Voges 1969 Camaro GTV 787 points<\/p>\n

14. Hector Curiel 2018 Camaro GT 781 points<\/p>\n

15. Nathan Peard 1970 Chevelle GTV 771 points<\/p>\n

It seems as if the cut-off for making it to Las Vegas is in the neighborhood of 800 points and there\u2019s more than a few cars battling for those final few spots. How will it all transpire? Be sure to follow the Ultimate Street Car Association Facebook page for updates and head over to www.DriveOPTIMA.com, if you\u2019d like to learn more about competing in this series in your street car.<\/p>\n

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