Brian Davis' 1999 Pontiac Trans Am | 2012 OUSCI Preview

Brian Davis may be a first-time participant in the OPTIMA Ultimate Street Car Invitational, presented by Royal Purple and K&N, but he is by no means a newcomer to this event or the unique competitions within it. Brian has competed in several qualifying events over the past few years, which gives him a distinct advantage over many of his fellow competitors.

Emerging as a Spirit of the Event invitee from the OPTIMA Faceoff at Road America, Davis knows the format well and his '99 TA is a known quantity, so there will be no surprises for him in Pahrump. While he may not have the driving experience of Danny Popp or Mark Stielow, Davis has logged plenty of time on race tracks, autocrosses and Speed/Stop courses. The only thing that will be different for him in Nevada is the venue.

We've watched numerous competitors in past years burn through two runs in the Wilwood Disc Brakes Speed Stop Challenge, just trying to understand the format, where they should start braking and the limits of their car in that event. Brian has already competed elsewhere in this event, so he will be able to make the most of his three runs and with upgraded Wilwood components on his car, combined with the factory ABS, Davis should be able to hold his own.

Brian also knows the importance of completing the Detroit Speed Engineering/JRI Shocks Road Rally, so there is little doubt he will collect those points or concern that his car will let him down on the way to Pahrump. ZO6-sized wheels and tires are an upgrade that should give him added grip in both the RideTech Autocross and the BFGoordrich Hot Lap Challenge. The question will be, how much will he give up in power to some of the other cars entered in the field? Every year there seems to be at least a few cars running north of 1,000 horsepower in this event and we don't expect 2012 to be any different.

Getting that power to the pavement is always a challenge, but even if they get 70% of 1,000 horsepower down, that can put Davis at a big disadvantage to some of his other competitors. If Davis can score some points in the Hot Lap Challenge and Autocross and make a decent showing in the Speed Stop Challenge, he could end up surprising some folks who should do a whole lot better than Davis on paper. We're looking forward to seeing how it turns out!

Brian would like to extend special thanks to his sponsors for the 2012 OUSCI, including Magnaflow Exhaust Systems, Michael Hamrick and Wilwood Disc Brakes, EPI Electro-chemical Plating Inc. and his employer, Andrew Chevrolet.

If you missed the 2012 OUSCI, watch the replay for free, anytime on the OPTIMA Network on Roku.